Ciara Princess Harris (born October 25, 1985), who performs under the mononym Ciara (pronounced /siˈærə/), is an American recording artist, producer, dancer, fashion model, and actress. Born in Austin, Texas, Ciara made her debut in the summer of 2004 with the Billboard number-one single "Goodies". The album Goodies was released in the United States on September 28, 2004, and in the UK on January 24, 2005. It produced three top two singles on the Billboard Hot 100, selling three million in U.S and over five million worldwide.
Ciara's second album, Ciara: The Evolution, was released in December 2006. It has spawned the Billboard Hot 100 top ten hit "Get Up", and the R&B/Hip-Hop Charts top ten hits "Promise", "Like a Boy", and "Can't Leave 'em Alone". To date, the album, which went platinum only five weeks after its release, has sold more than one million copies in the U.S. and three million worldwide.
Ciara's third studio album, Fantasy Ride, was released in the United States on May 5, 2009. The first official single, the R&B/Hip-Hop Charts top ten hit "Never Ever", features rapper Young Jeezy and was released in January 2009. The second single, grammy-nominated and worldwide hit "Love Sex Magic" featuring Justin Timberlake, was released in March 2009. Since its release, the single became a hit on numerous charts, including the Billboard Hot 100, where it peaked at number 10. The third single, "Like a Surgeon" and fourth single "Work" were both released in July 2009.
It was confirmed in September 2009 that Ciara has been working with Tricky Stewart, The-Dream, Justin Timberlake, and Rodney Jerkins, on her yet-to-be titled fourth studio album. The project was originally intended for a 2009 release, but is now slated for a 2010 release. It was to be produced and written entirely by the trio, but it has now been announced that she will be working with other producers.
Early life: Ciara was born in Austin, Texas; She is the only child of Jackie (née Smith) and Carlton Clay Harris. She grew up on Army bases in Germany, New York, Utah, California, Arizona, and Nevada, since her father was in the United States Army. During her teens, Ciara and her family settled in Atlanta. Ciara said that watching Destiny's Child perform on a television program while staying home from school inspired her to pursue a career in music but often cites Michael Jackson as her biggest inspiration. Then, Ciara joined a girl group called Hearsay and worked on her songwriting. The group recorded demos, but began to have differences. Eventually, she left the group, got a publishing deal, and found a "musical soulmate" when she met producer Jazze Pha. Ciara graduated from Riverdale High School in Riverdale, Georgia in 2003 and was signed by LaFace Records executive L.A. Reid with the help of Jazze Pha. She began production on her debut album. Ciara co-wrote a demo with songwriter Sean Garrett, who was co-writer of Usher’s international hit "Yeah!".
Other ventures
Fashion interests:
Ciara signed a deal with the modeling agency Wilhelmina Models. In addition to that, she also has her eyes set on beginning a new clothing line. In June 2008 she was in talks with the department store Steve & Barry's to create an affordable clothing line.
In November 9, 2009, it was announced that Ciara would be modeling in the German edition of "Vogue".
Acting career:
In May 2005, Ciara made her acting debut in the MTV Films coming-of-age film All You've Got, as Becca Watley, the queen bee of a high school volleyball team; the Little Madonnas. The film was released on DVD May 23, 2006.
Ciara is starring with Patti LaBelle in the upcoming film Mama, I Want to Sing!, which is based on the worldwide hit off-Broadway musical. Ciara is playing a preacher's daughter in the church choir who becomes a pop star. The movie was originally supposed to be released to theaters in October 2008, but now the movie will be released in Fall 2009, due to filming extra scenes for the film.
Endorsement Deals:
In November 2009, it was announced that Ciara would be the new face of a major multimedia ad campaign for Verizon’s high end smartphone, LG Chocolate Touch. Ciara has filmed a commercial for the campaign, which features her dancing to her single "Work". While dancing she is trying to persuade a male customer to buy the phone. She has also filmed other commercials with Verizon, that will premiere soon.
Charity:
In September, Ciara, along with Mariah Carey, Beyoncé Knowles, Mary J. Blige, Rihanna, Fergie, Sheryl Crow, Miley Cyrus, Melissa Etheridge, Ashanti, Natasha Bedingfield, Keyshia Cole, Leona Lewis, LeAnn Rimes, and Carrie Underwood, will team up for the song "Just Stand Up!". The charity tune for cancer was conceived by Antonio "L.A." Reid, who produced it with longtime creative colleague Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds. 15 singers shared the stage to perform the song live on September 5, during the "Stand Up to Cancer" television special, which aired simultaneously on ABC, NBC and CBS. The proceeds from the single were given to the fundraiser. The television special helped raise $100 million dollars for cancer research. The single is now available via digital download.
In November, Ciara teamed up with "Make a Wish Foundation". There, she helped grant the wish of a mentally challenged girl who wanted to learn the choreography to "1, 2 Step."
Career
2004–2005: Goodies
Goodies became a commercial success in the U.S., selling 2.63 million copies. The following year, Goodies received an international release, but success was limited, although the singles were worldwide hits. Ciara’s debut single, "Goodies" reached number one in United States and United Kingdom. The second and third single "1, 2 Step" featuring Missy Elliott and "Oh" featuring Ludacris were top five singles, both peaking at the number two spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, in both countries. "And I", the fourth single, did poorly compared to the first three releases. The song peaked at ninety-six on the Billboard Hot 100.
In the summer 2005, Ciara released her DVD of music videos, documentaries, and commentaries entitled Goodies: The Videos & More and contributed to hip-hop artists' singles during Goodies success. She appeared on Missy Elliott's "Lose Control" from her album The Cookbook and Bow Wow’s "Like You" from his album Wanted, which both peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.
In December 2005, Ciara went on tour with Gwen Stefani on her Harajuku Lovers Tour 2005 and Bow Wow and Chris Brown for the "Holladay Jam" tour, which stopped at big cities such as New York, Washington D.C., and Atlanta. She received Grammy nominations for "Best New Artist", "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration" for "1, 2 Step", "Best Rap Song" and "Best Short Form Music Video" for “Lose Control”.
2006–2007: Ciara: The Evolution
On February 8, 2006, Ciara won her first Grammy Award for "Best Short Form Music Video" with Missy Elliott's "Lose Control". In April 2006, Ciara was featured on Field Mob’s Billboard top ten single "So What". The following month, she made her acting debut in the MTV Films production All You've Got, also starring Adrienne Bailon and Efren Ramirez. The summer of 2006, Ciara completed her second album, after the release of the Step Up soundtrack single "Get Up" featuring Chamillionaire. It became the second European single in the summer 2007, apart from the UK, where the song was released twice as a download-only single, once in 2006 and again in 2007.
Ciara's second studio album, Ciara: The Evolution was released December 5, 2006. Production included hit makers such as Jazze Pha, Rodney Jerkins, Pharrell, Bryan-Michael Cox, Will.i.am and many others. The album is about Ciara's personal growth after two years in the public eye. She co-wrote and co-produced most of the songs. The official first single "Promise", produced by Atlanta producer Polow da Don, which reached eleven on the Billboard Hot 100. In October 2006, Ciara went on a seventeen city club tour until December, which she previewed new music from the album. Ciara: The Evolution debuted at number one selling over 338,000 copies, which is 213,000 more than Ciara’s debut album Goodies. The album received generally positive reviews and was certified platinum by the RIAA within only five weeks of its release. The second single from Ciara: The Evolution, the first single in Europe, "Like a Boy", was released on February 13, 2007 in the U.S. The single was the second to be released in the UK with an April 9, 2007 release date. The single was a moderate success peaking at nineteen on the Billboard Hot 100, six on the Hot Hip-Hop/R&B Singles chart, and sixteen in the UK.
In early May, Ciara teamed with Glamour Magazine to direct her first music video for emerging female artists Tiffany Evans, Paula Campbell, or Samantha Jade in the Nissan Reel Music Contest. She signed on to her second film role Mama, I Want to Sing! which filmed the summer 2007 and is due in theaters October 2008 and she became the face of Jay-Z's Rocawear clothing line and spokesperson for the women campaign entitled "I Will Not Lose", which debuted in the summer. The official third single "Can't Leave 'Em Alone",which features 50 Cent was released on June 12, 2007 and peaked at forty on the Billboard Hot 100. Ciara headlined with Lloyd, T-Pain, T.I. and Yung Joc on the Screamfest '07. The tour was scheduled to begin July 24, 2007. but it was changed to August 3, 2007. During this period, Ciara was featured on teen singer Tiffany Evans's debut single, "Promise Ring". Ciara supported fellow pop singer Rihanna on the UK leg of the Good Girl Gone Bad Tour. Ciara performed "Can't Leave 'Em Alone" at the World Music Awards with 50 Cent. She won the award for "World's Best Selling Female R&B Artist" at the 2007 World Music Awards.
2008–2009: Fantasy Ride
Fantasy Ride was released in May 2009, but the album's promotion started in September of 2008 already with promotional activities in Six Flags Over Georgia A promo single for the album, "Go Girl", which featured T-Pain, was released in September 2008. The album was first released on May 3, 2009, in the UK where it debuted at number 10. It was released in United States on May 5, 2009. The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 chart, with 81,000 copies sold, the album has currently sold over 150,000 copies. The lead single is called "Never Ever", which reached number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 9 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The second single, "Love Sex Magic," reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The single reached the top 10 in other countries including the UK. The third single, "Like a Surgeon," peaked at #59 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The fourth single, "Work," charted in the UK, Australia, and Ireland.
In October 2008, Billboard announced that Ciara would be honored as a "Woman Of The Year" for her success in the music industry. Ciara did interviews in many magazines including "Right On", Maxim Magazine, and Vibe Magazine, which she was promoting the new album Fantasy Ride. This followed to the Vibe Magazine controversy. On the October issue, Ciara was appearing to be naked but she has stated that Vibe airbrushed her clothes off to make it appear she was completely nude. She later confirmed to MTV News that she was in fact clothed.
2009-present: Fourth studio album
On September 28, 2009, it was revealed the Ciara was well into production of her fourth studio album. In an interview with Rap-Up, Tricky Stewart announced that he and production partner The-Dream had spent the summer recording exclusively with Ciara, and that they would be once again executive-producing the whole album along with Ciara. When asked about the direction of the album, Stewart said "this record obviously is gonna have tempo to it, but I think it's gonna have even more substance than the last record", featuring more danceable songs. The trio, at that time, had already completed around 14 songs for the project, and while the album was first targeted for a 2009 release, it will now be slated for early 2010 to avoid rushing the album-making process. Earlier in the summer, around early July, Ciara and Justin Timberlake went into the studio to record new music. Whether or not it was for her new album has not yet been confirmed. On December 1, 2009, it was announced that Ciara is also working with Darkchild.
