Ciara

2007-06-21T04:20:00.000-07:00

Ciara

Ciara (born Ciara Princess Harris on October 25, 1985 in Austin, Texas) is a Grammy Award-winning American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and actress. Ciara made her debut in the summer of 2004 with the Billboard number-one single "Goodies". The album Goodies was released the fourth quarter of 2004 and first quarter of 2005. It produced three top two singles on the Billboard Hot 100, selling over 2.6 million in the U.S.,and 5 million worldwide,and earned various awards and nominations.
Ciara's second album, Ciara: The Evolution, was released in December 2006.It has spawn the hit singles "Get Up", "Promise", and "Like a Boy". The album has sold nearly two million copies worldwide.
2004–2005: Goodies
Goodies (2004)
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 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 of 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 other pop sensations Bow Wow and Chris Brown for the "Holladay Jam", which stopped at big cities such as New York, Washington D.C., and Atlanta. She also 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”.
Ciara slowly began production on her second album.
2006–present: Ciara: The Evolution
Ciara: The Evolution (2006)
Ciara started a new year by winning her first Grammy Award for Missy Elliott's "Lose Control". It won "Best Short Form Music Video", on February 8, 2006.In April 2006, Ciara was featured on Field Mob’s Billboard top ten single "So What". The following month, she made 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 on December 5, 2006. Production included hitmakers 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. 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 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 films this summer and due in theaters February 2008 and she became the face of Jay-Z's Rocawear women campaign entitled "I Will Not Lose", which debuts this fall.The official third single "Can't Leave 'Em Alone",which features 50 Cent was released on June 12. Ciara will headline with T.I. on the Screamfest '07. The tour begins July 24.

Film 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 will co-star with Patti LaBelle in the upcoming film Mama, I Want to Sing!, which is based on the off-Broadway musical. Ciara will play a preacher's daughter in the church choir who becomes a pop star. The movie is scheduled to start shooting in June in Louisiana and due in theaters in February 2008.