American Artist- Ciara

Ciara Princess Harris-Wilson (/siˈɛrə/ see-ERR-ə; born October 25, 1985) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and model. Born in Austin, Texas, she traveled around the world during her childhood, eventually moving to Atlanta, Georgia where she joined the girl group Hearsay. She later signed a publishing deal, and befriended producer Jazze Pha, who recorded demos that would appear on her debut album. With his help, Ciara signed a record deal with LaFace Records.

In 2004, Ciara released her debut studio album Goodies, which spawned four singles: “Goodies”, “1, 2 Step”, “Oh” and “And I”. “Goodies” topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and garnered four nominations at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards. Ciara was also featured on Missy Elliott’s “Lose Control” and Bow Wow’s “Like You”, both of which reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2006, Ciara released her second studio album, Ciara: The Evolution, which spawned the hit singles “Get Up”, “Promise”, “Like a Boy” and “Can’t Leave ’em Alone”. The album reached number one in the U.S. and was certified platinum.

Ciara’s third studio album, Fantasy Ride (2009) was less successful than her first two albums. However, it produced the international top-ten single “Love Sex Magic”, featuring Justin Timberlake, which received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. The following year, Ciara released her fourth studio album Basic Instinct, which included the R&B top-five single “Ride”, but was met with low sales, continuing a downward trend in her commercial performance. Ciara signed a new record deal with Epic Records in 2011. In 2013, she released her fifth studio album, Ciara, which spawned the R&B top-ten single “Body Party”. Her sixth album, Jackie (2015), included the singles “I Bet” and “Dance like We’re Making Love”.

In 2006, Ciara made her film debut in All You’ve Got, and later appeared in the films Mama, I Want to Sing! (2012) and That’s My Boy (2012). In 2013, she had a recurring role in the US TV series, The Game. In 2016, Ciara signed a signed a modeling contract with IMG. That year, she became a Global Brand Ambassador for the cosmetics giant Revlon. Since making her musical debut in 2004, Ciara has attained eight Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles. She has also received many awards, including three BET Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards, three MOBO Awards, and one Grammy Award. As of 2015, Ciara has sold over 23 million records worldwide. In 2016, she married quarterback Russell Wilson.

Career

2014–present: Jackie and Beauty Marks

In September 2013, producer Mike WiLL Made It revealed that Ciara had begun work on her sixth studio album. In December 2013, Ciara confirmed she was in the process of making a new album. During an interview with Rap-Up magazine Ciara revealed that recording for her sixth album began around Thanksgiving of 2013 and she would be releasing new music “really soon”. In late January 2014, Ciara premiered a live version of a song entitled “Anytime” at the Degree Women Grammys Celebration in Los Angeles, on February 2, 2014, Ciara premiered the studio version produced Boi-1da and Katalyst featuring her then-boyfriend and rapper Future. After her engagement to Future, Ciara revealed to W in April 2014 that her sixth studio album would be predominantly inspired by her then-fiancé. Ciara gave birth to her first child in May 2014. After claims of Future’s infidelity during their relationship had surfaced, it was reported that the couple’s engagement had been called off. Following their very public break-up, Ciara’s album release was further postponed to 2015, and during this time the singer “quietly” recorded new music, while concentrating on motherhood.

“I Bet”, the lead single from her upcoming album Jackie, was released on January 26, 2015. In May 2015, Ciara embarked on her first headlining tour in six years. The month-long Jackie Tour kicked off on May 3, 2015 in Chicago and included stops in New York, Boston, New Orleans, Dallas, and Los Angeles. The first round of US dates wrapped May 31 in San Francisco. Ciara’s sixth album, Jackie, was released on May 1, 2015. It includes the singles “I Bet” and “Dance like We’re Making Love”. The album debuted at number 17 on the Billboard 200 with 25,000 equivalent album units (19,900 in sales) and has the lowest first-week sales amongst her first six albums.

Ciara is currently working on a seventh studio album and has stated that the album will feature her undertaking a new musical direction. On January 27, 2017, it was announced that Ciara had signed a deal with Warner Bros. Records. On July 17, 2018, Ciara released her new single and its accompanying music video, “Level Up”. The song is the first single from her upcoming seventh studio album. Ciara announced her seventh studio album, Beauty Marks, is set to be released on May 10, 2019. In addition to “Level Up”, the album has spawned the singles “Freak Me”, “Dose”, “Greatest Love” and “Thinkin Bout You”. Ciara performed “Thinkin Bout You” at the 2019 Billboard Music Awards.

In 2019, Ciara will judge alongside David Dobrik and Debbie Gibson in a new musical competition on Nickelodeon titled America’s Most Musical Family.