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Ciara Princess Harris (born October 25 1985), professionally known as Ciara, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actress. 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 over 2.6 million in the U.S., and five million worldwide, and earned various awards and nominations.

Ciara's second album, Ciara: The Evolution, was released in December 2006. It has spawned the hit singles "Get Up", "Promise", "Like a Boy", and "Can't Leave 'Em Alone". The album has sold nearly two million copies worldwide.

Biography

Early life

Ciara was born in Austin, Texas. She is the only child of Carlton and Jackie 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. 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!".

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 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 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”.

2006–2007: Ciara: The Evolution

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 filmed the summer 2007 and due in theaters February 2008 and she became the face of Jay-Z's Rocawear 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.

2008–present: Fantasy Ride

Ciara released a promo single titled "Ahh", which features J-Hood. She also preparing for the release of her theatrical debut Mama, I Want to Sing!'

On February 19 2008, Ciara annouced via her official MySpace she is recording her third studio album and doing national dance auditions, searching for unsigned dancers.

On February 29 2008, Ciara stated in an interview that her third studio album would be released before the end of the year. For her new effort, she has worked with Danja, The Clutch, Polow Da Don, and T-Pain.

On April 9, 2008 Ciara announced to MTV VJs Sway and Akshay Bhansali that her new album was to be titled Fantasy Ride, with the first single "High Price" featuring rapper Ludacris.

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 is starring with Patti LaBelle in the upcoming film Mama, I Want to Sing!, which is based on the off-Broadway musical. Ciara is playing a preacher's daughter in the church choir who becomes a pop star.

Awards

Discography

• 2004: Goodies
• 2006: Ciara: The Evolution
• 2008: Fantasy Ride

Filmography

Tours

• 2005: Harajuku Lovers Tour 2005 (Support act for Gwen Stefani)
• 2006: The Evolution Tour
• 2007: Screamfest '07
• 2007: Good Girl Gone Bad Tour Support act for Rihanna (UK dates only)

References

1. " Ciara Previewing 'Evolution' On Tour". Retrieved November 28 2006.
2. "Ciara Certified Platinum". Retrieved January 18, 2006.
3. ^ " Billboard.com Biography - Ciara". Retrieved December 14 2006.
4. Rock On The Net: 48th Annual Grammy Awards
5. Ciara Directs A Clip, Plus Kelly Clarkson, Usher, Paris Hilton, Beyonce, Chris Brown & More In For The Record MTV News Retrieved June 2 2007
6. Ciara Tapped As the New Face of Rocawear Us Magazine Retrieved June 2 2007
7. T.I., Ciara To Headline Latest Scream Tour Retrieved June 7 2007
8. Usher To Become A Dad; Plus Screamfest, Jay-Z, Beyonce, Fall Out Boy, Fergie, Andre 3000 & More, In For The Record
9. YouTube - S&R w/ Ciara
10. Billboard Bits: Ciara, CMT Awards, Big Boi
11. MTV Newsroom - Ciara New Album Info
12. " Ciara The Queen of Madonnas". Retrieved August 28 2006.
13. Ciara to tour with Rihanna in the UK. Retrieved October 8 2007.

External links

• Official Site
• Official UK Site
• Ciara at MySpace
• Official YouTube Channel
• Ciara at IMDb
• Ciara at Billboard.com

• Ciara
• 1985 births
• American actor-singers
• American dance musicians
• American dancers
• American female singers
• American film actors
• American music video directors
• American pop singers
• American record producers
• American rhythm and blues singers
• English-language singers
• Grammy Award winners
• Hip hop singers
• Living people
• Military brats
• People from Atlanta, Georgia
• People from Austin, Texas
• Texas actors
• Texas musicians