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‘Crunk n’ B sensation Ciara Harris, just nineteen years old, has emerged onto the music scene with her ‘funky fresh’ moves and has made it clear that her ‘Goodies’ are not up for grabs. The Situation find outs more…
Does
the name Ciara (pronounced
Si-ara) ring any bells? No? Well, what if I were to say ‘my goodies,
my goodies, my goodies, not my goodies!’ Would that help? It should
do because this young lady is on her way to making it big. In 2004 the
Americans loved her style and flava with her debut single ‘Goodies’
hitting the charts at No.1. Shortly afterwards, and it enters at the top
spot over here in the UK too. ‘Goodies’ is everywhere. You
hear it on the radio, see the video on TV; there is no way that you have
not heard this tune. We all have our own definitions of ‘Goodies’,
but what did Ciara mean when she named the tune? Apparently, it doesn’t
actually mean one specific thing. “Goodies is anything that you
feel is valuable, it is not one thing in particular”, told Ciara.
This 19-year-old has her head on straight when it comes to her work and goals, especially when it concerns her music, as it has been her lifelong dream. “I just really believed that my music career was ordained for me. I knew I wanted to do it from just watching so many different people perform and I wanted to be on the stage.” Who can argue with someone who knows in their heart that this is their dream? Luckily for Ciara, her dream has now become a reality.
Ciara is the first lady of Crunk ‘n’ B. For those of you that are not that familiar with this term, it is that style of music that Lil’ Jon produces. It’s the kind of sound that makes your body want to crunk out on the dance floor. To help you out a bit more, remember Usher’s ‘Yeah’? That was Lil’Jon’s first Crunk ‘n’ B track and now the second release is Ciara’s ‘Goodies’. So not only is Ciara a new artist, but also the first female to be the face of this new sound. “It really feels good to be the first to bring out something new, but I don’t wanna be given royal titles like ‘the Princess’ and ‘the Lady’ and ‘the Queen’. I’m just glad to be a part of movement in music.”
For an up-and-coming artist to work with the likes of Missy Elliot, Ludacris and R. Kelly, and well as producers such as Lil’Jon and Jazze Pha, there must be something special about her. After working with her for only five days, Jazze Pha saw the star Ciara could become, and signed her on the spot. He produced her next single, ‘1, 2 Step’, and even had words with Ludacris about getting him on Ciara’s debut album, also named ‘Goodies’. Ciara told Jazze Pha, “I had to have him [Ludacris] on the record!” Having working with all these artists, the Crunk ‘n’ B lady can now boast, “I have a relationship with them as far as a friendship is concerned.” So does this mean big plans and big collaborations for the future? Ciara is getting so much exposure and it seems everyone is fighting for a chance to meet her, speak to her and watch her perform, so it won’t be long before people start lining up to work with her. Although there are no official plans as yet, Ciara has several thoughts and quite a few ideas. “If I could work with anyone, it would be Usher, that would be cool.” Does this mean we could be seeing a video with Mr Smooth Man, Usher and body popping Ciara? Maybe, if she gets her way.
Ciara is a performer. “I love the stage because music caught me, it just caught me.” When asked if she had any plans of being a dancer prior to blowing up as a singer, she immediately replied, “Yes, I wanted to be a dancer, before music, before singing.” When watching videos it is obvious that dance is something that comes naturally to her and that performing is something she loves to do. So what inspired and encouraged her passion to perform? “I would have to say my inspirations are Michael and Janet Jackson.” It is not a surprise that the two most prominent artists in the music world the two people that she admires.
This Texan beauty is bringing something fresh to music. We love her voice, her style and her moves, but what about you guys out there? Is that the only reason you love Ciara? The male population across the world are loving her and she is most definitely catching their attention. But all Ciara can do is laugh to herself. “Ahhhh, I appreciate it for what it is. It feels good to know that people acknowledge me as an artist and they love what I do.”
Ciara is at the beginning of her career and is nowhere near her peak. She has so many new opportunities coming her way, but at the moment, she is required to travel all over the world for performances and promotion for her debut album. For most people, travelling this much would be somewhat of a shock to the system, but this is something that Miss Harris should be used to. She has lived in various locations from Germany, New York, California, Arizona and Nevada. “While I was growing up, my father was in the United States Army and my mother was in the Air Force, so that’s why we moved around,” she explained.
Ciara is living her dream; she’s singing, performing and who knows what else is to come, but is all this fame and glamour isn’t all that the media makes it out to be. “I had to sacrifice a lot of things to get here. I never got the chance to do things that the typical teenager did, like partying with your friends.” Ciara made it extremely clear when she said, “This business is not what people think it is, you have no idea, it’s crazy! People need to remember it is a job.” So could she be the next Beyoncé? ‘Crazy in Love’ was the jam of 2004, but now people are shaking their ‘Goodies’ in 2005. One piece of advice that Ciara has for those people wanting to pursue a career in music is: “Always remember, you have the torch and you have the control.”
This is just the beginning of a long road to success for Ciara - who knows what she will be doing next. She has the passion and drive for what she does, so don’t put anything past her. For now though, just keep crunkin’, 1, 2 steppin’ and holding on those goodies!
Ciara’s debut album ‘Goodies’ is out now on Jive Records,
as well as her No.1 single of the same name.
