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Ciara (born Ciara Princess Harris on October 25, 1985 in Austin, Texas) is a Grammy Award-winning American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and occasional actress. Ciara made her debut in the summer of 2004 with the Billboard number-one single "Goodies". The album Goodies was released on September 28, 2004. It produced three top three singles, sold 2.6 million in the U.S., over three million worldwide, and earned various awards and nominations.
Ciara's second album, Ciara: The Evolution, was released on December 5, 2006. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling more than 338,000 copies, which is 213,000 more than Ciara's debut album Goodies that debuted at number three. It has spawned two top twelve singles.
Childhood and youth
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 Carlton 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
The album became a commercial success in the U.S., selling 2.63 million copies. Many claim that Ciara was very similar to the late Aaliyah, but Ciara says she didn't try to imitate the late R&B singer's style, but that she was partly inspired by her. 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 July 2005, Ciara released her DVD of music videos, documentaries, and commentaries entitled Goodies: The Videos & More. In the summer of 2005, during the success of Goodies, Ciara was featured on hit singles by hip-hop artists. 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 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: The Evolution of Ciara
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.
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, became a Billboard top twenty single. In October 2006, Ciara went on a seventeen city club tour until December, which she previewed new music from the album. In the December 23 issue of Billboard magazine, 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 has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The second single from Ciara: The Evolution, the first single in Europe and Asia, "Like a Boy", was released on February 13, 2007 in the U.S. and will be released in the UK on April 9, 2007. Ciara's third single will be "My Love" and will be released on June 4, 2007
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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 hopes to shoot another film after her summer tour.
