Ciara Biography |
In 2004, Ciara released her debut studio album Goodies, which debuted at number three on the US Billboard 200 and included the hit singles "Goodies", "1, 2 Step" and "Oh". The album was certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and earned her four nominations at the 48th Grammy Awards. She released her second studio album Ciara: The Evolution in 2006, which spawned the hit singles "Get Up", "Promise" and "Like a Boy". The album reached number one in the US and was certified platinum. Her third studio album Fantasy Ride, released in May 2009, was considerably less successful than Ciara's first two albums. However, it produced the worldwide top-ten hit "Love Sex Magic" featuring Justin Timberlake, which earned her a Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. The following year, Ciara released her fourth studio album Basic Instinct, which was met with low sales and continued a downward trend in her commercial success. In 2011, she signed a new record deal with Epic Records.
Since making her musical debut in 2004, Ciara has attained eight Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles, including a number one. She has also earned numerous awards and accolades, including three BET Awards, one Grammy Award, three MTV Video Music Awards and three MOBO Awards. Ciara has sold over seven million albums worldwide, and more than 4.3 million albums and 6.9 million digital singles in the United States alone.
1985-2003: Early life and career Beginnings
Ciara was born in Austin, Texas on October 25, 1985 as the only child of Jackie and Carlton Harris. Since her father was in the United States Army, throughout her childhood, Ciara grew up on army bases in Germany, New York, Utah, California, Arizona, and Nevada. In speaking of this, Ciara states that while she hated to lose good friends, this helps her in her career when she has to travel all over the world. During her teens, Ciara and her family settled in Atlanta. Ciara said that watching Destiny's Child and Janet Jackson perform on a television program while staying home from school inspired her to pursue a career in music, and cites superstar siblings Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson as her biggest inspiration. Ciara is quoted to have reached what she considered "a career pinnacle" when she recorded with Janet Jackson on Jackson's 2008 Discipline album.