Ciara (Ciara Princess Harris, born October 25 1985 in Austin, Texas) is an American R&B performer.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Videography 3 Singles 4 Awards 5 External links

Biography

Ciara grew up in army bases in Germany, New York, California, Arizona, and Nevada, since her father was in the United States Army. She said after seeing a Destiny's Child's performance on television it inspired her to pursue a career in music. In her early teens she formed the goal to become a professional singer.To make this dream come true, Ciara had cut down on phone time,stopped hangging out with friends and stopped watching movies. She also broke up with her boyfriend. In Highschool, She was voted to be the " the mostperson to become a SINGER."She joined a girl group called "Hersay", worked on her songwriting, left the group, got a publishing deal, and met one of Atlanta's producers"JAZZE PHA."

Jazze Pha signed her to his Sho' Nuff label after working with her for five days. Dubbed the "First Lady of Crunk & B" or the "Princess of Crunk & B" by the producer Lil Jon, Ciara burst onto the scene with her single "Goodies" (which she co-wrote with Sean Garrett), the breathy answer song to Petey Pablo's "Freek-a-Leek". LaFace Records released the Lil Jon-produced track in the U.S. in the summer of 2004, and it saw a quick climb to the top of the music charts. Lil Jon produced the song in the crunk style, his speciality, with Petey Pablo also featured as a vocalist on the track.

"Goodies" became a hit, reaching the top of the United States R&B and pop charts, and also charting in the United Kingdom (in January 2005, also reaching number one), Australia, Germany, Sweden, and New Zealand. With help from Pha, Garrett, and Lil Jon, Ciara released her debut album, Goodies in September 2004. It entered the Billboard 200 chart at number three, and sold over two milion copies in the United States alone. The second single, "1, 2 Step", featuring Missy Elliott, reached the top ten in the U.S., peaking at number two in early 2005. "1, 2 Step" was released in the U.K. on 11 April the same year, and reached number three, benefiting from the fact that it was the first week that downloads were incorporated into the singles chart. Ciara charted one place higher than she would have done if downloads had not been included in the chart formula; she would have instead swapped places with Elvis Presley's re-issue of "The Wonder of You" at number four.

In May 2005, Ciara's third single, "Oh" featuring Ludacris, reached number two on the Hot 100. In August 2005, Ciara's fourth single, "And I" was released. Peaking at #96. As of December 2005, it is rumored that a fifth single will be released off Ciara's multi-platinum debut, "Hotline".

In 2005 Ciara released her DVD of music videos with behind the scenes footage of her rehearsals for the Soul Train Awards.

Ciara is featured on several singles by other hip-hop artists, such as Missy Elliott's 'Lose Control' from her album The Cookbook which peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. She is also featured singing alongisde current love interest, Bow Wow, on the second single from his 2005 album Wanted entitled "Like You". The duet also reached a peak of #3.

Currently Nominated for Four 2006 Grammy Awards:

• Best New Artist
• Best Rap Song: "Lose Control"
• Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: "1, 2 Step"
• Best Short-Form Music Video: "Lose Control"

Videography

• 2004 - Goodies (feat. Petey Pablo))
• 2004 - 1, 2 Step (feat. Missy Elliott)
• 2005 - Oh (feat. Ludacris)
• 2005 - And I

Singles

Awards

• Soul Train Awards - Sammy Davis Junior Female Entertainer of the Year
• Bet Awards - 2005 Best Collaboration for "1, 2 Step" feat. Missy Elliott
• Teen Choice Awards - Choice Music Make-Out Song for "Oh" feat. Ludacris
• Teen Choice Awards - Choice Music R&B/Hip HopTrack for "1, 2 Step" feat. Missy Elliott
• Soul Train Awards - Best R&B Soul/Rap New Artist
• 2005 MTV Video Music Awards - Best Hip Hop Video for "Lose Control" Missy Elliott feat. Ciara and Fatman Scoop
• 2005 MTV Video Music Awards - Best Dance Video for "Lose Control" Missy Elliott feat. Ciara and Fatman Scoop
• 2005 Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards - Best New Artist
• 2005 Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards - Best Dance Cut for "1, 2 Step" feat. Missy Elliott
• 2005 Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards - Best Video for "Lose Control" Missy Elliott feat. Ciara and Fatman Scoop
• 2005 CosmoGIRL! Magazine Annual Born to Lead Award
• 2005 Vibe Awards - Best Collaboration for "Oh" feat. Ludacris
• 2006 Grammy Awards - Best New Artist - Nominated
• 2006 Grammy Awards - Best Rap Song: "Lose Control" Missy Elliott feat. Ciara and Fatman Scoop - Nominated
• 2006 Grammy Awards - Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: "1, 2 Step" - Nominated
• 2006 Grammy Awards - Best Short-Form Music Video: "Lose Control" Missy Elliott feat. Ciara and Fatman Scoop - Nominated

External links

• Ciara World
• MTV Ciara
• Ciara at the Internet Movie Database
• Snopes.com article dispelling the myth that Ciara was/is intersex, transgender, or had a "sex change" of any kind.
• Ciara Fan
• Billboard.com Artist Info - Ciarade:Ciara