Ciara, The #69 Female Artist of the Rock Era

Ciara Harris was born in Austin, Texas.  She traveled around the world with her family as her father was stationed at U.S. Army bases in Germany, New York, Utah, California, Arizona and Nevada.  Eventually, Ciara and her family settled in Atlanta, Georgia.  There, she joined the girl group Hearsay in her mid-teens.  The group disbanded soon after over musical differences, however.

After the breakup of Hearsay, Ciara signed a publishing contract as a songwriter, and wrote "Got Me Waiting" for Fantasia Barrino's debut album.  

In 2002, Ciara met producer Jazze Pha, who helped her record four songs for a demo tape.  Ciara graduated from Riverdale High School in Riverdale, Georgia, and was now free to work on her career.  Ciara and Pha shopped the tape around, and Ciara signed a recording contract with LaFace Records.

In 2004, she released the album Goodies, which contained three hits.  The album debuted at #3 and remained on the Album chart for 71 weeks.  The title song was a huge hit, reaching #1 on both sides of the Atlantic. 

Goodies has sold over three million albums in the U.S. alone.  Ciara was nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy Awards, and received another nomination for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "1, 2 Step".  "1, 2 Step" also received MTV Video Music Awards for Best Dance Video and Best New Artist in a Video.  The single hit #2 in the U.S., Australia and New Zealand, #3 in the U.K. and Ireland, #5 in Switzerland and #7 in Germany.

Ciara received the American Music Award nomination for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist after her debut album.

"Oh" became Ciara's third consecutive international smash, a #2 song in the United States, #4 in the U.K., #5 in New Zealand, and a Top 10 in three other countries.  "Oh" was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award in the category of Best R&B Video.

"Goodies", "1, 2 Step" and "Oh" were all cited by ASCAP as "Most Performed Songs".

In 2005, Ciara combined with Missy Elliott on the single "Lose Control", which earned Grammy nominations for Best Rap Song and Best Short Form Music Video.  It became a smash, reaching #3.

Ciara also combined with Bow Wow on the song "Like You".  It too peaked at #3.  Ciara toured with Chris Brown and Bow Wow at the end of the year.  

In 2006, Ciara made her film debut in All You've Got.  She teamed with Field Mob on the song "So What", which reached #10 overall and #4 on the R&B chart.  She also released the album Ciara:  The Evolution.  "Get Up", with Chamillionaire, reached #5 in New Zealand and #7 in the U.S. and went Platinum.  

"Get Up" was featured in the movie Step Up.  Ciara went on her first headlining tour to promote her second album, and also opened for Rhianna.  The album's second single "Promise" hit #11 and was a #1 R&B song. 

Ciara's second album went to #1 and was certified Platinum in the United States.  It has gone over the two-million mark worldwide.  "Like A Boy" peaked at #8 in Sweden.  It was a #6 R&B hit in the U.S. but only #19 overall.

In 2008, Billboard named Ciara the Woman of the Year for her recording success and leadership in embracing the changing music business.  The following year, she released the album Fantasy Ride.  The album debuted at #3 on the album chart, giving her three consecutive albums to accomplish that feat.  

Ciara released "Go Girl" as the lead single and hit #1 in Japan.  "Never Ever", with Young Jeezy, peaked at #9 on the R&B chart.  Ciara's duet with Justin Timberlake ("Love Sex Magic") was an international smash, reaching the Top 10 in 20 countries (including #4 in Ireland and Sweden, #5 in the U.K. and Australia and #10 in the U.S.).  It earned Ciara a Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Ciera headlined another tour with Jay-Z, then teamed with Enrique Iglesias on the song "Takin' Back My Love", which became a Top 10 hit in over fifteen countries.

The album did not attract near the attention of her first two releases, so Ciara went to work on her fourth album.  She released Basic Instinct in 2010, but it did not fare any better.  The single "Ride" only reached #42, but it was a #3 R&B hit.

In 2011, she signed a new recording deal with Epic Records and released her self-titled album earlier this summer.  

Ciara has had 19 chart hits, with eight of those going Top 10 and one #1, and she has sold over seven million albums worldwide.