MAIN Art & ... Pop Culture Pop Music Ciara

Dubbed the "First Lady of Crunk & B" by producer Lil Jon, Ciara enjoyed a skyrocketing rise to the top of the music scene thanks to a huge debut R&B hit, Goodies, which she co-wrote with Sean Garrett, and follow-up album, Evolution which debuted in late 2006.

Born Ciara Princess Harris on October 25, 1985, in Austin, Texas, she was an army brat who later spent time in Germany, New York, California, Arizona, and Nevada before she finally settled permanently with her family in Atlanta as young girl.

Voted "Most likely to become famous" in high school, one of her early influences was Destiny's Child. She later joined a girl group, Hearsay, which performed locally in Atlanta, but she quickly went solo and at age 16 cut a recording deal with Atlanta producer Jazze Pha.

Goodies was the result, with a quick climb up the charts with such self-assured lyrics as "If you're looking for the goodies keep on looking 'cause they stay in the jar."

Her album of the same name debuted in the top 5 of the Billboard 200 in October 2004 spinning off a mega-hit single hit 1, 2 Step.

In 2006, Ciara was awarded four BET nominations - Best Female R&B Performer, Best New Artist, and two BET Awards for her hit single with Missy Elliot,1, 2 Step - which captured nods for both the BET.com Viewer's Choice Award and Best Collaboration.

Offstage, she made headlines in April after splitting up with boyfriend Bow Wow with whom she collaborated on the hit "Like You."

Her second album, "The Evolution" was released in December to great critical reviews along with featured profile (subscription required) in the New York Times.

In October, 2008 she made more buzz with a nude photo splashed across the front cover of Vibe Magazine.

Her next album, Fantasy Ride, was released in May 2009 becoming Ciara's first top ten album in the UK and Canada, with its featured singles, "Love Sex Magic" (featuring Justin Timberlake) and "Never Ever" (featuring Young Jeezy) charting top ten around the world.

Her fourth studio album, Basic Instinct, was released in December 2010.

Away from the recording studio. Ciara has been a spokesperson for several major advertising campaigns including Verizon and Adidas, and has been romantically linked to rappers Bow Wow, Ludacris, and basketball star Amar'e Stoudemire.

More about Ciara around the Web:

Ciara - The official site, offering the latest news, bio, message boards, picture gallery, audio and video clips, wallpaper, buddy icons, screensaver.

MTV.com - Ciara - Biography, related news and tour dates, video and audio clips, ringtones and music downloads.

Ciara - Wikipedia - Complete biography, career highlights, pictures, album covers and list of awards, related links to fan sites & magazine articles.

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