Ciara Princess Harris (born October 25, 1985), who performs under the mononym Ciara (pronounced "Sierra", ), is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, fashion model, music video director, actress and soon to be a fashion designer. Born in Austin, Texas, Ciara made her debut in the summer of 2004 with the Billboard number-one single "Goodies". The album Goodies was released in the United States on September 28, 2004, and in the UK on January 24, 2005. It produced three top two singles on the Billboard Hot 100, selling three million in U.S and over five million worldwide.

Ciara's second album, Ciara: The Evolution, was released in December 2006. It has spawned the Billboard Hot 100 top ten hit "Get Up", and the R&B/Hip-Hop Charts top ten hits "Promise", "Like a Boy", and "Can't Leave 'em Alone". To date, the album, which went platinum only five weeks after its release, has sold more than one million copies in the U.S. and 2 million worldwide.

Ciara's third studio album, Fantasy Ride, is expected to be released in the United States on May 5, 2009. The first official single, "Never Ever", features rapper Young Jeezy and was released in January 2009. The second single, the worldwide hit "Love Sex Magic" featuring Justin Timberlake, was released in March 2009. Since its release, the single has already debuted high on numerous charts, and also has been noted as potentially one of the biggest hits of Ciara's career. Ciara cites Janet Jackson as her inspiration.

Early life

Ciara was born in Austin, Texas; She is the only child of Jackie (née Smith) and Carlton Clay Harris. She grew up on Army bases in Germany, New York, Utah, California, Arizona, and Nevada, since her father was in the United States Army.Billboard.com Biography - Ciara". Retrieved December 14, 2006. 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!".

Goodies (2004-2005)

Goodies became a commercial success in the U.S., selling 2.63 million copies. 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, both peaking at the number two spot on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, 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.