Ciara Prince Harris is an American singer, songwriter, actress and model. She was born on October 25, 1985 to military parents and consequently traveled around a lot as a child. When her parents finally settled in Atlanta, Georgia, the young Ciara was already dreaming of becoming a singer. As a teenager, she joined a girl band called “Hearsay” with some of her friends, but the band was going nowhere and she left shortly after. She then became a songwriter, and her first success was the single “Got Me Waiting” for the debut album “Free Yourself” by R&B artist Fantasia Barrino. When she met the music producer Jazze Pha, the two hit it off immediately and started recording songs together.

Ciara graduated from Riverdale High School in 2003, and was introduced to L.A. Reid, an executive from LaFace Records, by Jazze Pha. With the help of Pha and the rapper Lil John, she recorded her first album “Goodies” with a hit single of the same name. The album was released on September 28, 2004 and debuted at No. 3 on the US Billboard 200 charts, while reaching the No. 1 spot on Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums chart. It went platinum 3 times over and spent 71 weeks on the Billboard 200 charts. The lead single “Goodies” was a phenomenal success, dubbed by many as one of the best singles of the year and the song “Oh!” featuring the rapper Ludacris was also a huge success. Following the launch of her album, Ciara also released a DVD with the music videos, remixes and 2 new songs, which also went platinum in the U.S.

Her second album was released on December 5, 2006 and titled “Ciara: The Evolution”. It reached No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts and No. 2 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. It went platinum within merely 5 weeks of release, and achieved her highest ever first week sales. The single “Get Up” from this album reached No. 7 in the U.S. and was also used in and featured on the soundtrack of the movie “Step Up”. Ciara went on tour to promote her album in October 2006 and also appeared on several other tours such as