Thus, Beauty Marks is the first album to document her transformed life, and appropriately it begins with a statement of purpose explaining how she got from point A to point B. Preceded by the phenomenal breakup ballad “I Bet,” it felt more like fallout from Ciara’s relationship with Future. Jackie was recorded during a time of major transition. And tomorrow Ciara will release her first album in four years, Beauty Marks, via her newly formed Warner affiliate Beauty Marks Entertainment. Last week they posted a celebratory video from bed after Wilson became the NFL’s highest-paid player.
The Wilsons have engaged in philanthropy, hobnobbed at the Obama White House, and goofed off on social media, going viral with their contribution to the #InMyFeelingsChallenge. Eventually her court cases with Future were sorted out and tensions between them dissipated, at least publicly. She and Wilson settled into a supportive marriage and welcomed a child together in 2017. Since then, Ciara has been living the dream. A year before making it official with Wilson, she released Jackie, an angry, diverse, wildly underrated album that nonetheless tanked commercially. Citing their Christian faith, the couple abstained from sex until marrying in 2016 - a surprising pivot that subjected her to no small amount of mockery. Ciara swung hard in the other direction, striking up a romance with Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson.
Ciara like a boy year release full#
Future went full heel, funneling his new villainous reputation into a series of legend-making mixtapes culminating in his #1 album DS2. This set off years of legal drama, with the two artists suing each other over custody and libel matters for years even as both settled into new phases of their lives. And then, as quickly as it came together, her storybook scenario fell apart at its bindings.Ĭiara broke off her engagement to Future in 2014, just a few months after their son was born after Future allegedly cheated on Ciara. Meanwhile she and Future got engaged and had a baby together. Over one of the luxuriantly stretched-out Mike Will Made-It beats that defined that moment, her delicate yet powerful voice was invigorated, leaning into syllables as she proclaimed, “My body is your party.” The rest of the album proved Ciara could sound as good in the trap era as she did in the snap era. It started out so beautifully, with the two of them teaming up to write “Body Party,” one of the signature triumphs of Ciara’s career. Which brings us to another thing Ciara survived: her whirlwind romance and tumultuous tabloid breakup with Future. By the following year’s Basic Instinct she was falling into a rut, but she returned creatively rejuvenated with 2013’s self-titled LP. By 2009’s Fantasy Ride, she was already proving her longevity, hitting the top 10 again with Justin Timberlake duet “Love Sex Magic” and continuing to diversify her catalog with assists from The-Dream, Young Jeezy, and her old pal Missy Misdemeanor. After Goodies came The Evolution, which really did push her sound in fascinating directions, both woozy (“Promise”) and intense (“That’s Right”).
She can partially chalk up that endurance to one of the more rewarding discographies at the intersection of pop and R&B. Although she’s long past her commercial peak, 15 years later she remains a star. You don’t really hear about Chingy or Lloyd Banks or Amerie anymore, but Ciara has persevered. Surveying the names behind the biggest hits of those years, I’m reminded of how fleeting a mainstream music career can be. Often she did it with duet partners who are now trapped in the amber of that era, like Chamillionaire and Fatman Scoop, or guys who only remain in the public eye due to acting and other onscreen ventures, like Ludacris and Bow Wow. Between 20 Ciara hit the top 10 seven times.