Final week (Aug. 4), Ciara debuted the Chris Brown-assisted “How We Roll,” the lead single from CiCi, her forthcoming EP. At the moment, the R&B powerhouse sat down with Billboard to mirror on the 20-year anniversary of her debut album, her current Okay-Pop collabs, and the sound of CiCi.
“I really feel blessed. I really feel like I’m simply getting began on the similar time,” Ciara gushed. “To know that it was 20 years in the past that I used to be simply actually, actually bold… dreaming large, I envisioned that I’d be sitting someplace like this 20 years later.” In 2004, Goodies, Ciara’s debut studio album, debuted and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The file spawned three consecutive smash hits on the Billboard Scorching 100, together with the Missy Elliott-assisted “1, 2 Step” (No. 2), the Ludacris-featuring “Oh” (No. 2), and the No. 1-peaking “Goodies” (with Petey Pablo).
Reflecting on the dominance of Goodies, Ciara stated that she was very conscious of her success throughout that second as a result of she at all times “believed in [herself].” “I used to be on digital camera, documented proper on the commencement, and the man stated, ‘So, Ciara, the place do you see your self a yr from now?’” the “I Guess” singer recounted. “And in my super-Atlanta thick accent, I stated, ‘I see myself having the No. 1 music on the Billboard charts!’ After which actually, “Goodies” was No. 1 on the Billboard charts. I dreamed large!”
Talking on her more moderen music, the Grammy-winner described her new Chris Brown duet as “a fantastic instance of that feel-good R&B, dance, rhythmic, melodic vitality that you may play at a home occasion. It’s gon’ set the home occasion off proper.” She famous that this collaboration with Chris Brown is one thing that the pair have needed to do for “a very long time.” “It was an artist’s dream come true for the each of us,” she remarked.
The pair’s new single, “How We Roll,” is the primary official single from Ciara’s forthcoming CiCi EP, which she describes as “traditional [Ciara], however elevated.” “It’s acquired a brilliant sturdy R&B core,” she revealed. “CiCi is that ‘flip that lip up, get a lil stank… Ciara, she retains it cute, she’s a mother of three, she’s unbothered,” she stated, outlining the 2 sides of her which are current on the upcoming challenge. “I actually needed to deliver that traditional R&B vitality to this challenge.”
CiCi follows a string of 2023 releases from Ciara together with “Da Ladies” and the Summer season Walker-assisted “Higher Thangs.” The “Degree Up” singer additionally launched a slew of collaborations with Asian artists this yr together with XG (“Left Proper Remixx”, Jackson Wang (“Sluggish”), and Agnez Mo (“Get Unfastened”). “I really feel like I’m touching and tapping into a variety of the containers I at all times needed to, and that was considered one of them,” she stated. “That viewers is so particular. It’s fascinating to see how they react to their very own artists, I’m like ‘That’s the vitality that you really want. That’s the vitality that you just need to be aside of.’”
Ciara has earned 4 high ten albums on the Billboard 200, together with 2006’s chart-topping Ciara: The Evolution. On the Scorching 100, the “Physique Social gathering” singer has notched 21 entries, together with notable hits similar to “Promise” (No. 11), “Degree Up” (No. 59) and “Lose Management” (No. 3).
