Ciara’s music career has been back-pedaling since the successful release of her first two multi-platinum studio albums (2004’s Goodies and 2006’s Ciara: The Evolution). 2009’s Fantasy Ride, 2010’s Basic Instinct, and her latest offering, 2013’s Ciara, all failed to perform at retail.
In the past, Ciara blamed the lackluster sales on her record label, Jive at the time, for not marketing her project properly. With her latest studio effort, Ciara, she went back under the tutelage of LA Reid, who is known for championing her early success, but even with the hit single “Body Party” and the marketing support, the project failed to live up to the hype.
From the record label’s viewpoint, an artist’s success is judged by sales, so we beg to ask the question, is this Ciara’s last major label shot? We don’t know! We’ll leave that one in God’s hands to answer!
What we do know is happiness is a prodigious mental or emotional state that can lead to boundless musical content. With Ciara’s recent engagement to rapper Future and her announcement that they are welcoming their first child together, it seems the R&B Princess from Atlanta, GA will have a lot of content for her next studio album.
Using Beyoncé as an example, without comparing the two, we see how having a child and a loving husband can be advantageous in the creation of great music. As Queen B stated, this period makes a woman feel more mature and gives her the courage to be more vulnerable.
Currently, Ciara is in the studio working on songs for her as-yet-untitled sixth studio album. It’s unclear what direction she will be going in, but she recently told Genlux Magazine, "My inspiration is life and reality. It’s important to express myself musically. I am so connected to who I am now, and I want to share pieces of myself with the world."
So, armed with inspiration of life, being pregnant with her first child, and an upcoming nuptial, will this be Ciara’s musical shining moment?
This is a real grey area, but from all the feedback I’ve heard over the years, her album failures were directly related to her songs.
Here’s hoping she makes some killer music!
Thoughts?
