Ciara - Ciara 2013

 

Ciara is the fifth studio album by American singer Ciara, which was released on July 9, 2013. This album is the artist's first release under Epic Records, since publicly asking the now-defunct Jive Records to release her from her contractual obligations. The singer cited a lack of label support and financial funding for her previous albums Fantasy Ride (2009) and Basic Instinct (2010). On this fifth studio album, Ciara is reunited with her long-term mentor and friend L.A. Reid, chairman of Epic Records. Reid is credited with discovering Ciara in 2003 along with signing her to his LaFace Records label and executive-producing her debut studio album, Goodies (2004).

On Ciara, the singer is reunited with music producers Rodney Jerkins and Jasper Cameron, who have respectively worked on previous Ciara singles and albums. The duo were joined by The Underdogs, Soundz, D'Mile, Oligee, Josh Abraham and Mike Will Made It, amongst others. Writing contributions come from the likes of singer-songwriters: Wynter Gordon, Livvi Franc and Ali Tamposi, along with a number of contributions from Ciara herself. Rappers Future and Nicki Minaj respectively have guest vocals on the album, whilst Ciara herself is listed as a featured artist on the song "Super Turnt Up", a record where she raps and takes credit for co-producing the song.

Promoting the release of this album, all three singles; including "Sweat" featuring 2 Chainz, "Sorry", and "Got Me Good" were released, when the album was titled One Woman Army. None of the songs impacted on the US Billboard Hot 100 and were subsequently swept aside in favor of a new single, titled "Body Party", which reached at number 22 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. "I'm Out" featuring Nicki Minaj, was released as the album's second single in June 2013. "Overdose" was released as the album's third single, it was serviced to American Urban and Rhythmic radio in September and October 2013, respectively.

Upon its release, Ciara was met with a warm reception from music critics, who complimented the album as one of the strongest in her discography. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart, with first-week sales of 59,000 copies, becoming her fourth top three album on the chart. As of April 2015, the album has sold 208,000 copies in the United States.