October 25: Ciara - "Princess of Crunk & B" - is 26-years-old today.

Ciara Princess Harris - who performs under the name Ciara - is a recording artist, dancer, actress, and fashion model.

Since making her musical debut in 2004, Ciara has attained five Billboard Hot 100 top ten singles including a number one.

Prior to the release of her third album, Ciara has sold over seven million albums worldwide, and as of June 2010, she has sold more than 4.3 million albums and 6.9 million digital tracks in the United States alone.

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Ciara was born in Austin, Texas. Since her father was in the United States Army, Ciara grew up on army bases in Germany, New York, Utah, California, Arizona, and Nevada. During her teens, her family settled in Atlanta, Georgia. Ciara said that watching Destiny's Child and Janet Jackson perform on TV inspired her to pursue a career in music.

In her mid-teens Ciara formed the all girl group Hearsay with two of her friends. The group recorded demos, but eventually parted ways. Ciara ended up signing a publishing deal as a songwriter. Her first success was the song "Got Me Waiting" for R&B singer Fantasia Barrino's debut album, Free Yourself.

While writing songs she met music producer, Jazze Pha, whom she called her "music soulmate." In 2002, the two recorded four demos, "1, 2 Step," "Thug Style," "Pick Up the Phone," and "Lookin' at You," which all appeared on her debut album entitled Goodies which was released in 2004 by LaFace Record. The former was the second single released from it and became a hit.

Following the release of the album, Ciara was hailed as the "Princess or First Lady of Crunk&B." She worked with several writers and producers on the album besides Jazze Pha, including Lil Jon, Bangladesh, R. Kelly, Johntá Austin, Sean Garrett, and Keri Hilson, among others.

Goodies sold over five million copies worldwide and certified triple platinum in the United States. The album earned her four nominations at the 2004 Grammy Awards.
The album charted at twenty-six on the UK Albums Chart, and spent twenty weeks on the chart. It was certified Silver by the British Phonographic Industry, remaining to be Ciara's sole certified album in the UK.

Ciara made a guest appearance on Missy Elliott's single "Lose Control" and also on Bow Wow's single "Like You," which both peaked at number three in the United States and obtained worldwide success.

At the 48th Grammy Awards, Ciara received four nominations including a Grammy award for "Best New Artist," "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration" for "1, 2 Step," and "Best Rap Song" for "Lose Control" for Elliot's single. She won "Best Short Form Music Video" with Elliott for the single.

In 2006, she released her second album, Ciara: The Evolution which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and included the hits "Get Up" and "Promise." Ciara: The Evolution became Ciara's first number one album on the US Billboard 200 and second on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts with sales of more than 338,000 becoming her highest first week of sales to date.

(Press album cover for direct link to the entire Amazon Website):

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The album went on to be certified platinum by the RIAA in the U.S., within only five weeks of its release. It sold over two million copies worldwide. The album's international lead single "Get Up" which features Chamillionaire reached number seven in the United States and gained a platinum accreditation.

In October 2008 Ciara was honored as Billboard's "Woman of the Year," because of her success as a recording artist and leadership in embracing the changing music business.

Her third album Fantasy Ride released in May 2009, included the worldwide top ten hit single "Love Sex Magic" with Justin Timberlake which earned her a nomination at the 52nd Grammy Awards for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals."

Her fourth studio album Basic Instinct was released in December 2010.

Basic Instinct debuted at number forty-four on the US Billboard 200 chart. "Ride," which features Ludacris, was released as the album's lead single on April 26, 2010. It peaked at number forty-two on the US Billboard Hot 100, number three on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart., and achieved minor success in the U.K.


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