Ciara Reflects in 20 Years Of ‘Goodies’ & More: Watch – Billboard

Last week (Aug. 4), Ciara debuted the Chris Brown-assisted “How We Roll,” the lead single from CiCi, her forthcoming EP. Today, the R&B powerhouse sat down with Billboard to mirror on the 20-year anniversary of her debut album, her latest Okay-Pop collabs, and the sound of CiCi.

“I feel blessed. I feel like I’m just getting started at the same time,” Ciara gushed. “To know that it was 20 years ago that I was just really, really ambitious… dreaming big, I envisioned that I’d be sitting somewhere like this 20 years later.” In 2004, Goodies, Ciara’s debut studio album, debuted and peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. The report spawned three consecutive smash hits on the Billboard Hot 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 mentioned 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 digicam, documented proper on the commencement, and the man mentioned, ‘So, Ciara, where do you see yourself a year from now?’” the “I Bet” singer recounted. “And in my super-Atlanta thick accent, I said, ‘I see myself having the No. 1 song on the Billboard charts!’ And then actually, “Goodies” was No. 1 on the Billboard charts. I dreamed massive!”

Speaking on her more moderen music, the Grammy-winner described her new Chris Brown duet as “a great example of that feel-good R&B, dance, rhythmic, melodic energy that you can play at a house party. It’s gon’ set the house party off right.” She famous that this collaboration with Chris Brown is one thing that the pair have wished to do for “a long time.” “It was an artist’s dream come true for the both 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 “classic [Ciara], but elevated.” “It’s got a super strong R&B core,” she revealed. “CiCi is that ‘turn that lip up, get a lil stank… Ciara, she keeps it cute, she’s a mom of three, she’s unbothered,” she mentioned, outlining the 2 sides of her which can be current on the upcoming challenge. “I really wanted to bring that classic R&B energy to this project.”

CiCi follows a string of 2023 releases from Ciara together with “Da Girls” and the Summer Walker-assisted “Better Thangs.” The “Level Up” singer additionally launched a slew of collaborations with Asian artists this 12 months together with XG (“Left Right Remixx”, Jackson Wang (“Slow”), and Agnez Mo (“Get Loose”). “I feel like I’m touching and tapping into a lot of the boxes I always wanted to, and that was one of them,” she mentioned. “That audience is so special. It’s fascinating to see how they react to their own artists, I’m like ‘That’s the energy that you want. That’s the energy that you want to be apart of.’”

Ciara has earned 4 high ten albums on the Billboard 200, together with 2006’s chart-topping Ciara: The Evolution. On the Hot 100, the “Body Party” singer has notched 21 entries, together with notable hits comparable to “Promise” (No. 11), “Level Up” (No. 59) and “Lose Control” (No. 3).