Showing posts with label Ciara. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ciara. Show all posts
Ciara - Turn It Up
Ciara recently stated that album #4 is on the way. I'm really hoping this next album shows more growth from her. While Turn It Up is okay, it sounds like an outtake from Fantasy Ride or Evolution. We know she can make dance records, but she needs to show us that she has range beyond that, if she actually does...
Audio: Ciara - Turn It Up
Audio: Ciara - Turn It Up
Ciara Performs "Love, Sex and Magic" and More LIVE
Now... I love Ciara, but everything about the performance of Love, Sex and Magic screams Janet Jackson. From the outfit, to the accentuated synchronized dance moves, to the way she struts the stage and works the crowd. No hate on my part, she always acknowledges Miss Jackson as one of her influences. It's good to see her throw it back to Goodies and 1,2 Step. Nice performance...
R. Kelly feat. Ciara - Echo
Audio: R. Kelly ft. Ciara - Echo
Reviews Revisited: BEST ALBUMS SO FAR IN '09
album review,
Chrisette Michele,
Ciara,
Daniel Merriweather,
Elliott Yamin,
J. Holiday,
Joe Budden,
Method Man and Redman,
Mims,
Ryan Leslie
So we're a little over halfway through the year, and I thought it'd be cool to take a look back at some of the album reviews we've done so far (only through June). There's about 35 album reviews total in the vault for the first half of '09, but I've revisited the best ones of the bunch... and even included a listing of tracks I keep in rotation. Agree/Disagree? Leave a comment and let us know...
Joe Budden – Padded RoomOriginal Rating - 4.5
Revisited Rating: 4
Lyrically one of the best rap albums I’ve heard this year.
In Rotation: Exxes, Adrenaline and Blasphemy
J. Holiday – Round 2Original Rating 4.5
Revisited Rating: 4.5
Another victim of lame promotion (It's no surprise that he and MIMS are both on Capitol Records). This is one of the best releases of the year
In Rotation: Run Into My Arms, Fly, Make That Sound
MIMS – GuiltOriginal Rating: 5
Revisited Rating: 4
This is still one of the best hip-hop albums I’ve heard all year, no matter how much folks sleep on MIMS. The biggest problem with this release is the wrong singles and I'll admit, MIMS is not the greatest lyricist. I’d have gone with Love Rollercoaster first, then something hot like On and On or Be My Hustler, concurrently released along with either Chasing Sunshine or One Last Kiss for crossover appeal. And that’s my rotation....
Chrisette Michele– EpiphanyOriginal Rating: 4.5
Revisited Rating: 5
Best female R&B release this year, hands down. Every track sounds great!
In Rotation: Playin’ Our Song, On My Own, Porcelain Doll, Notebook
Elliott Yamin - Fight For LoveOriginal Rating: 4.5
Revisited Rating: 4.5
Another one of the best male R&B releases this year. Entire album stays in rotation, but here are some notables…
In Rotation: You, Apart From Me, This Step Alone, Know Better
Daniel Merriweather - Love & WarOriginal Rating: 4
Revisited Rating: 4.5
Not sure what genre I would label this… it’s a pop soul, hip-hop fusion. Excellent release!
In Rotation: Change, Red, Cigarettes, Water and A Flame
Ryan Leslie - Ryan LeslieOriginal Rating: 4.5
Revisited Rating: 4
Took it down a notch because it was good, but not that good, kinda starts to sound the same. At the time it was refreshing to hear, but I realize now that there weren’t an overwhelming number of tracks I could keep in rotation.
In Rotation: Shouldn’t Have To Wait, Out of the Blue, I-R-I-N-A, and Addicted.
Ciara – Fantasy RideOriginal Rating: 3.5
Revisited Rating: 4
This album got better the more I listened to it. A lot of the cuts off this joint stay in rotation.
In Rotation: Turntables, Echo (Bonus Track), Keep Dancin’ On Me, Ciara To The Stage, Lover’s Thing, and Pucker Up
Method Man and Redman - Blackout! 2Original Rating: 4
Revisited Rating: 4
Amazing that after all these years, the brothers still got flow and style. This was a must-have album!
In Rotation: A Yo, City Lights and Errbody Scream
Video: Ciara - Work
I wasn't expecting this as a next single from Ciara, but I'm VERY pleased with the video. Very fashion forward and hot for the summertime. Ciara's draggin' a lot of wagon as she 'works' this video proving that she can make anything look sexy... including a construction site! Work appears on her latest album Fantasy Ride, in stores now!
Album Review: Ciara - Fantasy Ride
Artist: Ciara
Album: Fantasy Ride
Release Date: 5.5.09
When you’re three albums deep into your career, there are certain things fans will justifiably expect: growth and quality. What this album lacks in growth, it makes up for in quality production and delivery from the self-proclaimed princess of Crunk & B. Originally planned as a three-disc project, Fantasy Ride aimed to satisfy fans in three avenues across Ciara’s listener-base: R&B, crunk, and dance. The end result is a project that rises and falls with no adherence to a particular theme or concept.
Fantasy Ride gets off to a strong start with the sultry opener Ciara To The Stage. From there, it kicks it into high gear with the smash single Love, Sex and Magic, which is one part sex, one part dance. To keep the ride moving, this album excels on dance tracks like Turntables, a duet with Chris Brown, as well as the Osinachi-produced Pucker Up, which grew to be one of my favorite cuts on the album based on its infectious beat and the undeniable sense of confidence in the lyrics. G is for Girl bangs through for the streets, adding a new edgy bad-girl anthem to Ciara’s repertoire. Unusually enough, the bonus tracks Echo, Go Girl and I’m On fit better than some of the project’s other selections.
Ciara doesn’t fail to improve upon her ability to rock the ballads just as well as the uptempos. On this project, she teams up with Tricky Stewart and The Dream for some of her best slow jams to date, including a romantic duet with Dream on Lover’s Thing, which would make a great single if it didn’t sound so much like his earlier duet with Mariah Carey (My Love). Ciara To The Stage opens the album with a side of sexy swag, while the smooth midtempo Keep Dancin On Me ups the ante to become one of album’s sexiest tracks and a personal favorite.
The downside to Fantasy Ride is that quite a bit of it sounds recycled. Even without Ludacris’ verse, the synth-infused High Price sounds too much like their earlier collaboration Oh from her debut album. Pop producer Danja usually does great work for artists like Ciara, but his contributions on Work add up to nothing more than a reworked version of Danity Kane's Pretty Boy – re-using almost identical production! Beyond that, Ciara’s content throughout the album is still very much surface-level, which makes it hard for fans to really connect with her on any level beyond the dance floor. So while Fantasy Ride is mostly enjoyable to listen to, it’s certainly not the album to advance Ciara to the next stage in her career or to expand her fanbase. There are more ups than downs, but overall this isn't a ride we haven't been on before...
Sound-Savvy officially rates Fantasy Ride with 3.5 out of 5 platinum headphones.
Related Posts:
Ciara - Like A Surgeon
Video: Ciara feat. Justin Timberlake - Love, Sex & Magic
New Music From Ciara - Echo
Video: Ciara feat. Young Jeezy - Never Ever
Ciara - Like A Surgeon
Mack: This joint is aight, it's not bad. I'm trying my best not to pre-judge Fantasy Ride, Ciara' s next album scheduled to be released in the next few weeks. Some of the cuts I've heard are really good, but then others sound like there's no evolution from Ciara, kinda like this one... Sounds like a scrap or B-side from her last album, The Evolution.
Video: Ciara feat. Justin Timberlake - Love, Sex & Magic
One word, two exclamation marks: SEXY!! That's the only way to describe this video. Ciara tries on many different looks alongside Justin Timberlake in this ultra-sexy video for the latest single from the long-awaited Fantasy Ride album. This is the sexiest she's ever looked, very edgy, very hot making this officially one of the hottest videos to drop this year. Penned by JT himself, this song is a fresh sound for Ci-ci and a nice prelude to this Spring's new music. Fantasy Ride has a confirmed release date of May 5th. Check it out, and let us know what you think!
Ciara feat. Justin Timberlake - Love, Sex and Magic
So here's the latest release from Ciara's forthcoming 3rd album, Fantasy Ride. Last month, I posted the demo version of this, with only Justin Timberlake on it and I was really diggin it. If you have JT's last album (FutureSex/LoveSounds) you'll notice that this track is reminiscent of the title track from that project. Adding Ciara into the mix gives this track a whole new level of flavor. From what I hear, the video for this is in the works and it's going to be a crazy dance track. As of right now, Fantasy Ride has an expected release date of April 7, but we all know Pushback Productions might have something else in mind. Check it out...
Related Post:
Justin Timberlake vs. Robin Thicke - Who's Really Got That 'Magic'?
New Music from Ciara - Echo
It seems folks are downplaying Ciara due to the numerous pushbacks of Fantasy Ride, but I've heard a few tracks that have caused me to keep the faith in energizer playboy bunny! Echo is one of those tracks, produced by Danja in the Clutch and it's confirmed to appear on the album. I'm really diggin the Knight Rider sample on this joint too! Listen here, whatcha think?
New Video: Ciara ft. Young Jeezy - Never Ever
Here's what happens when he liked it but he didn't put a ring on it... In the clip for Ciara's second official single from Fantasy Ride, she's suddenly swingin a lot more mane and gives homie the boot in pursuit of greener pastures, a message to women that it's cool to wait, but not cool to wait forever. The first half of the video seems like more of Ci-ci's self-realization that she's still sexy and she's still got it - it's cool, we realize it too! After her slightly over-the-top last video, I'm enjoying the simplicity of this one, it says everything Ciara needs to say to prove that she's still on the rise.
On a sidenote: Has Monica's star-power been reduced to simple video cameo's? Is it me or is that ALL she's been doing lately since her single Still Standing tanked?
Slim feat. 50 Cent, Ryan Leslie and Ciara - Good Lovin' (Remix)
It's a season for hotness!! Good Lovin' is without a doubt one of the highlights of Slim's album Love's Crazy. The original version features Fabolous, but this remix ups the ante by adding 50 Cent and Ciara into the mix! Ryan Leslie, who's featured on both versions also produced the track and Ciara's verse is straight fire!! What ya think?
-Mack-
Ciara feat Young Jeezy - Never Ever
produced by polow da donMack: So here's the official 2nd single from Ci-ci's 3rd album, Fantasy Ride. It's aight, nothin really awesome about this song. Polow on the beat with the old school sample, and Jeezy drops a few bars. I still think we've heard better from the Go Girl this is just rather blah...
Never, Ever (Prod by Polow Da Don) - Ciara Ft. Young Jeezy
Ciara's 'Diva' Falls Short
Ciara - I'm A Diva Remix.mp3 - ciara
Earlier this year when Ciara put her spin on Feedback by Janet Jackson, I was all over it - it was one of the hottest remixes out and it was her way of showing admiration for her idol. This version of Beyonce's Diva, however, is a bit lame. I'm guessing she had nothing better to do since her album was pushed back... Anyway, check the end of the track as she announces the next single from her soon-to-be-released album Fantasy Ride. She's set a January 5th release date for the single, Never Ever, which will feature Young Jeezy. I'm quite certain the new album won't be as wack as this track. Stay tuned!
-Mack-
Go Girl!!
Way to go Ciara!! Go Girl is the lead single from her upcoming 3rd album Fantasy Ride. Visually, this is a very nice video… Ciara always brings something nice to look at, lots of different looks, lots of sexiness. Can’t be mad at that. It’s obvious that she loves Janet, and I saw plenty of performance elements reminiscent to Janet, but hey Ciara pays her respects to the icon, so I ain’t mad. T-Pain...again…well…whatever. I like the damn song and the video! Check for Fantasy Ride, due out December 9th.
Related Posts:
Ciara: The Go Girl
Let The Fantasy Ride Begin
-Mack-
Ciara: The 'Go Girl'
Go Girl (Main) - Ciara Ft T-Pain
Here's the official first single from Ciara's upcoming third album, Fantasy Ride. The "energizer Playboy Bunny" teams up with T-Pain who spits a nice few bars on the track. Go Girl is a nice laidback midtempo joint to reintroduce Ciara after her short hiatus from the music scene. Nothing amazing on the vocals, but it's still a fairly decent song, and an anthem for her teenybopper following. I'm hoping for some more mature content on her new album, which is due out in December of '08.
-Mack-
The Stars Stand Up
Ashanti,
Beyonce,
Carrie Underwood,
Ciara,
Fergie,
Keyshia Cole,
Leann Rimes,
Leona Lewis,
Mariah Carey,
Mary J. Blige,
Melissa Etheridge,
Natasha Bedingfield,
Rihanna,
Sheryl Crow,
Singles Review
Babyface and L.A. Reid have reunited once again to produce this inspirational single with an all-star all-female lineup. Just Stand Up is the new charitable single in support of the Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) initiative, an organization dedicated to raising funds for the advancement of cancer research. Lyrically, it's a very uplifting, and inspirational song, and there are some tremendous star power vocals here. Some of the biggest female stars in today's music have lent their talents to ensure the success of this single, leaving behind restrictions of age and genre to support a cause greater than them all. Check this out, and if you're a cancer survivor or know someone battling it, this song's for you.
-Mack-
Let the Fantasy Ride Begin...
Artist: Ciara
Song: Supernatural
Album: Fantasy Ride
I've been anxiously awaiting Ciara's return because her first two albums have been major hits in my book. She switches it up a little bit with this jam and delves further into her R&B side... It works well for her voice and is a sexy, more mature sound for her. Fantasy Ride, her third album, is due out later this year, and is geared towards international acclaim. Click the link to preview the track...Song: Supernatural
Album: Fantasy Ride
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Sex and the Soundtrack
Unexpectedly, I went to see Sex And The City today, and I'm actually just leavin the theater. Having never watched an episode of the show, I was a bit skeptical, but it was a surprisingly decent flick. The Soundtrack is what really caught my ears. I heard cuts from Ciara, India Arie, Fergie, Janet and Jennifer Hudson, just to name a few. The movie closes with Fergie's take on the 'Sex' theme song. Normally I'm not a fan of soundtracks but my ears couldn't deny this one is sexy and worth a listen. Chalk one up for the chicks with this one...well done Carrie and Company...
-MackN2U of SoundSavvy-
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