When Ciara Harris danced onto the scene in 2004, she crumped her way into hearts as a breath of fresh air. People from hoods in her native ATL to the East and West Coasts 1-2 stepped their ways through dance floors, jamming to what many referred to as the new Janet Jackson. And with just a few years into her career, Ciara is a certified star with endorsements, celebrity relationships, celebrity relationship rumors, and repeated mentions of her evolved fashion choices. Yet in the midst of the worldwind comes increasing criticism of her vocal talent and to a much greater extent, her image.

Ciara’s music has a fun vibe and she rose to popularity on the strength of songs like “Goodies” off her debut album on the same name. Armed with great producers like Jazze Pha and Polow Da Don, Ciara’s songs are almost certified to be catchy. As important to her success as the beats, is her dancing skills, and her ability to dance her way through ballads and club bangers alike. No one has questioned her dancing ability to date, but with her third album, Fantasy Ride, Ciara’s goodies have become a lot more prominent both within her videos and dances. Her second album Ciara: the Evolution brought out a different side of her image, moving from her tomboy roots to a more feminine sound with songs that explored relationships such as “Promise” and “Like A Boy”. Durng this time she went from dating teen image friendly Bow Wow to being rumored to being with more mature appearing celebrities like football player Reggie Bush (who appeared in the video for “Like a Boy”) and 50 Cent (who was featured on her single “Can’t Leave Em Alone”).

Admittedly Ciara’s voice does not have the range to expand much beyond her two sounds of pop ballad or dance track, but she is intent on pusing the content in her songs further. “Never Ever” the first single from the most recent ablum features Young Jeezy and is standard catchy Ciara fare. She’s caught some flack for the video lacking inspiration, but that has not stopped fans from loving the song. Her second single, “Love Sex Magic” featuring Justin Timberlake has gotten a lot more criticism, mainly for the risque video that reaches the apex of Ciara’s slow stroll towards more mature content. Still PG enough for tv, the internet has been abuzz with debate as many cry foul on what they see as a trend with Ciara, also shown during her guest dance appearance with Chris Brown on the BET Awards. The video for “Love Sex Magic”, featured below, features whips, chains and a fair share of crotch shots. Oddly enough, “Love Sex Magic” is one of Ciara’s better musical releases, with a fun summer vibe that allows her to expand on the type of music she performs and collaborate with one of today’s top male singers.

Depsite the concerns of the online mobs, CiCi has not become a Adina Howardesque freak. Some of the new criticism is unfounded as she has long relied on her dancing and never was a fan of much clothing. Despite her choices in dance moves, her music remains fun, vibrant and friendly and her outside appearances and work promotes an image of a respectable young lady: from interviews, to collaborations with young artist Tiffany Evans on “Promise Ring” to the Candies Pause Before You Play Ad Campaign to her lead role in the movie version of Mama I Wanna Sing. Still its up to you to decide if your down for the Fantasy Ride.

What do you think? Has Ciara’s music progressed with her over time? Are you excited for this third album? Is her dancing becoming too risque?

Love Sex Magic

Candies Foundation Commercial

Goodies