Very talented is this young, Texas born singer named Ciara. She has really nice vocals, even though I don't think that she uses it to the potential that she should be. Her funky style of singing only adds to the quality dance style she adds to the videos that are very much like that of Aaliyah who hit the music scene with, "Rock the Boat" and "4 Page Letter" (just to name a few songs). Ciara's flavour has a style of writing similar to that of Sybil who hit the music scene with, "Don't Make Me Over" and "Falling In Love" although she was not the only writer on the album.

Ciara recently released an album entitled Goodies which was also the first single to be released from this album. Since then, she has been nominated for 4 Grammy Music Awards and released a second single entitled "One, Two Step - Featuring Missy Eliott."

Goodies was released on September 28, 2004 under LaFace Records. It has found lots of success so far and is still doing well. The album consists of 13 tracks. I usually talk about each track individually and describe what I felt about the piece as a whole, but today, I'm going to introduce the tracks and give my input on the entirety of Ciara's project. The album tracks are as follows:

Title: GOODIES
1. Goodies
2. One, Two Step - Featuring Missy Elliott
3. Thug Style
4. Hotline
5. Oh - Featuring Ludacris
6. Pick Up The Phone
7. Looking At You
8. Ooh Baby
9. Next To You featuring R. Kelly
10. And I
11. Other Chicks
12. The Title
13. Goodies- featuring T.I. & Jazze Pha

With people like Lil' John, Missy Elliott, Ludacris and R. Kelly working on an album, that would altogether make an album a masterpiece. The songs are very radio friendly, funky, some are danceable and flows nicely.

Ciara's voice is a cross between Sybil, Ashanti and Brandy. I have heard people compare her to Beyonce, but the only comparison that they have to me is that they are both beautifully, young and talented women, are very slim and sexy and can dance. But vocally, I think that Beyonce is much stronger. Ciara however, is very unique and comes with a singing style that hasn't been presented in music for a long time: An old style mixed with new flavour.

To tell you the truth though, when I first heard "Goodies" on the radio, I thought it had a nice groove to it and the hook is somewhat catchy, but it didn't come across to me as the best song on the radio right now. (That was track 1). But the track was pretty hot because it has a lot of movement and is very full. But it still was number 1 on the charts for over 4 weeks. Track 2 is "One, Two Step - Featuring Missy Elliott" which is kind of cool because it is fun to try to follow the steps that she is saying to do. She shows her sexy, groovy style in the video where she shows you how the One, Two Step is done with good energy and makes the song stand out. I like the vocals on this track. However, the reason I compared her to Sybil earlier was that, back in the days when I used to listen to Sybil, I loved the songs and they appealed to me in such a way that it actually made me like her and what she was singing about. But today when I listen to Sybil, I still like the lyrics, but the songs are very boring. They don't possess a lot of life, energy and musically, I believe that they could've been filled in more and less empty.

After song 2, the next song that really caught my attention was song 7, "Looking At You" because it was slow, mature and something that I can relate to. It wasn't that I didn't like the other songs, but anybody can talk about driving in fancy cars and what a man possesses and I rather hear something that is more soulful with meaning. "Looking At You" was just that. It hit me right and I felt very interested in that song. It was cool, her voice was very clean, clear and her lyrics were easy to understand.

"Next To You" featuring R. Kelly was very nice because it added a difference to the album. Any album that includes a song with or written by R. Kelly adds a different tone to an album when I listen to it. The vocals were very melodic and the music was together. I'm not going to say I didn't like the album, because it usually takes me to listen to an album at least 2 or 3 times before I can actually say t hat I really like it or don't like it, but the music could've had a little bit more life.

I was a little disappointed in this album because of the way that people spoke about her and I thought Goodies would've been a much better album than it is. Ciara has potential though having accomplished a single being on the top of the charts for over 4 weeks and being nominated for 4 Grammys. So I have to give her props because not everyone can do that.

I am not going to sit here and decide how you should feel about this album because everybody's take from a work is interpreted differently. So I'll just say, if you feel like the single "Goodies" or "One, Two Step" was a song that really touched you and made you like her as a musician, purchase Goodies by Ciara because it wouldn't be a bad investment just to see where her head is at. Every artist deserves their shine.

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Waking up