Ciara‘s hotly anticipated new single ‘Ride’ premièred literally a few moments ago. The Ludacris-assisted cut was produced by hitmakers The-Dream & Tricky Stewart and serves as the first official offering from the singer’s fourth studio album.
After the not-so-great sales of Ms. Harris’ last effort ‘Fantasy Ride’, the question on the lips of many is whether ‘Ride’ packs enough punch to redeem her in the eyes of the masses. Thankfully for the 24 year old, the answer is a loud and resounding ‘YES!’
The gritty mid-tempo reunites Ciara with the edgy sound which captivated many on her earlier material, yet does so while implementing a fresh twist. Hands down, one of her best releases in a long while. Welcome back CiCi!
While Ciara is gearing up to take the radio airwaves by storm with her new Ludacris-assisted track, ‘Ride’, another song from the entertainer has surfaced. Similar to ‘Ride’, ‘Speechless’ was written and produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart. Ciara’s yet-untitled LP hits stores hits stores later this year. Check out the track below:
As Ciara continues to work on her fourth studio album (due May / June), a new cut from the record’s recording sessions has surfaced in the form of ‘I’m Up In The Bank’. Written and produced by The-Dream and Tricky Stewart, the song sees the 24 year old hit back at the critics, who have – in truth – been rather merciless towards her since her last LP ‘Fantasy Ride’ failed to ignite the charts in the way she and her label had hoped.
Is it any good, though?
Well the track does a great job of re-engaging Ms. Harris with her core Urban audience and exudes much in the way of swagger. However, I’m gonna need something with a bit more ‘umph’ to heighten my anticipation levels for her new record – which are already quite high, considering the fact I really enjoyed ‘Fantasy Ride’.
As Ludacris readies the release of his new LP ‘Battle of the Sexes’ (due March 9th), a new Ciara-assisted remix for his latest single ‘How Low Can You Go’ has surfaced. Set to feature on Luda’s album, the remix goes hard! Ciara turns in a hotter than hot verse m- profanity and all (Ms. Harris excels on up-tempo cuts in this vein), which makes for the already decent track to be that much better. Good stuff.
Randomness: Am I the only one feeling when Ciara hops on tracks like this as well as the poppier cuts? I ask as I consistently hear folk slamming her for ditching her ‘roots’. Yet the last time I checked Crunk was dead. As the success of many before have shown, there is nothing wrong with keeping elements of what folk know you for (which she has), yet crossing over at the same time. I mean do people really think Beyonce, for example, would be ‘Beyonce – the megastar’ if she carried on singing a certain brand of R&B ala ‘Bills Bills Bills’ and ‘Say My Name’. Artistic growth is all about trying new things and expanding your reach….right?
Though the release date of Ciara’s ‘Fantasy Ride’ LP is a still a few months away (April 7th), more new material from the set continues to surface – this time, a collaboration with label-mate Justin Timberlake called ‘Love, Sex & Magic’. The funk-inspired cut, which was also produced by Timberlake, may sound familiar, as his demo version of the track was making the rounds on the ‘net a late last year. Put simply, about the song, I’m liking this one – although it does feel like something, which I can’t put my finger on is missing.
Interestingly, this is set to be the next single from ‘Fantasy Ride’, with CiCi and Justin filming the video today(!) in New York with Diane Martel who was at the directorial helm of ‘Promise’ and ‘Like A Boy.’
As CiCi’s current single ‘Never Ever’ continues to struggle on the charts, we want to know…
Do you think ‘Love, Sex & Magic’ will save ‘Fantasy Ride’?
With Ciara’s ‘Fantasy Ride’ LP now affirmatively set for a April 7th release, more new material from the record continues to surface; the latest being ‘I’m A G’. Produced by Danja (Britney Spears, Missy Elliott, Danity Kane), the club banger of cut definitely sounds like a winner.
Listening to this, though, has me wondering why it wasn’t lined up as the album’s lead single, after the epic fails of ‘Go Girl’ and ‘Never Ever’, the latter of which is struggling to make an impact on the Billboard chart as I type. ‘Promise’ aside, CiCi is renown for her uptempo cuts, so straying away from that, seemingly on purpose, with material that just isn’t up to par, is really baffling to me. Here’s hoping things kinda work themselves out with this project.
Having been left with a salty taste in my mouth after hearing Ciara’s new single ‘Never Ever’, it’s great to finally hear material from her ‘Fantasy Ride’ album (due April 7th) that reignites my anticipation for the project. ‘Roll Call’, which features Lil’ Jon and Lil’ Wayne, is a guitar driven, hard hitting cut which sees the singer give a nod to her ‘Crunk’ beginnings – and taking it to another level. This one is definitely a winner. You can listen below:
Check out this lengthy snippet of a new track from Ciara’s ‘Fantasy Ride’ LP called ‘Turn Me On, which features Chris Brown. Despite reserving my full judgement until hearing the track in its entirety, I must say the beat goes hard.
It has now been confirmed that ‘Fantasy Ride’ will now be hitting stores April 3rd.
‘Never Ever’, the official first single to be lifted from Ciara’s forthcoming ‘Fantasy Ride’ LP, made it’s debut today, a day earlier than expected. The whimsical Polow Da Don produced cut, which samples Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes ‘If You Don’t Love Me By Now’, is a mid-tempo which I envision doing well at radio. However, as a first single, I’m kinda iffy on this one; it just doesn’t have that ‘ummph’ we’re used to hearing from Cici – especially as a lead single. Time will tell if it was the right choice going with this.
A brand new cut, said to be from Ciara’s ‘Fantasy Ride’ LP (due early 2009), surfaced today – a collaboration with singer/song-writer The Dream titled ‘Keep Dancing’.
The airy, laidback feel of the song is a real juxtaposition to the song’s title- which suggests something more uptempo and hard-hitting. For what it is – a decent R&B slower paced effort – it’s works. Though, I sure hope Ms. Harris is cooking up something of a higher caliber than this, as much of the material I’ve heard thus far sounds very hit or miss.
With Ciara still hard at work on her 3rd studio LP ‘Fantasy Ride’, a new cut titled ‘Explode’ from the album has surfaced. Earlier this week we posted the 22 year old’s performance of the song at the Wild Jam concert – this is the studio version. Check it out below:
I’m really liking this one; the seductive production and delivery are very in the veign of ‘Promise’ (which IMO still stands as Ciara’s defining track). That said, of the new material I’ve heard from her thus far, very little has stuck out as single worthy – this included. Here’s hoping she comes out with bang when it’s time for the album’s official lead single drops (unsurprisingly, her team are now referring to ‘Go Girl’ as a ‘buzz single’…could its poor performance on the chart have anything to do with it? Pretty self-explanatory LOL).
As previously reported, Toni Braxton is set to make her return to the charts in the coming months with a new label – Atlantic – and partnership with hit-maker Rodney ‘Darkchild’ Jerkins. A new song ‘Melt (Like An Iceberg)’ has surfaced as is believed to be from the recording sessions for her as yet untitled new album. You can listen to it below:
Real chill and laid-back, which though sufficient for some, isn’t really cutting it IMO. For Toni to make her mark in the current industry climate, without compromising her sound, I’d be looking for her to channel the sound/vibe she was working with on 00’s hits such as ‘He Wasn’t Man Enough’, ‘Spanish Guitar’ etc. Either way, I’ll definitely be paying close attention to Toni’s new material.
As Ciara’s brand new single ‘Go Girl’ continues to receive mixed reactions, another track from her forthcoming 3rd album ‘Fantasy Ride’ has surfaced. Produced by Danja, the Missy Elliott assisted ‘Work’ certainly has all the ‘thump’ of high-octane Ciara offering, while boasting Missy’s quirky uniqueness. An interesting cut to say the least.
Hit or Miss?
LISTEN: Work (ft. Missy Elliott) {Link removed as requested}
