Ciara Princess Wilson is an American singer and songwriter. She was discovered by record producer Jazze Pha in the early 2000s, and rose to prominence with her debut studio album, Goodies (2004). Its namesake lead single peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100, while the follow-ups, "1, 2 Step" and "Oh", both peaked at number two on the chart. The album received quadruple platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and received two nominations at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards. Ciara also guest appeared on the 2005 singles "Lose Control" by Missy Elliott and "Like You" by Bow Wow, both of which peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100.
Garrett Robin Hamler, known professionally as Sean Garrett, is an American songwriter and record producer. He is known his songwriting work on a series of commercially successful R&B and hip hop songs, beginning with Usher's 2004 single "Yeah!". Peaking atop the Billboard Hot 100, Garrett co-wrote five other songs which did so—"Goodies" for Ciara that same year; "Check on It" for Beyoncé, "Run It!" for Chris Brown in 2005; "London Bridge" for Fergie, "Grillz" for Nelly in 2006—as well as 17 other singles that peaked atop the UK Singles, US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, or Dance Club Songs charts. Throughout his career, Garrett has been nominated for four Grammy Awards.
"Goodies" is the debut single by American singer Ciara featuring rapper and Jive recording artist Petey Pablo for Ciara's debut studio album of the same name. The song was released as the album's lead single on June 8, 2004, through LaFace Records. It was written by Ciara, Sean Garrett, LeMarquis Jefferson, and Craig Love, and Lil Jon the song's producer. The song was recorded as an answer song to the featured performer's hit single, "Freek-a-Leek." The song's lead woman refuses men's sexual advances, proclaiming that they will not get her "goodies" because "they stay in the jar."
"1, 2 Step" is a song by American singer Ciara featuring American rapper Missy Elliott. Written alongside producer Jazze Pha, it was released on November 1, 2004, as the second single of the former's debut studio album, Goodies. It peaked within the top 10 of the charts in several countries worldwide, including Germany, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the song peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed there for seven weeks. The song is heavily inspired by 1980s electro music production. Throughout the song, Ciara gives a description of how the song's beat feels as she exhorts party-goers to dance to the music. "1, 2 Step" was ranked 59th on Billboard's Top 100 Songs of the 2000s.
"Let Me Love You" is a song by American singer Mario, released by J Records on October 4, 2004, as the lead single from his second studio album, Turning Point (2004). The song was written by then-unknown American singer Ne-Yo, Kameron Houff, and Scott Storch, while production was handled by the latter. The song garnered Mario a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 2006 and peaked atop five international music charts: the Billboard Hot 100, Canada's Radio & Records, Official German Charts, Dutch Top 40, and Recorded Music NZ.
Goodies is the debut studio album by American singer Ciara. It was released on September 28, 2004, via Jazze Pha's Sho'nuff Records and LaFace Records. After writing songs for several established acts, Ciara's talents were noticed by Jazze Pha, and she began to work on what became Goodies. The album's conception came through the title track, produced by Lil Jon and created as a female crunk counterpart to other singles produced by Lil Jon such as Usher's "Yeah!" and Petey Pablo's "Freek-a-Leek". Ciara worked with additional writers and producers on the album, including Jazze Pha, Bangladesh, R. Kelly, Johntá Austin, Sean Garrett, and Keri Hilson, among others.
"Like You" is a song by American rapper Bow Wow featuring singer Ciara. It was written by Jermaine Dupri, Jaron Alston, and Johnta Austin, and produced by Dupri and Bryan Michael Cox for Bow Wow's fourth album Wanted (2005). The song includes the keyboard chord of New Edition's "I'm Leaving You Again" written by Jaron Alson, Ricky Bell, and Ralph Tresvant. "Like You" was released as the album's second single on July 12, 2005, reaching atop the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and peaking at number three on the Hot 100, giving Bow Wow his second top 10 hit on that chart, as was Ciara's fifth. The song also charted in the top 40 in countries like Ireland, Germany and the UK. To date, "Like You" remains Bow Wow's highest charting song.
"Yeah!" is a song by American singer Usher featuring American hip-hop artist Lil Jon and American rapper Ludacris. The song is written by the featured artists alongside Sean Garrett, Patrick "J. Que" Smith, Robert McDowell, and LRoc. The song incorporates crunk and R&B—which Lil Jon coined as crunk&B—in the song's production. The song was released as the lead single from Usher's fourth studio album Confessions (2004) on January 10, 2004, after Usher was told by Arista Records, his label at the time, to record more tracks for the album.
"Lose Control" is a song by American rapper Missy Elliott featuring American singer Ciara and American hip hop artist Fatman Scoop. It was released as the lead single from Elliott's sixth studio album, The Cookbook, on May 23, 2005. It contains samples from Hot Streak's "Body Work" and Cybotron's "Clear". The song peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, number two in New Zealand, and in the top thirty in various countries.
"Gossip Folks" is a song by American rapper Missy Elliott featuring fellow American rapper Ludacris, released as the second single from her fourth studio album, Under Construction (2002), on December 9, 2002. Written alongside producer Timbaland, it peaked at number eight on the US Billboard Hot 100, topped the Billboard Dance Club Play chart, and reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart.
"Holidae In" is a song by American rapper Chingy featuring Ludacris and Snoop Dogg. It was released on August 25, 2003, by Capitol Records and Ludacris's Disturbing tha Peace record label as the second single off his debut album Jackpot (2003). Produced by the duo the Trak Starz, the release garnered positive reviews from critics who praised the performances. In 2020, Entertainment Weekly wrote that the legacy of the song was that increased the "coolness factor" of Holiday Inn, hotel chain based in Atlanta, and owned by the hospitality company, Intercontinental Hotels Group.
American singer Ciara has released seven studio albums, one extended play, one DVD, one promotional single, 55 singles and 28 music videos, including seven as a featured artist. She made her debut in 2004 with her debut album Goodies which debuted at three in the US and charted within the top 40 in several international markets. The album's title track peaked at number-one in the United States for seven weeks and gave the singer the title of "The First Lady of Crunk&B", while singles "1, 2 Step" and "Oh" reached the top three in the US. All three singles reached the top 10 in many international markets, with "Goodies" topping charts in the UK. Goodies was certified triple-Platinum in the United States, Platinum in Canada, and sold over five million copies worldwide. Ciara also participated in a number of successful collaborations, including US top five hits "Lose Control" with Missy Elliott, and "Like You" with rapper Bow Wow, as well as the US top 10 "So What" with group Field Mob.
The discography of Ludacris, an American rapper from Atlanta, Georgia, consists of nine full studio albums along with two compilation albums, one extended play (EP), six mixtapes, nine promotional singles and 89 singles—including 51 as a featured artist. From the total number of singles released by or featuring Ludacris, 35 have peaked within the top 40 of the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. Of his nine solo studio albums, four have peaked the Billboard 200 chart, while another four have peaked within the top five.
"Glamorous" is a song recorded by American singer Fergie featuring American rapper Ludacris, released on January 23, 2007 through A&M Records, will.i.am Music Group and Interscope Records. It was written by Fergie, Ludacris, will.i.am, Elvis Williams and Polow da Don for her debut studio album The Dutchess (2006). An airy R&B and pop song, its lyrics center on Fergie staying rooted despite her success and fame of glamour.
"Hotel" is a song by American rapper Cassidy, released by J Records and Swizz Beatz's Full Surface Records as his commercial debut single on September 29, 2003. The song also serves as the lead single from his debut album, Split Personality. The track was produced by Swizz Beatz and features R. Kelly on featured vocals. "Hotel" reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three on the UK Singles Chart.
"Like You'll Never See Me Again" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys for her third studio album As I Am (2007). Written and produced by Keys and Kerry Brothers Jr., it was first heard on October 25, 2007, on Atlanta's V103 WVEE radio station. Subsequently, it was released as the second single from As I Am on January 22, 2008, by J Records.
"How Low" is a hip hop song by American rapper Ludacris. It is the lead single from his seventh studio album, Battle of the Sexes. The song premiered at the BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta, which took place on October 10, 2009. However, the ceremony was aired on October 27, 2009. It was performed by Ludacris as the second half of a medley that began with Lil Scrappy's "Addicted to Money", a song in which he is featured. The track was produced by Canadian producer T-Minus. The song was released via iTunes on December 8, 2009. The song debuted on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 at 13. The music video was filmed on December 23, 2009 in Los Angeles, California and was directed by Dave Meyers. The music video leaked on the internet on January 20, 2010. The single is Ludacris’ best-selling single as a lead artist with sales of 2,216,000 units as of August, 2012, and it has been certified double platinum by the RIAA.
Phalon Anton Alexander, known professionally as Jazze Pha, is an American record producer, rapper, singer and songwriter. He founded the record label Sho'nuff Records in 1995, through which he signed R&B singer Ciara in 2003. He produced her 2004 single "1, 2 Step," which peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100, and he served as executive producer for its parent album, Goodies (2004). Released in a joint venture with LaFace Records, the album was met with critical and commercial success, although she parted ways with Sho'nuff shortly after.
"Ride" is a song by American recording artist Ciara. The song features American rapper Ludacris. It was co-written by Ciara, Ludacris, Tricky Stewart, and The-Dream, and produced by the latter two. The song served as the lead single from her fourth studio album, Basic Instinct. The song was first released for digital download on April 23, 2010. "Ride" is a down-tempo R&B song, featuring a heavy bass line and seductive tone.
Basic Instinct is the fourth studio album by American singer Ciara. It was released on December 10, 2010, by LaFace Records and Jive Records. Executive-produced by A&R agent Mark Pitts, Ciara, Tricky Stewart and The-Dream, Basic Instinct returns Ciara to her urban roots with mid-tempo R&B cuts and bass-heavy pop and dance songs. Aside from production by Stewart and The-Dream, Ciara collaborated with production by Soundz, Infinity and T-Minus. Frequent collaborator and friend Ludacris makes a guest vocal appearance, as does labelmate and fellow Atlanta-native, Usher. After her previous album, Fantasy Ride, suffered numerous leaks and pushbacks, information about Basic Instinct was kept confidential until the first single was released and album was complete.
