Ciara: The Evolution is the second studio album by American recording artist Ciara. It was released on December 5, 2006, by LaFace Records. The album is separated into five sections, with each showcasing a different side of Ciara's artistry. The first features crunk and uptempo records, which mainly deal with feminine independence, while its successor, entitled The Evolution of Music features ballads dealing with the positives and struggles of love. The Evolution of Dance features dance tracks, The Evolution of Fashion deals with self expression, while the last, entitled The Evolution of C, features tracks that discuss how Ciara has evolved as a person since the start of her career.

The album was seen as a coming of age project for the singer, as it featured songs with more substance than her last effort. It deals with Ciara's experiences after being in the public eye for the two years prior to the album's release. The tracks are also said to be geared toward a more urban audience. Production from the album came from Lil Jon, Jazze Pha, Polow da Don, The Neptunes, and Darkchild, among others, and featured guest appearances from 50 Cent and Chamillionaire. Ciara also co-wrote and co-produces most of the songs. The album received mixed to positive reviews from most music critics. Generally, critics praised Ciara's increased vocal ability and the album's lyricism, but criticised its frequent interludes and the latter half of the album. The Evolution became Ciara's first number-one album in the US, selling 338,000 copies in its first week. It was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) within five weeks of its release, and has sold 1.3 million copies in the US. It also achieved moderate success in international markets, reaching the top forty in most of the countries it was released in.

The Evolution spawned four commercial singles, including "Get Up", which reached the top ten in the United States and New Zealand. The US-only single "Promise" reached number-one on US R&B charts and "Like a Boy" peaked within top tweny in most of the countries it was released in, including the US, with the former becoming her first top twenty single without a featured act. The final single, "Can't Leave 'em Alone" achieved moderate success.

Production and development [link]

According to Ciara, the title is "about so much more than just my personal growth -- it's about the evolution of music, the evolution of dance, the evolution of fashion".^[1] The source of the album's creativity such as the sound and edge comes from Ciara in general.^[2] Although, Michael Jackson, Prince and Madonna were influences on the album.^[3]

During a MTV News interview at the ASCAP Pop Music Awards, Ciara wanted Ciara: The Evolution to be "Goodies to the 10th power", but she did not want to "stray too far from Goodies" and "rehash the same ideas".^[4] Ciara decided to collaborate with up-and-coming producers, such as The Clutch, Calvo Da Gr8, Brian Kennedy, and Antwoine Collins who have not been any artist’s album, so she could be "all about that new person and that new energy".^[5] All-star producers also included production on Ciara: The Evolution. Polow da Don produced the first single "Promise" and "Bang It Up". In early June 2006, Ciara headed to the recording studio with Sean Garrett (who co-wrote Ciara's debut single "Goodies" and The Evolution track "Bang It Up"). She continued to say that she and Sean fight in the studio, but "it makes a good record".^[4] The Neptunes produced "I Proceed" and "I'm Just Me". Bryan Michael Cox produced the emotional R&B ballad "So Hard" and Mr. Collipark produced the bonus track "Love You Better". Will.i.am's production included "Get In, Fit In" and "Do It", which samples Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It" and is a European iTunes bonus track. Also Ciara thought the album needed "some kind of flavor", so she brought in 50 Cent for the Rodney Jerkins-produced "Can't Leave 'Em Alone" which was originally called "Dope Boys".^[6] Jerkins also produced "Make It Last Forever", which samples Lyn Collins's "Think (About It)" and Rob Base's "It Takes Two." Dallas Austin helped with the inspirational pop ballad "I Found Myself". Ciara returned to the studio with her debut album collaborators Lil Jon ("That's Right", which samples Pretty Tony's "Fix It in the Mix" and "Jam the Box"and "C.R.U.S.H." samples "122 BPM" written by Larry Linn.) and Jazze Pha. Pha contributed the album prequel single "Get Up".^[7] She also wrote/co-wrote most of the songs and co-produced "Like a Boy" and "My Love". Album production wrapped between late-August and mid-September.

Composition [link]

Songs and Lyrics [link]

The album's opening track "That's Right" was produced by and features Lil Jon It is described as an "electrifying album opener". Ciara sings with a "sexy mellow voice with Jon's in your face type rapping." It received positive reviews from music critics.^[8] The song was scheduled as the fourth single, but it was cancelled for unknown reasons. A music video was released for the song in late December 2007. The second single "Like a Boy" was well-received by critics. It is a female empowerment song, which discusses double standards in society and love relationships. "The Evolution of Music", the third track, is an interlude which Ciara narrates how she wanted to record music for the album that is different from others on the radio. The interludes serve as monologues and a "welcome message to be yourself and be confident."^[9] Music critics published that the interludes are the album's low point.

The lead single and fourth track "Promise" was critical-acclaimed. The song described as "Prince-ly ballad" and "sci-fi R&B" became Ciara's first single without a featured act to peak in the U.S. Billboard top twenty.^[10] "I Proceed" is the fifth track on the album. Many critics compared the song to Janet Jackson in the 1980s and called it a Missy Elliott-style throwback" jam.^[11][12] The third and final single "Can't Leave 'Em Alone" received mixed reviews from critics. A negative review called the song "very bad pop-lite."^[13] A positive review published that the song is "simply another Darkchild classic".^[14] The J.J. Fad–ness C.R.U.S.H. is the seventh track.^[15] It details about a young woman having a high school crush on a guy and she yearns to be his girlfriend. The eighth track, "My Love" was co-produced by Ciara. The song is interpreted to be directed towards Ciara's former boyfriend Bow Wow.^[16] It received favorable reviews from critics.

"The Evolution of Dance" is the second interlude and the ninth track on the album. Ciara tells how she became a professional dancer. The tenth track, "Make It Last Forever" is a "real cool dance/party cut", which samples Rob Base's "It Takes Two." The crunk–pop "Bang It Up", the eleventh track, received favorable reviews from critics. The song is mixture of "half-spoken vocal style" and "sweetly, flirtatiously rapping."^[17] The album's prequel single and twelfth track "Get Up" was released as the lead single from the film soundtrack Step Up. The single received mixed reviews from critics and fans, being called a "dead ringer for "1, 2 Step."^[17]

"The Evolution of Fashion" is the third interlude and thirteenth track on the album. Ciara gives influential advice about changing a unique fashion style and other will follow the trend. The fourteenth track "Get In, Fit In" is 1980s electronica track.^[17] The song follows with the same message as "The Evolution of Fashion" Interlude. This song received mixed reactions. "The Evolution of C" is the fourth and final interlude on the album. Ciara details about her life change within the past two years. The album closes with three ballads, beginning with the sixteenth track "So Hard". The song received mixed reviews from critics. It has been called a "slog", but it "surpass the aching and breaking moments on the debut."^[18][19] The second-closing ballad and seventeenth track "I'm Just Me" had mixed reception. The final track "I Found Myself" is a "quite beautiful and moving epic suite."^[18]

Album packaging and editions [link]

Unlike Ciara's debut album Goodies, Ciara: The Evolution contains more stylized images. She expresses her "evolution of fashion" strongly through the photography. Markus and Indrani completed the album's artwork. Andy Kellman of Allmusic published "even the album's sleek cover, somewhere between RoboCop and Pointer Sisters' Break Out, has a devolved look."^[19]

Ciara: The Evolution was released as the standard album with special limited edition DVD. The bonus DVD features Ciara and dancers teaching the choreography for "Get Up" and "Promise", the music videos for the songs, and behind-the-scenes of "Promise." The Japanese DVD edition is manufactured with an alternate album cover. The European limited edition DVD contains the video for "Like a Boy". A two pack of the album and a BET Official Package DVD was released the same day. It contains Ciara's BET Highlights such as, How I'm Living, 106 & Park interviews, and the 2005 Music Special: Sincerely Ciara, the videos for "Get Up", "Promise", and her debut album Goodies videos excluding "And I" and live performances.

There are four bonus tracks available on different editions. "Love You Better" appears on the U.S. and Japanese iTunes and Japanese pressing. "Addicted" and "Promise" [Go and Get Your Tickets Mix], which features R. Kelly, are on the European edition. "Do It", which features Will.i.am, is a European iTunes bonus track.

Promotion and releases [link]

In November 2006, Ciara went on The Evolution Tour. In it she previewed songs from the then-upcoming album, and also performed past hits. The tour went to seventeen clubs in cities throughout the United States. Its last date was aired on BET' Access Granted. In August 2007, she headlined the Screamfest '07 tour with T.I., which went to cities in the United States. Ciara, along with Chris Brown and Akon, were supporting acts for Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad Tour in the United Kingdom in December 2007. She performed songs from the album.

Singles [link]

"Get Up", which features Chamillionaire, was released as the lead single in Canada and New Zealand on July 25, 2006. It was also released to the US and Europe as the lead single for the soundtrack to the film, Step Up. The song peaked at seven on the US Billboard Hot 100 and ten on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, becoming her seventh top ten hit on the former. It achieved moderate success in international markets, and reached the top five in New Zealand. It was later re-released as the second single from The Evolution in Europe. "Promise" was released as the lead single in the United States on October 16, 2006, where it peaked at eleven on the US Hot 100 and became her third number-one hit on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where it topped for two consecutive weeks. Its official remix, which features R. Kelly was released via digital download on February 13, 2007.

"Like a Boy" was released as the second single in North America and New Zealand and as the lead single in Europe on February 13, 2007. It peaked at nineteen on the US Hot 100 and six on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It reached the top twenty in most of the international markets it was released in and even reached the top ten in Sweden. "Can't Leave 'em Alone, which features 50 Cent, was released as the third and final single on June 12, 2007. It peaked at forty on the US Hot 100 and became her tenth top ten-hit on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It achieved moderate success in international markets, and even reached the top five in New Zealand. "That's Right", which features Lil Jon, was planned to be released as a single numerous times, but its release was ultimately cancelled. Its music video was still released on January 12, 2008.

Reception [link]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[20]
Billboard	(mixed)[21]
Blender	[22]
Entertainment Weekly	B+[23]
The Guardian	[24]
Pitchfork Media	(5.9/10)[25]
PopMatters	(7/10)[26]
Rolling Stone	[27]
Slant Magazine	[28]
Stylus	B+[29]

Critical response [link]

Ciara: The Evolution received mixed to positive reviews from most music critics.^[30] According to Metacritic, the album holds a score of 65 out of 100, indicating "generally favorable reviews".^[30] Christian Hoard of Rolling Stone said that "Ciara's still prone to diva blandness and silly little pop songs...but this time she's more interesting by half."^[31] For Allmusic, Andy Kellman wrote that "there are plenty of tracks geared toward letting loose and dancing, and most of them do deliver, even if they don't seem quite as fresh as Ciara's past hits",^[19] and Entertainment Weekly called the dance songs "rugged and terrific, but eventually the tempos slow and the album slowlly settles".^[32]

Commercial performance [link]

Ciara: The Evolution debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart with sales of more than 338,000, which is 213,000 more than Ciara's debut album Goodies which debuted at number three. The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the January 27, 2007 issue of Billboard for shipping 1,000,000 units to retail outlets within only five weeks of its release. The album remained in the top twenty for eight weeks before dropping out and top fifty for sixteen weeks.In Canada, the album debuted at thirty-two on the Canadian albums chart and five on the R&B albums chart. In Australia, Ciara: The Evolution debuted below the ARIA Top 50 at seventy-six. In the UK, the album debuted and peaked in the top twenty at number seventeen, also the album debuted at number twenty-five peaked at number twenty-one in New Zealand. To date the album sold 1,326,000 copies in the US.^[33]

Track listing [link]

• All songs were written by Ciara Harris, additional writers are noted below.

Sample credits

• "That's Right" contains samples from "Fix It in the Mix" written by Tony Butler, as performed by Pretty Tony and "Jam the Box" written by Tony Butler and Sherman Nealy, as performed by Pretty Tony.
• "C.R.U.S.H." contains a portion of the composition "122 BPM," written by Larry Linn.
• "Make It Last Forever" contains a sample from "Think (About It)," written by James Brown, as performed by Lyn Collins and contains a portion of the composition "It Takes Two," written by James Brown and Robert Ginyard.
• "Do It" contains samples from "You Really Got Me," written by Raymond Davies, as performed by The Kinks and "Push It," written by Herby Azor and Raymond Davies, as performed by Salt-N-Pepa.

Charts [link]

Certifications [link]

Release history [link]

Production credits [link]

References [link]