Welcome in Belgium! Ever been here before…..?
Uhm…No. (laughs) I probably should get a waffle , I just thought bout that…”
So. 2004 was the year it all began for you, that’s when you came out as artist with ‘GOODIES’. We’re almost 9 years later, so that means you are pushing close to 10 years in the game. What’s the difference between Ciara now and Ciara back then?
Well. I think the biggest difference, from the beginning untill now is the fact that my confidence has grown. I’ve just become so much more confident than when I was younger. I have much more clarity from the angle that I want to work on as an artist, and as a business woman. I’m much more comfortable in my skin.
Probably a lot more familiar with the music industry? A little tougher maybe?
Yeah…Defintily more in touch with my environment.
You’re about to release your 5th album ‘One Woman Army’ what can we expect? Sorry, Sweat & Wake Up, No Make Up (which I love) have already been released, what will the rest of the album be like?
I feel that on ‘One Woman Army’ there will be something for everyone. You’re gonna get the super-super throwback Ciara records with like…. a lot of bass, a lot of….attitude (smiles) and also at the same time, It’s going to be the perfect blend of ‘Ghetto Pop’ and I want to make sure that there is something on there for everyone. I’ve been very blessed over the years that not only girls can listen to my music, but the guys can listen to it too and that is important to me. I ‘ll always be able to hit a stage at the bottom, in the hood, but at the same time being able to travel abroad and do some really fun pop stations as well. It’s important for me to touch everyone.
The perfect blend of…
The perfect blend of R’n’B and Pop, yeah.
After some issues with JIVE you are back under the wings of LA REID, who just won the X-Factor coaching a country star, which I think is very interesting and the proof of the marketable talent a person like LA REID has. You must feel safe again?
You know what….I just feel safe… to be home. It’s my home. He has always believed in me since the beginning, and there is nothing like being able to be in an environment where someone believes in you,, wholeheartedly, 100 %. So I feel that I’m in an environment where I’m surrounded by support on every angle and that makes the process of making music so much more fun because I can just focus on being creative because I know the support is there. And… he is just an amazing music man. He is like the last of his breed. There’s not to many like him…
You probably know….but you are somewhat of a fetish for many DJ’s/Producers who remix you…
(Ciara looks at me -very- surprised probably because I use the word ‘fetish’.)
You might be out of the charts, but at the moment there’s probably some DJ or young producer chopping up or remixing your music and making it current again with their own underground versions of it.
Alright… (still surprised)
Do you know dj-duo Flosstradamus?
Hmmm…. (shakes her head)
Well, they tweeted about you a few times, and another dj duo NGUZUNGUZU also did a dope remix , DJ & producer Brodinski is obviously a fan, because he featured some remixes of your music on his mixtape aswell. My point is, how do you feel about the underground scene chopping up your music?
I love it! I think it’s great when somebody takes your music, old or new, it doesnsn’t matter, they just find ways to make it fit in with what’s happening in the club and that’s really really dope.
Would you ever consider to make a mix tape with only underground producers/dj’s ? Like for example Ciara meets Jamie XX, or Diplo or Flosstradamus, or Brenmar even?
Anything is possible if it makes sense creatively. I love the dj’s, I love great producers and I support them, so if something made sense I’m always open to the idea.
There are a lot of new women in the game right now. Azealia Banks, Angel Haze, Nicki Minaj. Who is the most remarkable for you at the moment?
(very determined) Of all the names you just said…Nicki Minaj. I like Nicki’s story, because I met her before she was on this…massive trail that she has blazed. It’s just really cool to see her story and to see her dreams come to fruition and come to life.
From all the women I mentioned before, Nicky Minaj has become one of the most mainstream and when I read the foreign media/press that reaches my radar, I kind of feel that she gets a lot of slack at the moment for the ‘commercial’ road she took. What do you think about that?
Ow, you mean because she is able to crossover? You know what…? To each his own. And I’m happy for her, because she is now one of thé biggest artists in the world and for anyone to reach thàt point is just really awesome. I support a person that is able to live their dreams. That other stuff…I don’t really care for it, that’s for media and other people to talk about. I’m happy for her!
You flirt with fash…..
I get interrupted in my interview at 07:52 minutes and have to ask my last question because Ciara has to go and do her performance at Club Noxx, so I look through my next 5 questions, didn’t know which one to pick because I wanted to ask them all, so I decided to finish how I traditionally do with this last question:
If I say Belgium…what 3 words pop up in your head?
Well…I was going to say waffle? That’s one…uhm. My vision of Belgium is…. Beautiful and…Poppin’.
