Ciara (pictured) is a difficult singer to pin down. Following a last-minute reschedule of our interview and then a very late time reshuffle, I finally got to chat with the artist whose sixth album, Jackie, is probably her most personal.
The American singer was in London for the city’s Fashion Week as numerous paparazzi pictures will attest to and when she eventually gets on the phone, she admits in a tired Southern drawl that, “I just woke up actually so I’m relaxing in my living room and haven’t even opened up my sheers yet to see the beautiful world.” Then she quickly adds: “I love London, but I wish Joburg was my next stop – to visit the lion park.”
Jackie came out at a time when Ciara, who was engaged to hook king, Future, had just had his baby and was newly single. It’s clear that her life was an inspiration in some of the songs. The lead single, I Bet, was a fierce declaration of a lover who will feel remorseful once CiCi, as she is fondly known, is out of his life.
I Got You, which was written by the legendary Diane Warren, is an ode to her son and features his cute and infectious laugh in the beginning when Ciara interpolates a lullaby. She likens her album to a journal and tells me: “When I’m able to express myself through my music, I am really able to grow. It’s like writing a journal sometimes.”
And about the direction of the album, she admits there is a dichotomy of vulnerability and sheer fierceness that allows a woman to take back her power in a relationship. “It all comes back to me allowing myself to be vulnerable in my music process,” she explains. “That allows you to grow. Vulnerability is a form of strength so that’s why this album is empowering. Some of the songs were reminders for me. About loving yourself. You want to feel empowered, confident, motivated and inspired to get to the highest place you can go as a woman, and for me, as a mom.”
Ciara mentions motherhood a lot in conversation, but before I can ask her about being a yummy mummy, a British accent interjects about eight minutes into the call with a curt “Sorry to interrupt, can you make this the last question?” For the first time in the convo, Ciara sounds excited when she tells me this was “probably the most fun I’ve had making an album and it was the easiest one to make because the energy was so perfect. I knew exactly what I wanted musically.”
• Ciara’s ‘Jackie’ is in music stores.