For Real: New Ciara - "Ride"

For an artist who is unbelievably obsessed with herself, Ciara's latest music video is just as artificial & ineffectual as ever. The new single, "Ride," is heading off the 24-year old's latest attempt at rejuvenating her career. Her last set, which was released last year, sold a mere 200,000 copies - a fraction of the sales from her previous albums. "Ride" is like a slower, smoother, but just as stupid version of Rihanna's "Rude Boy." You might need to watch the music video to fully understand that there's only one meaning to the song, and it follows the current trend of urban pop music - becoming increasingly disgusting. The chorus is moderately catchy ("They love the way I riiiiiiiiiide it" repeated), but it's too bland & too low-pitched to get stuck in anybody's head. It's not the type of song you'll be hearing people humming. The song rapidly deteriorates during the second half of the track. Instead of inserting a bridge after Ludacris' breakdown, she just starts singing some melody-less phrases over top of the same chords. It's boring.

The problem with Ciara is that she has fallen into the worn out formula of female urban pop today. Think about "Shake It Off" by Mariah Carey. That was an awesome song for 2005, but do you think it would fit in as well today? No. The industry has moved past that. Maybe part of the issue is that there's nothing special about Ciara's voice, but as it is, this genre & style seems so 2000's to me. It should have been left there, because a track like this doesn't seem even remotely modern.

But Let's Be Real: Already, I've noticed that fans of Ciara are completely taken with the song & video, and think it's as great as anything she has ever done. She has a specific audience - probably mostly male at this point, but it's not nearly substantial enough to get people to care like they did in 2004 & 2005, when she gave us songs like "1, 2 Step" & "Goodies."
What It Is: Top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100

Check out Ciara's "Ride" here.

at 6:37 PM