Ciara has been in the business for more than a decade, proving herself a powerhouse with her high-octane live performances, hypnotizing dance technique, envy-inducing toned torso and eye-poppin’ style. Now the singer/model, who will turn 30 this year, has released “Jackie” – an album named after her mother and largely influenced by her own experience as a new mom.
Ciara tells Yahoo Music that despite the changes that come with motherhood, she has no plans on toning down her sexy. She appears topless on her album cover, gives onstage lapdances to lucky male fans during her concerts, and she channeled a young Janet Jackson at the 2015 BET Awards.
“For me, I can speak for myself: Being a mom gave me a bit more of sexy confidence,” Ciara tells Yahoo Music in a recent Backstage with Citi interview. “And it’s not about what I’m wearing, it’s just more of an internal feeling. I feel there’s something very cool about being able to deliver a child, and being able to work hard to get yourself back to that place before you had that child. It’s a rewarding feeling… If anything, I think the sexy gets turned up even more!”
At last weekend’s BET Awards, the stunner hit the red carpet with NFL beau Russell Wilson, who she has been dating for a few months.
Ciara, who signed to LaFace Records in 2002, told Yahoo that a long-term career was always her goal. “I’ve always believed since the beginning. I wrote on a sheet of paper three things when I was young,” she says. “The first was, one, I was going to get discovered. This was my goal sheet. Two, once I got discovered and got my deal, I would sell 3 to 4 million records. And the third one was to have longevity.”
She expressed to Yahoo how faith and the power of speaking your desires into the universe helped her exceed her goals.
“I got discovered, and I sold more than 3 to 4 million; I sold 5 million. And now, [I have] longevity. I think it’s a testament to putting in the universe what you believe in. Writing down something can be very powerful; speaking something can be very powerful. A lot of things that happened to me, I spoke. So I am going to just continue to believe. I have tons of faith.”
Watch Ciara’s interview with Yahoo below.