The Next Big Thing! Ciara

Before settling down in Atlanta, Ciara Princess Harris spent her formative years with her mother, trailing her father from military base to military base across America. As a result, she made few lasting friendships as a child, but that didn’t matter, really. Like Dad, Ciara was all focus and discipline.

“I was 14 and asked myself what I was going to do with my life,” she says. “I loved dancing and I’d done some modeling, but I could also sing in a nice unique tone. So I decided to become a vocal artist. A week later, somebody invited me to join a girl band.”

But that trio, Hear Say, didn’t last. After six months of ego clashes, Ciara quit. She hadn’t spent three years dreaming of fame to share it with others.

“No way!” she shrieks. “See, I’ve sacrificed to achieve my goal. I cut out friends, boys, parties, everything, because getting where I am now doesn’t just happen by snapping your fingers. You have to struggle, and I did.”

It now seems to be paying off. At just 18, she is set to become Crunk & B’s first lady, and for her debut, Goodies, she collaborated with Atlanta luminaries Lil Jon, Jazze Pha and “Yeah!” songwriter Sean Garrett. The result is a catchy mix of Beyoncé’s seductive sigh and Lil Jon’s rowdy energy. Is she the female Usher?

“I’m not just another R&B singer,” she insists. “From the way I dress to the way I sing, I am heading off in my own direction. I am me.”

If she sounds unsettlingly driven, she says, it’s because she has experienced a lot more than your average teen.

“I don’t want to speak on that, really, but I have been through a lot, so much that I often find myself counseling my peers. My upbringing was tough, but it has helped me be strong. I’ll survive this industry,” she concludes with her father’s military tenacity, “because I’m equipped, I’m tough, I’m driven.”

OUT NOW SHO' NUFF/LaFACE/ZOMBA