Ciara Dropped from Jive Records

In what comes as a shock to fans and fellow artists a like Ciara has apparently been dropped from long-term record label Jive. Things had been rumored to be rough when Ciara's manager and A&R changed in 2009 leaving the fate of her third album, Fantasy Ride, in the hands of a new team.

In the end the entire project was revamped from a three-disc concept album into a shoddily composed 12-track set which missed out on all of the wonderful collaborations which were promised. In December 2010, Ciara released "Basic Instinct, her fourth album. The collection supposedly brought fans back to the traditional Ciara sound, circa 2004. Despite receiving strong reviews from critics the album has to date racked sales of around 40k... a far cry from her previous albums. The failure of the album was put down to poor timing, lack of promotion and poor singles. The only exception was the lead single "Ride" with Ludacris, which reached top-ten on the R&B charts.

Recently, Ciara told fans that the album's highlight, "Turn It Up" (a high-paced/fast energy duet with Usher) would be the next single. According to All Access (http://www.webcitation.org/5viBsoxuB) the single was due for radio adds on March 8, 2011. It has since been removed (http://www.webcitation.org/5wKaCEtJv). Reports are now beginning to surface that Jive finally pulled the plug on Ciara. Insiders say the singer is a drain on label resources because she does not know her artistry and is unable to pin down a unique sound. One insider said that "the label would rather invest in someone like Chris Brown who is proving successful on multiple formats".

Comments by Ciara to Gerrick Kennedy of the Los Angeles Times, where said to have angered label executives, especially when the singer said she wasn't bothered about album sales but saw the future and money in touring. Industry experts say that no one will pay for a tour for an artist who doesn't en-mass, citing Christina Aguilera's cancelled Bionic Tour as the prime example (Aggie is signed to Jive's sister label RCA). Ciara and Jive executives are said to have reached mutual terms to end their partnership, effective immediately. The singer was seen at the offices of Universal Music recently, and is believed to now be negotiating a new record deal with Interscope Records which would hopefully catapult the singer back into the lime light. When asked to comment both Jive and Ciara failed to respond.