Ciara reflects on the biggest songs of her career for Billboard Chart History and shares the stories behind hits such as “Goodies,” “1, 2 Step,” “Oh,” “Like a Boy,” “Promise,” “Love Sex Magic,” “Ride,” “Body Party,” “Level Up” and more! From early breakout moments to career-defining collaborations, Ciara opens up about songwriting, dance, visuals, independence and the records that helped shape her legacy.

She also talks about working with legendary collaborators including Missy Elliott, Ludacris, Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown, Chamillionaire and Lil Jon. Ciara shares how songs including “Goodies” and “Level Up” changed her life, why “1, 2 Step” remains a fan favorite and what made records such as “Body Party,” “Promise,” and “Ride” such important creative moments in her journey.

Ciara: Hey, guys. It’s Ciara here, and this is my Billboard Chart History.

That’s good. Good job. That was the beginning for me. That was a very important record, a very special record, but really important because I knew that that was the record. When I was writing “Goodies,” I started out in Miami, actually. It was me, Shakir Stewart, actually, who L.A. Reid had put me with. He was my A&R. He set us all up. It was me, Sean Garrett. Lil Jon was in the other, in the room as well, but he was making beats. He made several massive records. “Goodies” was the beat that John Garrett and I started on. And started playing around with melodies, but didn’t finish it in Miami. Went to Atlanta at Hitco and started writing the record more. And what I wanted to do was I was kind of using the idea of your, your love being a cookie jar. It’s your goodies, right? And your goodies are precious.

So, at that time, there was a song called “Cookies.” I was kinda playing with that word because it was a popular word. Then I’m like, “That, that word’s too limiting.” It’s like, we need something broader to express what I was trying to say. And what I just felt like “Cookies” was like, “I bet you, I bet you want those cookies.” That’s not right. It’s not right. Don’t sing right either. So I literally, after my session with Sean and I, we had a few sessions. I literally held onto this track and our base ideas that we laid down for a month. And it took me literally almost a whole month to complete the record. I would ride in my car. I would jam out.

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