The morning I Zoom with Ciara, she is, just like a veteran New Yorker, nimbly doing it all. “I feel like an octopus!” giggles the singer, mom of four and spouse of newly minted Giants star quarterback Russell Wilson.
She’s en route to her Alexa photo shoot with glam crew in tow, plus her nearly 2-year-old daughter, Amora, who insisted on joining for today’s activities. The 39-year-old R&B star, clad in oversized sunglasses with long blond-streaked hair tumbling around her shoulders, is rolling with the slight change in plans, never breaking a sweat. “I’ve been going nonstop!” Ciara admits. “It’s been a little overwhelming at times. But we decided to call it being blessed out versus being stressed out.” Between the launch of her new album, “CiCi,” and Wilson’s debut with the Giants, it’s a good thing they’re embracing the whirlwind.
The family moved to NYC earlier this summer, and Ciara says they’re already feeling at home. She gushes about the kid-friendly aspects of the city, but says she and Wilson also cherish evenings they can let loose a little. “We love our date nights!” she says. “They say you can never eat enough in your lifetime to get to all of the restaurants here. And we’re going to go to some plays. Believe it or not, I never saw ‘Hamilton’!”
Long known for her bold style, she’s thrilled to have Fashion Week (and, no doubt, the Met Gala, at which she’s a frequent attendee) so close to home. For her Alexa shoot, the singer headed downtown. “It was so amazing being in the streets of the Lower East Side! There was so much color, texture and amazing street art with graffiti and murals all on the walls. It really felt like being in a movie!” she shares. Her favorite look? “I loved the faux-fur Dolce & Gabbana look because it felt real boss-tomboy-like, which is my jam!” she says.
Born in Texas and raised in Atlanta, Ciara burst onto the music scene in 2004 with “Goodies,” the title track of her first album, featuring rapper Petey Pablo; it was a hit that made the teenage singer a global name and the queen of what music critics dubbed “crunk&B” or, as she called it, “ghetto pop.” In the two decades since then, she’s released a steady stream of hits, including “1, 2 Step,” “Love Sex Magic” and “Level Up.” Those years also saw her meeting and marrying Wilson. Their four children include her eldest, Future Zahir, whose father is Ciara’s ex Future; Wilson has been hinting at wanting yet another addition to the fam.
Since the beginning of her career, Ciara has captivated fans with her hypnotic beats, unique moves and clever lyrics. She established her reputation out of the gate, styling “Goodies” as a playful, feminist response to Usher’s club-flirting hit “Yeah.” Two years later, her single “Like a Boy” cheekily challenged gender norms. She channeled that vibe again in “Da Girls,” her 2023 love letter to single womanhood, in which she smokes a cigar in a bathrobe while hitting golf balls. In a recent Instagram post featuring the singer in a black bodysuit with huge winglike shoulders, she shared a snippet of her female-forward philosophy: “Being in a man’s world, sometimes you have to make your shoulders stand up really high, even when you feel small.”
Over the years, she’s expanded her artistic mission of self-respect and ambition to community uplift for young people. She and her husband have opened two Why Not You youth centers (in partnership with local Boys & Girls Clubs) in Pittsburgh and Atlanta. She opened the latter, a dance studio, on the city’s second annual “Ciara Day,” and has plans to build more WNY centers in the tristate area soon.
As for “CiCi,” it’s been in the works for almost five years — part exploration of pandemic-fueled creativity and part labor of love for fans who’ve been with her since the beginning. The singer has increasingly prioritized agency over her music, founding her own label, Beauty Marks Entertainment, in 2017 and releasing her “Beauty Marks” album two years hence. With this latest offering, she’s feeling ever more free. “It’s the most liberating feeling, when you’re able to just go for it,” she says. “One of the most gratifying experiences is knowing I have ownership in what I’m creating. Sometimes I’m not going to get it right, you know? But I’ve always betted on myself.”
The new album’s first single, “Ecstasy,” is one of her sexiest tracks ever, and its video spawned a viral challenge: Fans attempt a move in which the singer appears to float effortlessly atop a simple folding chair. “I’m like, ‘Man, I just have a strong feeling people are gonna like this.’ And they do!” she says. “That’s true artist satisfaction. There’s nothing better than when people engage with you on your ideas.”
It’s also an addition to the pantheon of her signature dance moves, some of which were foundational to the advent of crunk style and see her getting low, low, low. “We call it ‘strong knee game,’” she says. “People like me and Megan Thee Stallion [with whom she appeared this spring at Coachella], we got to keep the knees good! So, I’m making sure to train as much as I can. And after you’ve had four babies, your core is so weak! So, I don’t get too crazy.”
She’s aware of the realness of age, and she’s OK with that. “I’m going to get older; at some point, these bones are gonna start to shake and quake!” she says, laughing. One of the things she’s learned throughout her journey is the importance of giving yourself grace. “I’m a perfectionist, you know,” she says. “And it’s hard for people like me when you kind of have OCD with certain things. But you can’t be too hard on yourself. I try my best to manage that, because my mental health is really important to me.”
She hasn’t announced a “CiCi” tour, but hints that it’s coming. “My goal is to go around the world, so we’re working on the best plan for 2026.” She and Wilson are also eagerly anticipating a new release from their Why Not You Productions studio, in partnership with Amazon Studios. “Sarah’s Oil,” out Nov. 7, is a dramatization of the true story of Sarah Rector, who, at 11 years old, became the first Black female millionaire in the early 1900s. “This is our first big feature film,” Ciara says. “Sarah’s story is really incredible. When we talk about those moments of changing the course of history, for young women and Black women, Sarah was definitely one of those girls. She discovered the value she was sitting on, in oil. This girl was very smart.”
Greg Swales for Alexa Magazine
Ciara’s passion for lifting up girls and women is palpable in her love for this project. “To understand the importance of Black history, and what that means for people that look like me. I think a lot of us have some Sarah in us. I definitely have some Sarah in me!”
And next year, look for her in one of 2026’s most anticipated sequels. “I just got a great chance to be a part of ‘Devil Wears Prada 2,’” the singer shares. “It’s a special moment in the film — I don’t want to speak out of turn, but being a part of that was definitely motivating for me.”
It seems everything’s coming up Ciara. Twenty-one years after her arrival in the spotlight, she says, “I’m kind of feeling like I’m just getting started!”
Photographer: Greg Swales; Editor: Serena French; Stylist: Ayumi Perry; Photo Editor: Jessica Hober; Talent Booker: Patty Adams Martinez; Hair: Kiyah Wright at Muze Hair; Makeup: Yolonda Frederick-Thompson at crowdMGMT; Fashion Assistant: Roderick Reyes, Production: Ernest Klimko, David Maiorana, Natalie Rockhold, Andy Roelofs, Morgan Yi
