Fantasy Ride is the third studio album by American singer Ciara, first released on May 3, 2009, by Jive Records, LaFace Records and Sony Music Entertainment. The album was recorded between 2007 and 2009. Ciara was executive producer on the album along with co-executive Mark Pitts and, Ciara worked with several record producers, including Blac Elvis, Benny Blanco, Blade, Jasper Cameron, The Clutch, Darkchild, Danja, Dr. Luke, Jason Nevins, Jim Beanz, Los da Maestro, Ne-Yo, Osinachi Nwaneri, Polow da Don, The-Dream, Tricky Stewart, Justin Timberlake, T-Pain. The album featured several guest vocalists, including Justin Timberlake, Ludacris, Chris Brown, Young Jeezy, The-Dream, Missy Elliott.
The album combines R&B and hip hop sounds from her previous albums along with a new pop and dance direction. Fantasy Ride received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who complimented its slow jams and the club tracks, and Ciara's vocal performances, with some critics calling it "a consistently sexy listen" with other critics calling it "Ciara's smoothest ride ever". However, some critics found the album to be a "dud" and others saying "Ciara seems to go almost unnoticed". The album debuted at number three on US Billboard 200. Fantasy Ride became Ciara's third consecutive album to debut within the top three on that chart, making her only the fourth female artist to do so during that decade.
The album was supported by three singles: the US R&B top ten "Never Ever" with Young Jeezy, worldwide hit "Love Sex Magic" with Justin Timberlake, and "Work" with Missy Elliott, which reached the top 60 on international charts. A compilation EP titled Fantasy Ride: The Mini Collection was also released internationally in late July, the album also garnered numerous accolades including one nomination at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, and one nomination at the 52nd Grammy Awards.
Production
At the start of 2008, Ciara began working on her third album. She became executive producer of the album, with LaFace Records A&R coordinator Mark Pitts. The first recording sessions saw her working with producers Tricky Stewart, Danja, Jasper Cameron, and The-Dream. In an interview from a concert, Ciara stated that she worked on two tracks with Justin Timberlake and his production team The Y's which will appear on the album. Spike Stent was involved in mixing tracks for the album which Ciara recorded at Chalice Studios.
Ciara stated in 2008 that she wanted her third album "to take fans on a musical journey". Billboard magazine initially reported that the album would be released across three discs, each representing a different theme and featuring stylistically similar songs. Danja executively produced the Crunktown and Kingdom of Dance cuts while the Groove City offerings were overseen by Tricky Stewart and Jasper Cameron. The Groove City recordings were intended to remind fans of the Evolution era. The first single "Never Ever" (featuring Young Jeezy) falls under this theme and is similar to previous single "Promise". Crunktown tracks are remincent of single "Goodies" and the trademark genre that Ciara is associated with. "High Price" (featuring Ludacris) was the original lead single and an example of what Ciara had created under the crunk theme. The final recordings where up-tempo pop-tinged, house, and freestyle cuts under the theme Kingdom of Dance which can be heard on the album's second single "Love Sex Magic" (featuring Justin Timberlake). However, during an interview the editor of Vibe in April, magazine Ciara confirmed that along with changing management she had dropped the three disc idea. The editor previewed six of the songs recorded for the album.
Concept
Fantasy Ride also introduces Ciara's comic book character, "Super C". Ciara said that Super C is her "inner strength and aggressive persona". She is a futuristic, superhero-esque Ciara, loosely based on the robotic character Ciara portrayed in the "Go Girl" music video.
DC Comics artist Bernard Chang helped Ciara create the character for the album artwork. Ciara said she worked on the artwork about nine months to a year. On April 5, her official website posted the new album covers (purple Super C for the standard edition, red Super C for the deluxe edition). Speaking on the images, Ciara stated, "Super C is my super hero name. It's who I am. It's the inner strength and drive that enables me to overcome any obstacles and who I have to be in order to accomplish my dreams and survive in this tough world." Her official website confirmed that in North America the album will feature the super hero covers whereas international markets will receive the human cover featuring Ciara on a faded white background.