Antonio “L.A.” Reid quietly began his new job as head of Epic Label Group earlier this month. The music mogul is assembling his roster of talent, which may include Ciara and Usher.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ciara will reunite with her former boss at his new venture at Sony. She asked to be released from her contract with Jive earlier this year after the underwhelming performance of her latest album Basic Instinct.
Another one of Reid’s discoveries, Usher, may also be making the shift from Jive to the restructured Epic. Reid was instrumental in launching the R&B phenom’s career 17 years ago.
Additionally, there is chatter that the 55-year-old executive is trying to bring Mariah Carey to Sony from her current home at Island Def Jam. She released her comeback album The Emancipation of Mimi under Reid’s watch and was previously signed to Columbia Records.
Another diva, Jennifer Lopez, may also return to Epic with the “X Factor” judge. She left the label last year to join Reid at Island Def Jam, where she released her album LOVE? and scored the chart-topping hit “On the Floor.”
Antonio “L.A.” Reid quietly began his new job as head of Epic Label Group earlier this month. The music mogul is assembling his roster of talent, which may include Ciara and Usher.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ciara will reunite with her former boss at his new venture at Sony. She asked to be released from her contract with Jive earlier this year after the underwhelming performance of her latest album Basic Instinct.
Another one of Reid’s discoveries, Usher, may also be making the shift from Jive to the restructured Epic. Reid was instrumental in launching the R&B phenom’s career 17 years ago.
Additionally, there is chatter that the 55-year-old executive is trying to bring Mariah Carey to Sony from her current home at Island Def Jam. She released her comeback album The Emancipation of Mimi under Reid’s watch and was previously signed to Columbia Records.
Another diva, Jennifer Lopez, may also return to Epic with the “X Factor” judge. She left the label last year to join Reid at Island Def Jam, where she released her album LOVE? and scored the chart-topping hit “On the Floor.”
Antonio “L.A.” Reid quietly began his new job as head of Epic Label Group earlier this month. The music mogul is assembling his roster of talent, which may include Ciara and Usher.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ciara will reunite with her former boss at his new venture at Sony. She asked to be released from her contract with Jive earlier this year after the underwhelming performance of her latest album Basic Instinct.
Another one of Reid’s discoveries, Usher, may also be making the shift from Jive to the restructured Epic. Reid was instrumental in launching the R&B phenom’s career 17 years ago.
Additionally, there is chatter that the 55-year-old executive is trying to bring Mariah Carey to Sony from her current home at Island Def Jam. She released her comeback album The Emancipation of Mimi under Reid’s watch and was previously signed to Columbia Records.
Another diva, Jennifer Lopez, may also return to Epic with the “X Factor” judge. She left the label last year to join Reid at Island Def Jam, where she released her album LOVE? and scored the chart-topping hit “On the Floor.”
Ciara is a party girl. But not the kind that dances on tables and comes out of a club looking like Sloppy Sandy. She just knows how to have fun -- on the sober tip -- wherever she goes. The R&B songstress, whose coquettish vocals sound loudly on 'Ride,' a single featured on her 2010 album, 'Basic Instinct,' is taking her brand of merriment to cities across the U.S. as part of the Station Invasion Concert tour, presented by Radio Maliboom Boom.
She kicked off the event Saturday (July 16) in Miami, where she's decided to unwind for a few days. "We're gonna jet ski-it up, have fun on the beach, lay back and lay in the sun and just have a really fun, girls time," she tells the BoomBox. While her fans and critics may be getting impatient, waiting on a new song to hit the airwaves, the Atlanta native promises she has a wealth of "things" to share when the time is right. Like any global force, the dance machine that she is deserves some time off occasionally.
Read on as Ciara addresses the recent L.A. Reid label talk, walking down the aisle and what she's been doing when it comes to the sound of her music.
Your verse on Usher's 'Hot Tottie' recently released but we haven't heard a lot of new music from you. Who have you been in the studio with recently?
Well, you know what, I'll just say this: I've been vibing and really having a fun time by getting to see what's out there. I just have to say that I'm so excited about the things that are happening. There's a lot of fun stuff going on. Sooner or later I really will be able to tell my fans exactly what is happening. I know a lot of times I speak to my fans [via Twitter] like, "Today was so great," or "Oh my god, I can't believe this is happening right now." There's things I've been saying so I can't wait to share those things with my fans.
I do want team Ciara to know and all of my fans to know that things have been really exciting and I can't wait to let them know more. I'm really liking the vibe of where I'm going with things.
There are reports that L.A. Reid joined Epic Label Group and that you were going to be an artist under his roster. Can you confirm that?
I don't even know what you're talking about [laughs]. Nah, I'm totally just playing. I think you have to ask L.A. kinda what's going on. I can't really comment on what's happening and the system. I cant really say too much. I dont really know too much about the breakdown of everything.
The Malibu tour you're currently on brings you back to the states to perform, considering you were doing overseas shows a lot. Where have you traveled to recently that you're fond of?
My most fun and one that I really remember is Angola. The energy from the fans is just so amazing. In the middle of the set they would stop and say, "Ciara! Ciara!" They would start to chant my name, even before I started to get into a new record. Even just being in Africa, in general, they would say, "We want more! We want more!" To feel that energy is so amazing. Their faces were so beautiful, their smiles were so pure. It was one of the best energetic crowds I've ever been in front of and one of the most memorable crowds.
When you perform, what song do you feel grabs the most attention?
'1, 2 Step.' And oh, 'Ride,' of course. It's always amazing for me to see my fans in Africa singing 'Ride,' because its a slow record. Normally, dance records are easier to digest, universally. 'Ride' has a very aggressive sound and it has a heavy, urban melody. It's just amazing to see fans of all races, in particularl in Africa -- that live there and are from there -- sing 'Ride.' Of course, I have more records to do, but '1, 2 Step' goes down as one of my biggest songs. What's crazy is that 'Goodies' sat at No. 1 longer then '1, 2 Step' did. It just seems to be one that when I do it, every time, people go crazy.
Recently you've been in the news for attending the wedding of your friend, R&B singer Monica. Another friend of yours, Kim Kardashian, is set to wed as well. How do you feel at this point in your life being 25 and possibly taking a similar step soon?
Whenever you see any woman, in particularly your friends and family that are really close to you, get to have that moment in their lives, I get so excited for them. The way that I look at it, I come from a background of marriage. My grandparents were married for 51 years now, it is. My mother and father are going on 30 years, so that's something that's very traditional within my family. The way that I look at it, I'm so lost in the zone right now of what I'm doing that when that happens in my life, I believe that it'll happen at the perfect time. You can't put a time marker on anything like that and you can't say exactly when you want to do it; it just kinda falls in place. That's something I definitely look forward to because in my career, you do sacrifice a lot by just putting so much time and effort into it, but I do believe when that moment happens it's going to be amazing. I have a whole breakdown of how I see it. I'm not rushing the idea of it.
That part is so emotional, like I cried when I saw La [La] get married, and even when I saw Monica. I've known Monica for years, like she's my family to me. And of course, La La is my best, best friend so it's really cool. And then for Kim, it's always great to see a woman experience a moment like that in their lives. http://www.theboombox.com/2011/07/19...music-wedding/
I've been vibing and really having a fun time by getting to see what's out there. I just have to say that I'm so excited about the things that are happening. There's a lot of fun stuff going on. Sooner or later I really will be able to tell my fans exactly what is happening.
L.A. Confirmed
