Ciara - Promise

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When I heard this track for the first time, I thought to myself "What the hell is this shit? She totally dropped the ball..." but it's grown on me in a HUGE way, and I think it may actually be her best single to date (which is saying a lot seeing as I adore all of her singles)! It's a very lush, romantic, Prince-esque mid-tempo number... and her voice sound really great in it surprisingly! Anyone else really enjoying this?

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Sunday, 8 October 2006 21:23 (nineteen years ago)

It's the aceness - very Teedra Moses, but I would say that.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Sunday, 8 October 2006 21:42 (nineteen years ago)

so weird with this song; i was totally overwhelmed by it when i first heard, expected i would get a handle on it eventually - this just hasn't happened! (save to splutter out some "errm bangles 'eternal flame' produced by errm daft punk?" nonsense in trying to explain it to people.) being honest, to simply state that i like it, or even that i don't, still feels like a bit of a cop-out just now somehow. it is certainly a deep plunge.

― rtccc (mwah), Sunday, 8 October 2006 22:48 (nineteen years ago)

deliciously tantalising opening lyric too, what is she saying to me!

come enjoy the life
baby take a ride
i just wanna find
you ?

― rtccc (mwah), Sunday, 8 October 2006 23:05 (nineteen years ago)

also i NEVER FAIL to hear "call me mama, spoil you like a baby" as "call me mama's boy, you're like a baby"... the imagined rap across my knuckle is err truly headspinning

― rtccc (mwah), Sunday, 8 October 2006 23:15 (nineteen years ago)

now i'm just posting because having this and 'songs containing the sound of footsteps' neck and neck on the new answers page pleases me.

― rtccc (mwah), Sunday, 8 October 2006 23:23 (nineteen years ago)

I wish this song had already existed when I made by "Wanderlust: Exploring the Outer Limits of Sumptuous R&B" tape.

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Monday, 9 October 2006 01:04 (nineteen years ago)

I think Zapp would be the touchstone here.

― Apocalypse '07: Rodney Strikes Back (R. J. Greene), Monday, 9 October 2006 02:56 (nineteen years ago)

i need to hear this.

― The Lex (The Lex), Monday, 9 October 2006 07:46 (nineteen years ago)

THIS SONG IS SOOOO GOOD.

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Friday, 20 October 2006 17:29 (nineteen years ago)

Vocals are incredible here, and god, what a gorgeous subtle touch those vocoder backups provide. Also, is it just me, or am I hearing Kraftwerk-breathalyzer voices all over female r&b this year?

― s woods (sw00ds), Friday, 20 October 2006 17:42 (nineteen years ago)

Other than the Ciara singles, what else?

― Rodney is a group! (R. J. Greene), Friday, 20 October 2006 17:51 (nineteen years ago)

yeah, the previous Ciara single, also, I was thinking of Cassie's "Me and U" and maybe Christina Milian's "So Amazing." I can't preview any of these right now, I might be wrong, but it feels like I keep hearing some variant of that (maybe it's just the stuff that's hitting me). Not exactly an army of singles, granted...

― s woods (sw00ds), Friday, 20 October 2006 17:55 (nineteen years ago)

I can kinda see that about the Cassie song, but it sounds more ProTooled (in a really awesome way) than vocoderized to me. I haven't heard the Milian song, and have no real desire to. She's (or at least her past hits) has never done anything for me.

― Rodney is a group! (R. J. Greene), Friday, 20 October 2006 18:20 (nineteen years ago)

Just to make an important (if picky) distinction, I wasn't referring to vocoder parts but rather, to breath sounds/samples, a la the breath rhythm that propels "Tour de France." Also, I think I'm hearing these songs as Kraftwerk-like because of some combination of the breath thing and those minimalist-icy keyboard lines. (I'm also hearing Prince all over the place in this stuff.)

I'm kinda iffy on the Milian song, but the backing is good.

― s woods (sw00ds), Friday, 20 October 2006 19:01 (nineteen years ago)

I wish this song had already existed when I made by "Wanderlust: Exploring the Outer Limits of Sumptuous R&B" tape.
-- Tim Finney (tfinne...), October 8th, 2006 9:04 PM.

tracklist!

― deej.. (deej..), Friday, 20 October 2006 19:15 (nineteen years ago)

Christina Milian - Dip It Low (Original Version) (the one with less beats)
Mya & Sisqo - It's All About Me
Janet Jackson - Empty
Ginuwine - So Anxious
Ashanti - Voodoo
Amira - My Desire (Dreem Teem Mix)
Amerie - Need You Tonight
Teedra Moses - Backstroke
Wayne Wonder - You Make My Life Complete
Nicole Wray - Make It Hot
Bobby Valentino - Give Me A Chance
Nivea & R Kelly - Laundrymat
Nicole Wray & Mike Jones - It's A Man's World
Kylie Dean - Keep It Moving
Sadie ft. Kano - So Sure (Target Remix)
Teedra Moses - Complex Simplicity
Ashanti - Rescue Me

― Tim Finney (Tim Finney), Sunday, 22 October 2006 06:29 (nineteen years ago)

'promise' is utterly beautiful! part of my obsession with ciara is i think her so very limited range - i keep holding my breath in case she runs out of things to do with it but she keeps utilising it in ever more seductive ways. the multi-layering here is reminiscent of...paris hilton! building these layers and layers of thinness into uh a cushion of voices or something.

― The Lex (The Lex), Sunday, 22 October 2006 16:04 (nineteen years ago)

the way the drums are produced is delicious!

― The Lex (The Lex), Sunday, 22 October 2006 16:08 (nineteen years ago)

Even the video is awesome!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32u7TCSNaXQ

It's very Janet isn't it? So sensual.

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Thursday, 26 October 2006 02:21 (nineteen years ago)

Kraftwerk-breathalyzer voices

Or just Roger Troutman.

It's so brilliant that the video for this fucking ballad is a dancing video. Talk about playing to your strengths. Ciara or someone very close to her is a genius.

― Richj (Rich), Thursday, 26 October 2006 02:56 (nineteen years ago)

Roger Troutman by way of Teddy Riley is probably more accurate, actually.

― Richj (Rich), Thursday, 26 October 2006 02:58 (nineteen years ago)

wow i must watch this tonight!

i think the fact that ciara trained as a dancer rather than a singer is so key to her music - her sense of rhythm is impeccable, even on a lush, sprawling ballad like 'promise'. basically she sings as if she's dancing, her phrasing seems choreographed!

― The Lex (The Lex), Thursday, 26 October 2006 06:43 (nineteen years ago)

Ciara or someone very close to her is a genius.

very much agree with this. i love this girl so much!

― The Lex (The Lex), Thursday, 26 October 2006 06:44 (nineteen years ago)

the video is BEAUTIFUL! janet jackson can watch it and feel proud.

the song is very 'rock the boat', isn't it? but bigger.

― The Lex (The Lex), Monday, 30 October 2006 10:18 (nineteen years ago)

this track hasn't grown on me yet. find it pretty meh for now. but even if/when it grows I don't think it will beat "oh" for me. the video is cool, though. she looks better than she's ever had.

― AleXTC (AleXTC), Monday, 30 October 2006 16:43 (nineteen years ago)

finally heard good-quality mp3 and it's EVEN BETTER THAN I THOUGHT - i hadn't heard those percussive breaths, that wonderfully tactile bass...

this song is simply astonishing.

album out in january now, i can't wait.

― The Lex (The Lex), Monday, 6 November 2006 10:40 (nineteen years ago)

i want this thread to be more than just me talking to myself :(

― The Lex (The Lex), Monday, 6 November 2006 10:50 (nineteen years ago)

Well, Lex, I'd like to share the excitment but I keep finding it only ok/good. I like it more since I've seen the video, though. The synth/vocoder lines during the chorus are great but I don't know, there's something lacking for the whole song to be really great. still, I really look forward for the album. I pretty much had the same meh opinion about "get up" a few months ago but lately it's grown and I like it a lot. although a bit too longish, maybe.

― AleXTC (AleXTC), Monday, 6 November 2006 12:02 (nineteen years ago)

haha i wish 'get up' was longer! i want a version with the breakdown in the video.

― The Lex (The Lex), Monday, 6 November 2006 12:05 (nineteen years ago)

The video for "get up" makes me think of a shampoo commercial or something ! and she looks kinda weird in it. like it's not really her...

― AleXTC (AleXTC), Monday, 6 November 2006 12:27 (nineteen years ago)

"i think the fact that ciara trained as a dancer rather than a singer is so key to her music"

yeah it explains why her vocals are so weak. i dont have a total problem with that though - she seems to know how to play to her strengths, and its hard to find fault with her singles.

― titchyschneider (titchyschneider), Monday, 6 November 2006 12:47 (nineteen years ago)

Okay this is just crazy. EVERYONE should be talking about this song. Seriously the single of the year, and everyone is sleeping on it! Wake up!

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Monday, 13 November 2006 23:23 (nineteen years ago)

you are right. everyone who has not yet commented on this song has gone down significantly in my estimation

― The Lex (The Lex), Monday, 13 November 2006 23:32 (nineteen years ago)

Hmmm. I like how compared with other r'n'b-vocals-over-electronics the backing is so, so THICK & rich like chocolate cake. You certainly can't say it's not incredibly produced (who did this?) don't think the song itself has much personality though (it really would be as good as the ILM hype squad says if it had).

― brr (fandango), Monday, 13 November 2006 23:34 (nineteen years ago)

How does one pronounce Ciara?

― struttin' with some barbecue (jimnaseum), Monday, 13 November 2006 23:35 (nineteen years ago)

see-ar-uh
or
see-air-uh

― deej.. (deej..), Monday, 13 November 2006 23:37 (nineteen years ago)

chee-arr-a

(well that's how I do)

― brr (fandango), Monday, 13 November 2006 23:37 (nineteen years ago)

Hmm. Someone told me it was see-ar-uh. I was incredulous. Fancied a second opinion.

― struttin' with some barbecue (jimnaseum), Monday, 13 November 2006 23:38 (nineteen years ago)

Polow Da Don produced it.

And I disagree that the actual tune doesn't have any personality... it's dripping with it! What do you mean?

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Monday, 13 November 2006 23:38 (nineteen years ago)

She pronounces it "see-air-uh" on Missy Elliott's "Lose Control" ("Well my name is Ciara for all you fly fellas..."). Also pronounced this way by Jazze Pha on "1, 2 Step."

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 13 November 2006 23:55 (nineteen years ago)

I still haven't heard this track = I have gone down significantly in Lex's estimation = :(

― Alex in SF (Alex in SF), Monday, 13 November 2006 23:56 (nineteen years ago)

xpost. So like the car then?

http://www.autorevue.cz/Obrazky/2006/01leden/mondeo/Ext%20si%201.jpg

or a spanish mountain.

I haven't heard this track either. But it's ok I don't think the Lex knows who I am.

― struttin' with some barbecue (jimnaseum), Monday, 13 November 2006 23:57 (nineteen years ago)

I just listened to it and think it's just okay, but Ciara tracks almost always grow on me -- I was very "meh" on "Oh" the first few times I heard it, and then it suddenly turned into the best thing ever.

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 13 November 2006 23:58 (nineteen years ago)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYDWnKQLbSw

here is the video! with some excellent dancing & tracksuits. obv i do not mind if anyone hasn't heard it yet but the resounding silence which has greeted this thread since it was started is a little saddening esp given the kind of thing which gets 100+ answers in 10 minutes hereabouts.

def pronounced see-air-uh i thought, which isn't how one normally pronounces it but the girl knows best.

― The Lex (The Lex), Tuesday, 14 November 2006 00:03 (nineteen years ago)

This has definately grown on me. When I first heard it, I liked it but wasn't bowled over by at all. It occured to me that the three best R&B singles right now are all slow jams "My Love" & "Icebox", both growers themselves, being the other two. Does this signify anything?

― Rodney... (R. J. Greene), Tuesday, 14 November 2006 00:04 (nineteen years ago)

xpost

― Rodney... (R. J. Greene), Tuesday, 14 November 2006 00:04 (nineteen years ago)

The video is HAWT. I'd never really thought of her as sexy before, but damn.

― Rodney... (R. J. Greene), Tuesday, 14 November 2006 00:06 (nineteen years ago)

I'm not keen on the drum sounds. Not sure how to describe the effect on them but it grates on me somewhat.

Video is teh hawt for sure.

― struttin' with some barbecue (jimnaseum), Tuesday, 14 November 2006 00:10 (nineteen years ago)

I like that they're reverby and that the kick has a nice thud to it. But it's the kind of rubbery quality to them that I dislike.

― struttin' with some barbecue (jimnaseum), Tuesday, 14 November 2006 00:11 (nineteen years ago)

Skipping 68 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Just downloaded all the leaked tracks. 'Work' is fucking brilliant.

― Matt DC, Saturday, 17 January 2009 20:19 (seventeen years ago)

two weeks pass...

Yes.

― Maciej (maciej recognizing trill), Monday, 2 February 2009 17:55 (seventeen years ago)

Nah.

― some dude, Monday, 2 February 2009 17:58 (seventeen years ago)

Yeah!

― lex pretend, Monday, 2 February 2009 18:08 (seventeen years ago)

two weeks pass...

ok so i think "never ever" is kind of tremendous - where do we stand on, with distance, on this failed single?

― big fatass rick ross (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 18 February 2009 04:54 (seventeen years ago)

for the first time in like 18 months or something i can definitively say that young jeezy's presence on this song is not only unnecessary but detrimental

― big fatass rick ross (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 18 February 2009 04:55 (seventeen years ago)

yeah i think it's pretty great personally...for all I know Polow bit that melody from another software preset but it's still gorgeous. feels kinda soon to call it failed but it certainly isn't catching on very fast.

― brainless popcorn (some dude), Wednesday, 18 February 2009 05:11 (seventeen years ago)

idk dude it's been out for a month and it's not even got into the rap/r&b top 50

― big fatass rick ross (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 18 February 2009 05:12 (seventeen years ago)

btw i once declared "whatever you like" a failure so you know...

anyway the song, i think it's a nice kid brother to "promise" - not as mind-numbing obv but it's got that weightlessness and drama for sure

― big fatass rick ross (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 18 February 2009 05:14 (seventeen years ago)

so in other words...kinda soon to call it failed but it certainly isn't catching on very fast.

xpost

― brainless popcorn (some dude), Wednesday, 18 February 2009 05:14 (seventeen years ago)

yeah..."Promise" is one of my favorite songs of the past few years, and I was never really too into most of Ciara's uptempo singles to begin with, so I have no problem with her going back to the well for more songs like that.

― brainless popcorn (some dude), Wednesday, 18 February 2009 05:15 (seventeen years ago)

how many leaks of this do i have to download before i get all the fucking tracks

― k3vin k., Wednesday, 18 February 2009 05:18 (seventeen years ago)

ha this is the official single dude

― big fatass rick ross (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 18 February 2009 05:19 (seventeen years ago)

she might as well change the album's name to THIS IS FOR CLEARANCE USE ONLY and package it w/ no packaging like that one system of a down album

― big fatass rick ross (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 18 February 2009 05:20 (seventeen years ago)

oh yeah i've heard this before actually...must have been on the radio? dope song no doubt, and yeah the jeezy collab is totally unnecessary. i assume you guys have heard "exclusive", the 'echo' reworking which suffers the same superfluous-jeezy-verse fate as this.

― k3vin k., Wednesday, 18 February 2009 05:42 (seventeen years ago)

is it the same song w/ a jeezy verse or did they switch up the beat or something

― big fatass rick ross (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 18 February 2009 05:44 (seventeen years ago)

uhh i only heard it once, but iirc it's essentially the same song. it's on the r&b kings part 2, if you've got that

― k3vin k., Wednesday, 18 February 2009 05:44 (seventeen years ago)

*listening* no it's the same beat and everything

― k3vin k., Wednesday, 18 February 2009 05:45 (seventeen years ago)

i guess id imagine that jeezy would be alright on that song since the thing amounts to shit talking, he's kind of way out of his league on a sad breakup song

― big fatass rick ross (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 18 February 2009 05:48 (seventeen years ago)

lol i was listening to it right now and i was reading something and totally missed the jeezy verse. it's that pointless

― k3vin k., Wednesday, 18 February 2009 05:48 (seventeen years ago)

yeah... beats a verse from yung joc i guess

― big fatass rick ross (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 18 February 2009 05:49 (seventeen years ago)

needs to reunite w/ jazze and petey imo for a fun song - i think this overwrought project is weighing her down

― big fatass rick ross (J0rdan S.), Wednesday, 18 February 2009 05:52 (seventeen years ago)

'never ever' has grown on me loads though i think 'promise' is way offbase as a comparison, apart from the slower tempo they have so little in common - 'never ever' is far more conventional, there isn't much special about the arrangement...it's going for sweet and bruised rather than epic, rich and devotional. i really like jeezy on it! something about his gruff tones really complements the weird burst of triumphalism in that "let me see you two-step if you know he loves you" section. i really don't have a problem w/this track at all except as a lead single - though apparently in the UK they'll be going with something called 'magic', featuring justin timberlake - yes you heard right there is at least one song from the album which they've managed to keep under wraps

― lex pretend, Wednesday, 18 February 2009 11:25 (seventeen years ago)

http://i42.tinypic.com/23r31c5.gif

― i brings that levity (The Brainwasher), Wednesday, 18 February 2009 17:10 (seventeen years ago)

aww.

― original bgm, Wednesday, 18 February 2009 17:17 (seventeen years ago)

btw is there an agreed-upon tracklist for fantasy ride yet?

― k3vin k., Thursday, 19 February 2009 07:23 (seventeen years ago)

nope

― weekend goodtime (The Brainwasher), Thursday, 19 February 2009 07:23 (seventeen years ago)

a bunch of new stuff leaked recently:

Rattla
Turntables (w/ Chris Brown) - BANGERRRRR could've been big but given what happened with Chris it's DOA
I'm A G

someone must really hate Ciara, I swear this is the most leaked project ever

― weekend goodtime (The Brainwasher), Thursday, 19 February 2009 07:25 (seventeen years ago)

cassie has leaked like four albums

― rev. al shipley (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 19 February 2009 07:26 (seventeen years ago)

they should just have akon or something record chris' vocals

― rev. al shipley (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 19 February 2009 07:28 (seventeen years ago)

maybe get an asher roth guest verse, everything will be gravy

― rev. al shipley (J0rdan S.), Thursday, 19 February 2009 07:29 (seventeen years ago)

lol

― weekend goodtime (The Brainwasher), Thursday, 19 February 2009 07:30 (seventeen years ago)

lol

i need to find these tracks

― k3vin k., Thursday, 19 February 2009 07:38 (seventeen years ago)

'rattla' is 'oh' redux but still excellent - "i know you ride the beat when you recline that seat"...

― lex pretend, Thursday, 19 February 2009 12:06 (seventeen years ago)

i think Ciara's had so many leaks in part because her release date has been 'a few weeks away' for like 6 months straight, so some/most of them might be deliberate, whereas Cassie has never gotten close to actually dropping her album.

― LMA.O. Scott (some dude), Thursday, 19 February 2009 13:45 (seventeen years ago)

finally hearing the whole album... too bad it never dropped, would've been top 15 of the year for sure and "echo" would've been a top 10 single. even "oh" jr "rattla" works and it doesn't even have a guest verse, love the ballads too esp the light as a cloud one w/ dream. even the 'generic' ones like "click/flash" and a few of the ballads somehow transcend their on paper trappings. listening back has confirmed for me that "high price" was the most ridiculous song of last year, obv because of the insane operatic singing, of course punctuated by "SOFTER THAN A MCDONALD'S HAMBURGER BUN" which like.... how she managed to sing that in that voice w/ a straight face is truly and forever beyond me

― THE_REAL_BLAP (J0rdan S.), Friday, 20 February 2009 05:21 (seventeen years ago)

yeah that song is o_O in a bad way for me, i don't know how people ever got behind that as a potential single. it's funny how you're talking about the album in the past tense already like it's never going to come out, though.

― Happy, the Juggling Clown (some dude), Friday, 20 February 2009 06:05 (seventeen years ago)

ummmmm.... here's her new single with Justin Timberlake:

http://www.zshare.net/audio/55897746bdcafa0d/

― weekend goodtime (The Brainwasher), Friday, 20 February 2009 07:14 (seventeen years ago)

pullin out all the stops huh

― THE_REAL_BLAP (J0rdan S.), Friday, 20 February 2009 09:26 (seventeen years ago)

seriously why don't they just film a video for 'echo' or 'high price' or 'work' and be done with it? i actually like 'love and sex and magic' a lot but it sounds like justin timberlake ft. ciara, not the other way round.

the album is definitely "definitely" coming out in april btw, i talked to ciara last week about it.

― lex pretend, Friday, 20 February 2009 16:07 (seventeen years ago)

name dropperrrrrrr

― gucci mane gretzky (deej), Friday, 20 February 2009 21:01 (seventeen years ago)

lex did you show her any of the flop.gif's and make her cry?

― dom as a high-ass moose on the reg (some dude), Friday, 20 February 2009 21:08 (seventeen years ago)

two years pass...

its use here is masterful

anybody got an mp3rip of the mix or just this remix?

― dayo, Wednesday, 13 July 2011 15:15 (fourteen years ago)

oh hah the name is in the tracklisting. the cory bold remix.

― dayo, Wednesday, 13 July 2011 15:20 (fourteen years ago)

mix: http://www.mediafire.com/?psyx7r47k8boj34

remix: http://www.mediafire.com/?yhfjafdoob4b7oi

― DO NOT CALL (The Brainwasher), Wednesday, 13 July 2011 15:21 (fourteen years ago)

thanks ty!

― dayo, Wednesday, 13 July 2011 15:38 (fourteen years ago)

one year passes...

my friend pointed out to me that the song samples this bit from breakin', and the music video is pretty much a direct homage to this scene too!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVrWDPi12zE

― 乒乓, Monday, 18 March 2013 13:47 (twelve years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTYkMDwvqZs

(also referenced in "Get Up")

― cunnilingus ah um (The Reverend), Monday, 18 March 2013 17:17 (twelve years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTYkMDwvqZs

― cunnilingus ah um (The Reverend), Monday, 18 March 2013 17:17 (twelve years ago)

most overt r&b vid homage to that scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEyNlAIQ4v0

― Stephen Thomas Duttywine (some dude), Monday, 18 March 2013 17:29 (twelve years ago)

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