Out of the major-label system, Ciara starts a new chapter with her own label and first album in four years.
She retreads just about every move she has made before, even though the crop of new fellow songwriters and producers almost outnumbers the familiar likes of Ester Dean, Pierre Medor, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Rodney Jerkins, Jasper Cameron, and Theron Thomas.
Beauty Marks begins unsteadily with a reflective pop ballad that, despite being one of its most personal songs, features a disruptive guest verse from Macklemore.
Still, the ballads -- more specifically the love songs -- easily prevail over the up-tempo numbers, not one of which is a match for the singer's previous dancefloor conquests.
The best of the reunions occurs with Cameron and Thomas on "Greatest Love," a glimmering devotional slow jam with Ciara delivering one of her most stirring vocals.
Among the new collaborators is Skylar Grey, who co-writes and produces the title song, a piano-and-cello finale on which Ciara sounds fulfilled and recharged.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I Love MyselfClara Calaway, Benny Cassette, Ciara, Macklemore, Kimberly Perry | Ciara | Play | 05:28 | 12 MB | 39 MB |
| 2 | Level UpCiara, Jonathan Rotem, Theron Thomas | Ciara | Play | 03:24 | 7 MB | 24 MB |
| 3 | SetDallas Caton, Ciara, Theron Thomas | Ciara | Play | 02:56 | 6 MB | 20 MB |
| 4 | Thinkin Bout YouCiara, Nathan Cunningham, Ester Dean, Marc Sibley | Ciara | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 5 | Trust MyselfCiara, Brandon Green, Colby Green | Ciara | Play | 03:38 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 6 | Girl GangCiara, Colby Green, Pierre Medor, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart | Ciara | Play | 03:19 | 7 MB | 22 MB |
| 7 | DoseCiara, Sam Fischer, Rodney Jerkins, Carmen Reece | Ciara | Play | 03:42 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 8 | Na NaBenny Cassette, Ciara, Brandon Coleman, Josh Lopez, Kaveh Rastegar, Rosina Russell | Ciara | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 21 MB |
| 9 | Freak MeCiara, Michael Ajereh Collins, Charles Enebeli, Jonathan Rotem, Tiwa Savage, Theron Thomas | Ciara | Play | 03:20 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 10 | Greatest LoveJasper Cameron, Roderick Cameron, Ciara, Theron Thomas | Ciara | Play | 03:44 | 8 MB | 27 MB |
| 11 | Beauty MarksCiara, Skylar Grey | Ciara | Play | 03:36 | 8 MB | 21 MB |
| 40 mins | 92 MB | |||||
| 40 mins | 279 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chris Athens | Mastering |
| 2 | moon beat | Producer |
| 3 | Clara Calaway | Composer |
| 4 | Jasper Cameron | Composer, Producer |
| 5 | Roderick Cameron | Composer, Producer |
| 6 | Benny Cassette | Composer, Engineer, Producer, Programming, Synthesizer, Vocal Producer |
| 7 | Ciara | A&R, Composer, Liner Notes, Primary Artist, Producer, Vocal Producer, Vocals (Background) |
| 8 | Brandon Coleman | Composer |
| 9 | Kyle Coleman | Engineer, Vocal Producer |
| 10 | Michael Ajereh Collins | Composer |
| 11 | Nathan Cunningham | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 12 | Dallas Caton | Composer |
| 13 | Ester Dean | Composer |
| 14 | Tyler Dopps | Engineer, Vocal Producer |
| 15 | Charles Enebeli | Composer |
| 16 | Sam Fischer | Composer |
| 17 | Brandon Green | Composer, Producer |
| 18 | Colby Green | Composer, Vocal Producer |
| 19 | Skylar Grey | Composer, Producer, Vocal Producer |
| 20 | Joseph Hurtado | Engineer |
| 21 | Jaycen Joshua | Mixing |
| 22 | Rodney Jerkins | Composer, Mixing, Producer |
| 23 | JP Robinson | Art Direction, Design |
| 24 | Samuel Kalandjian | Engineer |
| 25 | Derek Keota | Engineer |
| 26 | Josh Lopez | Composer, Guitar |
| 27 | Macklemore | Composer, Featured Artist |
| 28 | Manny Marroquin | Mixing |
| 29 | Rashawn McLean | Assistant |
| 30 | Pierre Medor | Composer, Producer |
| 31 | Monti Olson | A&R |
| 32 | Andy D. Park | Engineer, Vocal Producer |
| 33 | Kimberly Perry | Composer, Wurlitzer |
| 34 | Kaveh Rastegar | Composer |
| 35 | Carmen Reece | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 36 | Jacob Richards | Assistant |
| 37 | Eric Ross | Vocal Producer |
| 38 | Jonathan Rotem | Composer, Keyboards, Producer, Vocal Producer |
| 39 | Kelly Rowland | Featured Artist, Vocal Producer |
| 40 | Rosina Russell | Composer |
| 41 | Sasha Samsonova | Photography |
| 42 | Tiwa Savage | Composer |
| 43 | Mike Seaberg | Assistant |
| 44 | Marc Sibley | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 45 | Space Primates | Engineer, Instrumentation, Producer, Programming |
| 46 | Christopher "Tricky" Stewart | Composer, Producer |
| 47 | Chris Szczech | Engineer |
| 48 | Tekno | Featured Artist |
| 49 | Theron Thomas | Composer, Vocals (Background) |
| 50 | Simone Vitucci | Cello |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |