The 2022 cover star Ciara told Sports Illustrated Swimsuit that she knew her career was taking off when she heard her first single, “Goodies,” come on the radio while sitting in a drive-thru. “I was like, ‘That’s crazy,’” the 36-year-old singer said. “And my eyes watered, I got emotional, and that was a really big moment for me. That’s when I knew, mama, we made it.” The 2022 Sports Illustrated Swimsuitcover girl told the mag that the moment she initially fell in love with music was after watching Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You” music video. “It was something about his smile that when he smiled and the first moment I saw it I was captivated but I was also like, this is something that I’m really deeply connected to, and that’s where I think it started for me,” she told SI Swimsuit. Michael Jackson was the spark that led to Ciara’s dedication to music from a young age, writing songs in her bedroom before forming an all-girl group with her friends called Hearsay. When the group disbanded, she earned a writing job with Tricky Stewart and RedZone Entertainment. “It was this whole squad that was making, like, every hit that you could think of at radio,” she recalled. “Just being in those environments, being exposed to really successful producers and writers, really helped me to grow really fast in the writing space, and before I knew it, I was a part of writing my first single of my career, “Goodies,” when I was 17 years old.” For even more of Ciara’s reminiscing about the early days of her music career, watch the video below. You can view more on the complete edition of the 2022 Sports Illustrated here.
