Innocent songs take sexy Ciara to double platinum

She went against the grain at a time when music labels everywhere were promoting blatantly sexual lyrics from young singers. Sure, Ciara and her rock-hard body are sexy. But she's only, well, 19.

In less than a year, the singer has captured the attention of R&B fans with a new sound and a modern spin on girl power. And amazingly, she's done it sans boudoir-heavy lyrics.

"I could easily talk about Bacardi or partying or something like that, but I wanted to talk to my women," says Ciara from New York, her voice flavored by a Southern drawl. "I felt that."

Likewise, folks have felt her. She's already sold more than 2 million copies of her first album, "Goodies," and was nominated for eight MTV Music Video Awards. She won two of the MTV statues for a collaboration with Missy Elliott and Fat Man Scoop.

Ciara's debut, "Goodies," was released last fall, after a single of the same name had rocked radio all summer. Since then, she has one-two-stepped into a double platinum album in less than a year.

Instead of cooing come-hither lyrics, Ciara talks about dancing, hanging out, having crushes and saying no to the boys, a sideways step from the forward lip service her contemporaries are delivering.

"I'm just doing me," says Ciara, who lives in Atlanta. "I'm being who I am. And I think that's kind of cool. I'm not trying to do anything more. I do want to be mindful of what I do and the things that I do. I try to think things through, and I'm down for my girls. And now I can share my message with millions of people. That's a blessing. But to me, it's like, what's your purpose? I don't think I'm just here to sing. I think there should be more to it."

In her single "Goodies," Ciara sings: "Bet you want the goodies / Bet you thought about it / Got you all hot and bothered / Maybe cause I talk about it / If you're looking for the goodies / Keep on looking cause they stay in the jar."

" 'Goodies' isn't just about one thing. It could be your time, your hugs or your kisses. Sometimes women forget how much power we hold. You have to treat someone the way you want to be treated," she says. "Sometimes people take advantage of our time."

Ciara's quest for fame came at a young age. As a preteen she saw Destiny's Child on TV and knew what she wanted to be: a singer, a songwriter and a dancer. Born in Austin, Texas, the Army brat lived in Germany, New York, California, Arizona and Nevada before her family settled in Atlanta — about the time the city's sound was getting national recognition.

While her peers were hanging out, she was writing songs, hoping to make her dream of being a singer-songwriter come to fruition. She was in the right city for it. Young urban music producers — Jermaine Dupri and later Lil Jon and Jazze Pha — were scattered about the city and working on music that would soon be celebrated by the world many times over.

By the time Ciara was 15 years old, she had signed a publishing deal, hoping to get her music in the ears of young women everywhere. By the time she was 18, she was signed to Jazze Pha's Sho' Nuff record label and on the verge of becoming the next It Girl in R&B music. It was easy to get her label to embrace her positive girl-friendly messages, she says.

"When people understand your vision, it makes a big difference," Ciara says. "They accepted what I was doing. It was different, and that's what made them accept me even more, the fact that I had my own individuality. It's almost like Missy; that's what separates her from other artists."

She helped introduce a new sound to radio — Lil Jon calls it "crunk & B": fast-paced songs that meld hip-hop's backbeat with R&B's soul and pop music's quirkiness.

Ciara has released three songs that have fared well on the radio and on the charts — "Goodies," "One, Two Step" and "Oh" — and she recently released a fourth single, a ballad called "And I."

"It's a motivation. The one thing that I do realize is that this is only my first album and my first time being here. Now my goal is to keep it up," she says. "I appreciate all the success that I've had so far."