King's Music Bar

On 2006's The Evolution, Ciara's follow-up to her breakthrough album, Goodies, the Atlanta-based singer offers an assured set of songs that expand her signature crunk-leaning R&B sound. Featuring a cadre of ubiquitous producers, most notably the Black Eyed Peas' will.i.am and the Neptunes' Pharrell, and a handful of superstar rappers (50 Cent and Lil Jon, among others), the record largely finds Ciara in a poppier mode, as best revealed on the sensual, synth-heavy Promise and Get Up, a frenetic dance number that incorporates Chamillionaire's deft rhymes to great effect. While Goodies marked Ciara's arrival as a major R&B/hip-hop star, The Evolution cements her status as an artist who can work both within and outside of those stylistic boundaries.