After the release of her sixth studio album, Jackie (2015), Ciara decided to leave Epic Records in early 2016. Although the album spawned the Platinum-certified single, "I Bet", it failed to make much of a commercial impact, selling only around 160,000 copies worldwide within a three-month period.[4] The singer had planned to further promote the album with a second leg of the Jackie Tour in March 2016, after postponing the dates from November 2015; however, on February 27, 2016, Ciara announced that the remaining dates of the tour had been cancelled and that she'd instead focus on recording her seventh studio album, while expressing that the album would see her undertaking a new musical direction.[5][6] The departure followed a period of creative tension between the artist and the label, particularly surrounding the release of her empowering single, Level Up. Despite Ciara's passion for the track and its potential to resonate with her fanbase, Epic Records hesitated to release it, prompting her to take control of her artistic vision.
I had to meet with the new CEO, and I had my game plan. I had this song called 'Level Up.' I had the video for this song as well. I had a whole vision for my project, and I sat down, and I talked to him, to the CEO at that time,” she says. “Like you know, once the meeting was over, and I knew he didn't want to go forward with my project, I was like, this is my chance and I'm going to ask back for my masters...I'm literally going to level up.[7]
The record label ended up returning them to Ciara for free.[8]
On January 27, 2017, it was announced that Ciara had signed a new recording contract with Warner Bros. Records.[9][10] As a part of the deal, Ciara began working on her seventh studio album and shot a music video for its lead single, "Level Up", in 2017.
In 2017, Ciara launched her own record and entertainment company, Beauty Marks Entertainment (BME); the venture was launched for her to follow her own creative direction and release her music on her own terms, with the singer eventually hoping to sign additional artists.[11] BME's first endeavor was the release of the singles "Level Up", "Freak Me", and "Dose" in 2018, while Ciara officially announced its formation on February 7, 2019 at the MAKERS Conference.[11]
On March 28, 2019, Ciara announced that her seventh studio album would be titled Beauty Marks after her label and that it would be released on May 10, 2019. The album was made available for pre-order the following day, along with its fifth single, "Thinkin' Bout You".[12] In speaking on the album's development process, Ciara expressed that she now feels as she did at the start of her career, stating:
I was this young girl excited to be living my dreams and having the best time. I'm back to that phase again.[12]
Ciara revealed that she co-wrote the title track "Beauty Marks" with Skylar Grey.[13]
Singles
"Level Up" was released via digital download and through streaming platforms on July 18, 2018 as the album's lead single, alongside a high-octane music video. The single peaked at 59 on the US Billboard Hot 100[14] and at 23 on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart,[15] while its music video inspired the viral "level up dance challenge". Ciara also challenged fans to share three ways that they hoped to "level up" in life in promotion of the single. The song was certified Platinum by the RIAA. With the success of "Level Up", Ciara released the album's second single, "Freak Me", featuring Nigerian rapper, Tekno, less than a month later on August 10, 2018. The single peaked at 22 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs Chart.[16]
"Dose" was released as the album's third single on September 14, 2018, after premiering on ESPN’s Monday Night Football halftime show. The song's music video premiered on October 25, 2018 (Ciara's 33rd birthday). The single peaked at 7 on the US R&B Digital Songs Sales chart.[17] The album's fourth single, "Greatest Love", was released alongside its music video on February 11, 2019, to coincide with Valentine's Day. The single peaked at 21 on the US R&B Digital Songs Sales chart.[17]
"Thinkin Bout You" was released as the fifth single on March 29, 2019, along with the album's pre-order. Its music video premiered that same day. The single peaked at 20 on the US R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Songs Chart.[16]
Ciara released a music video for the album's title track on May 11, 2019 and one for the album's third track, "Set", on June 14, 2019. Despite not being released as a single, the title track peaked at 22 on the R&B Digital Songs Sales chart.[17]
Beauty Marks received generally mixed reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 57, based on 4 reviews.[18] Andy Kellman, writing for AllMusic, noted that Ciara "retreads just about every move she has made before," and praised the ballads for the ballads for "easily prevail[ing] over the up-tempo numbers, not one of which is a match for the singer's previous dancefloor conquests."[19] In his Spin review, Alfred Soto called the album "mediocre", but remarked that "[it] manages to land in the middle of Ciara's discography when boldness is required."[23] Nick Levine rated the album with 3 out of 5 stars, claiming that "[t]hough ‘Beauty Marks’ is rarely innovative, Ciara shows a respectable amount of range throughout the record.[20] During his review for Pitchfork, Eric Torres perceived that "despite a handful of highlights, Beauty Marks is marred by filler, moving between frothy pop-R&B and stale empowerment anthems that leave Ciara's talents largely underused."[21] In a more positive note, Steven J. Horowitz praised the album's themes of happiness and contentment, claiming that they "suit her well, as does her newfound openness. This is the Ciara that we deserve, and that she deserves too."[24]
Reviewing the Houston date for the Houston Chronicle, Joey Guerra said that "every song was a renewed blast of energy" and that regardless of whether she was singing her first hits or her newest songs, "it's still an intoxicating sound".[39]
