Ciara Returns With New Single “Ride”, But Gosh, We Can’t Tell What It’s About

After earning mixed-to-poor reviews for her unofficial single “Speechless”, Ciara is back with a proper track, and it’s a hot one. “Ride”, the “official” first track from her fourth album, isn’t going to win her any awards for subtlety (the hook is “He loves the way I ride it” — but it turns out she’s referring to the beat, of course. Oh, what did you think she meant?). But her longtime partners Tricky Stewart and The-Dream may have put Ciara back on the map with this one. Check it below.

The track doesn’t actually ask that much of Ciara, and when she’s left unchallenged, she comes up with creative driftwood like her last album, Fantasy Ride. (What is it with riding, already?). But it the almost-too-simple bass line and the shimmery synths create a powerful, hypnotic track that’s going to sound great on the dancefloor. Ludacris, who’s now a hero to tweens, sounds a little more comfortable back in his customary role — adding a rapid-fire, raunchy twist to songs meant for adults.

That said, Ciara’s former collaborator Jazze Pha is still probably going to hate it.

What do you think? Is Ciara back? Or should she stick to Adidas commercials?