• Record Label: LaFace
  • Release Date: Dec 5, 2006
Metascore
65

Generally favorable reviews - based on 20 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 20
  2. Negative: 0 out of 20
  1. The dance songs are rugged and terrific, but eventually the tempos slow and the album drags.
  2. Much like Aaliyah’s sophomore effort One In A Million a decade ago, Ciara: The Evolution is the sound of a babydiva starting to really find her voice.
  3. Uncut
    80
    Another terrific collection, tacking a stylish course between Jam and Lewis, Zapp and raving crunk. [May 2007, p.88]
  4. Few modern songstresses work a beat better.
  5. The ballads mostly come at the end, and they’re all pretty not-so-hot.
  6. Blender
    70
    Despite a new set of producers... this vivacious, club-friendly sophomore set merely tinkers with her old recipe. [Jan/Feb 2007, p.83]
  7. The Evolution delivers what Ciara is known for: hot beats, killer hooks and club bangers.
  8. "The Evolution" is good but nowhere near dynamic or forward thinking enough to put Ciara on the A-List and fulfil her boundless ambition.
  9. Q Magazine
    70
    A superbly consistent R&B collection. [May 2007, p.123]
  10. As expected, there are plenty of tracks geared toward letting loose and dancing, and most of them do deliver, even if they don't seem quite as fresh as Ciara's past hits.
  11. It sounds like the producers are all competing to drum up the best variation on Ciara's patented Crunk N' B theme.
  12. Ciara's still prone to diva blandness and silly little pop songs.
  13. Ciara is no Beyoncé yet, but a song as good as Like a Boy, a flashback to Destiny's Child at their exhilarating peak, suggests that she one day might be. Evolution allowing.
  14. In Ciara's effort to prove herself a diva, her second album flails, bloated with spoken-word interludes and boilerplate pop & b that obscures some truly good songs.
  15. Billboard
    50
    Songs such as the Rodney Jerkins-produced "Make It Last Forever" and "Get Up"... are surefire club hits, although such ballads as "It's Over" tend to fall flat. [9 Dec 2006]
  16. The problem is that the ballads - a key to the crossover longevity Ciara desires - are almost uniformly limp.
  17. Perhaps if she'd just kept it crunk, she could have produced something really deffer and fresher, instead of merely pleasantly reminiscent of the past.
  18. I would say she should leave the bumper-sticker philosophizing to Oprah and Tyra and stick to singing, but she doesn't excel at that either.
  19. Too often on The Evolution she’s looking over her shoulder, too self-conscious to be a real seductress.
  20. Vibe
    40
    It's a mixed bag. [Jan 2007, p.112]
User Score
6.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 70 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 39 out of 70
  2. Negative: 13 out of 70
  1. Jul 15, 2022
    8
    While clearly in the style that Destiny's Child and TLC created and popularized, she brought a T-Pain-ish, hard electro edge to the table thatWhile clearly in the style that Destiny's Child and TLC created and popularized, she brought a T-Pain-ish, hard electro edge to the table that would prove to be influentual for most of '00s R&B (talking Rihanna and The-Dream, but also Kelly Rowland and Beyoncé herself), as well as hit machines like Black Eyed Peas who took it to another extreme, to the point that every R&B act that didn't have her sound would sound outdated. Full Review »
  2. Jun 25, 2021
    10
    A CLASSIC ALBUM! This album is amazing. The songs are good quality and I can listen to them over and over. "Promise," "Like A Boy," "My Love."A CLASSIC ALBUM! This album is amazing. The songs are good quality and I can listen to them over and over. "Promise," "Like A Boy," "My Love." and so many more. She expresses her feelings through each song and it's a message, a meaning in her music. Such a talented woman. Full Review »
  3. HalordV.
    Jul 18, 2008
    10
    Masterpiece!