Music veteran Ciara teams up with R&B’s accomplished singer-songwriter, Summer Walker, to release “Better Thangs,” the follow-up single to “Jump.”
Ciara’s Summer Return
This July saw the R&B legend return with “JUMP,” featuring Coast Contra. Over the past two years, the singer put a limited amount of singles since her 2019 LP, “Beauty Marks.” With or without the hip-hop group’s feature, the song is quintessential vintage Ciara, right down to her wardrobe changes and iconic “Ciara walk.”
“I feel like some of my best music is what I call stadium music,” she said in a live chat before “Jump’s” premiere. She goes, “It’s also what I call ‘Ghetto-Pop.’ It’s songs that can play in the hood and beyond, and that’s always been important to me since day one.
On September 19, the veteran teased the duo’s new song on Instagram, saying “It’s a vibe when me n my girl link up! CC & @SummerWalker 👯♀️ . . . 9/30 #BetterThangs.” The collaboration isn’t their first and follows the “Body Party” singer’s contribution to “Ciara’s Prayer” from Walker’s album, “Still Over It” (2022).
Better Thangs by Ciara (with Summer Walker)
Having Walker on the track should indicate a feel-good, vicious production. Better yet, the duo makes a powerful girl group with a slick entry on the song in poolside lounge chairs and Motorola V3 hang-ups. “You ain’t even cross my mind, now, I’m on to better thangs / No, it ain’t worth my time, no, stop calling my line,” Ciara sings while shutting the door on a guy.
The music video shares a more playful side of the stars in color-coordinating matching outfits. If Ciara shuts the door, guaranteed Walker will also shut it down. Walker glides on the second verse, “Ain’t got nothin’ else to say / ‘Cause I know karma comes around / So I pray, never waste mental space.” The R&B singer conserves her energy and mind, supporting her counterpart’s hope for the future.
Although these themes are regulars in Walker’s wheelhouse of lyrics, they are strikingly similar to “Queen’s Space” off Ari Lennox’s 2022 album, “age/sex/location.” No matter her delivery, it sounds effortlessly fresh and needed.
What do you think of Ciara and Summer Walker’s new single, “Better Thangs”? Let us know in the comments!
