Ciara

Sometimes pop music makes mucky uncles of us all. Listening to "I Promise," you have to assume that this fact has hardly eluded Ciara. Taken from Ciara: The Evolution, the single calls time on the tomboy tease and presents a markedly mature, slurringly sexy, sweet-lunged P-Funkafied R&B sound that lays down a convincing claim for Beyonce's crown. As two-year turnarounds from 21-year-olds go, this is so on the money it must make Madonna's head spin.