Citing Janet Jackson and Destiny’s Child as key influences after seeing them perform on TV when she was younger, it’s no secret that Ciara continues to be particularly inspired by Ms. Jackson—both choreo- and breathy vocals-wise. Her new single, “Jump” (not to be confused with Madonna’s from Confessions on a Dance Floor), is part of her reinvigorated mission to “make the world dance” (probably because, like Britney said, “Keep on dancing till the world ends”). Especially if they happen to have a booty that can really pop along to the primary declaration of the lyrics: “You like it when I make the thang jump/You go wow when I make the thang jump/It get loud when I make the thang jump/It’s a party when I make the thang jump, jump.”
That last intonation in the chorus finds Ciara also paying homage to Kriss Kross in their own iconic 1992 single called “Jump,” when they chant, “The Mac Dad’ll make ya (jump jump)/The Daddy Mac’ll make ya (jump jump)/Kris Kross’ll make ya (jump jump).” But now, Ciara is here to modernize the (largely Janet) sound and do the same as she proceeds to show us her multi-talentedness by also serving as creative director (with Jamaica Craft) for the accompanying video.
Her throwback vision is clear from the outset as we see her take us back to major Bring It On vibes during the opening cheerleading scene in front of two school buses filled with seats likely hoping to cradle some asses pretty soon. She says, “Make that thing jump” at the end of their cheer in a way that harkens back to Justin Timberlake saying, “Man, I’m tired of singin’” on “Pop!” before he segues into his now ultra-cringey beat-boxing portion of the song. One only brings this up because the video for “Jump” is imbued at every turn with an 00s-inspired feel (save for the Euphoria-inspired makeup, which itself was inspired by the 00s anyway, making for yet another example of: everything is a copy of a copy of a copy). Harkening back to the time when Ciara was first rising to prominence in 2004 with “Goodies.”
That said, any mid-00s visual worth its weight in authenticity will feature a street/parking lot/industrial tableau dance scene (see also: Janet’s “All For You” video, during which she wears “Euphoria makeup” [when it was just 00s makeup] and dances in the middle of the street in front of a cartoonish Hollywood sign). Ciara provides that right out the gate in an open-air parking garage complete with low-riders that bounce every time she does. If you couldn’t tell already based on the car-centricness, we’re in the great city of Los Angeles (again, where the “All For You” video also takes place). That much is affirmed when we next see Ciara dancing in a Tupac shirt in front of the Downtown LA backdrop. Here she sounds her most Janet-y with the lines, “If you want it, I got all the flavors you need/Get up on it, come apply that pressure on me/You’ve been waiting, saying what you gon’ do, we gon’ see/That’s right, we gon’ see what it do/Tell me something, you came all this way to slow down/Boy, stop frontin’, right now ain’t the time to back out.” The similarity Ciara has to Janet’s vocal tone in this particular verse is compounded by the similarity to Janet’s “saucy”/semi-taunting persona in most of her dance-oriented tracks.
Her entire ensemble in this sequence—paired with her hair—also makes her look like a combination of both Janet and Michael (particularly in their early to mid-90s military chic era, which coalesced seamlessly during the video for “Scream”). The special and visual effects-heaviness of the video are, additionally, something Janet and Michael could get on board with, and should be the first dead giveaway that this is a Dave Meyers video (see also: “No Tears Left to Cry” and any of his work with Missy Elliott). Yet another way in which the aesthetics have plenty to offer in terms of 00s-inspired cachet—for Meyers, like, invented the 00s aesthetic in music videos… including Britney Spears’ “Lucky” and J. Lo and Ja Rule’s “I’m Real.”
Another sequence finds Ciara on a rooftop at night in a glittery silver outfit that coordinates with her more-pronounced-than-ever maquillage de Euphoria. Another “slick” Meyers cut leads us to Ciara in the daytime as a “1, 2 Step” dance instructor while she screams on her head mic, “They can’t jump with us, can’t mess with us, drop that ass girl! Make ‘em say ‘wow!’ Drop that ass girl, make it clap loud. Let’s go!” Meyers subsequently cuts to a multitude of women following along to Ciara’s step aerobics, all wearing the same workout outfit but in different vibrant colors that the 80s would approve of.
Ciara beguiles us with another series of costume changes and tableaus before allowing Coast Contra (which does sound a lot like Contra Costa) to enter the fray at the three-minute, fourteen-second mark and admit, “I like the way you make it jump for me.” Offering up their own elaborate, jump-filled segment, Ciara then takes over again and doesn’t slow down as the video draws to a close.
If anything, she ratchets up the bombast—Janet-style—by going full-tilt back to the beginning of the century with costumes consisting of white vinyl bucket hats and coordinating pants (that open up at the side with snap-buttons), bra tops and jackets. The whole thing reminds one of Normani’s own bid to re-create the 00s in “Wild Side.” But, of course, Normani could never be as “true” as Ciara, having risen to prominence in real time during that era. And, like Janet before her, Ciara is proving that she can reanimate in different decades… and that, just when you might have written her off, she’ll come back and wow you out of nowhere with a bop that puts every other bia in the genre to shame.
What’s more, at a time when mediocrity is the norm, “Jump” offers the kind of elaborateness in a video we had grown used to thinking of as a “thing of the past”—you know, back when something as grandiose as “Rhythm Nation” could be made because not everything had to be considered in terms of: “is this TikTok-digestible?” Which, conveniently enough for the suits, “Jump” actually is that as well.
