By Jill Alphonso

AMERICAN hip-hop starlet Ciara Harris is known for her gritty hip-hop dance moves that have branded her as the princess of crunk (a hip-hop term that mixes the words "crazy" and "drunk").

But the 23-year-old, whose catchy hit Love Sex Magic (featuring Justin Timberlake) is riding high on airwaves right now, is really a good girl at heart.

When she took the call from my paper, it was 9pm in Atlanta, Georgia, on a Thursday night.

Instead of getting ready to go out and party, she was chilling with her "children" - dogs Tinkerbell and Tyson. "It's what I do most in my free time," she said.

When asked about Love Sex Magic - off her latest and third studio offering, Fantasy Ride - and its steamy video which sees her grinding sexily against Timberlake, as well as licking and kissing his ear, she turned almost shy.

"It was great to work with him in the studio," she said demurely.

But did Timberlake's girlfriend, Jessica Biel, mind the hot scenes?

After all, there were rumours swirling in April that Biel - who is reportedly moving in with her beau - was tired of Timberlake's flirting with other women.

"I met her once and she struck me as a confident woman. I don't think she minded," Harris said with a laugh.

"As for Justin, he's an awesome guy."

Harris, who broke out in 2004 with the hit Goodies, collaborated with Missy Elliot on the tracks Lose Control and 1 2 Step.

Harris won a Grammy for her performance in the video for the latter in 2006.

Fantasy Ride, her first album in three years, sees her collaborating with Elliot again on the single, Work.

Other songs feature the likes of hip-hop stars Ne-Yo, Ludacris and, yes, the infamous singer Chris Brown.

Brown is facing felony charges for allegedly hitting and choking his then girlfriend Rihanna in February.

Harris was the opening act for Rihanna's Good Girl Gone Bad tour in the United States last year.

Ask her about the incident and she sounds genuinely saddened.

"It's unfortunate that something so personal like that has to be so public. They're both cool people and I'll always love them both.

"I'm sending positive energy to both of them," she said.

"It's hard to be in the public eye, where everyone contributes to your breakdown."

Harris also spilled on the issue of the October 2008 Vibe magazine cover that saw her wearing only a pair of platform shoes.

Then, she stated that she had been clothed during the photo shoot, and Vibe had later airbrushed off her clothes.

"I was pretty upset at the time," she said.

"I didn't want people to think that I had to (take my clothes off) in order to get attention, to sell records. But, thankfully, it's all behind me."

In the meantime, Harris is just ready to be back on the road touring.

"I've had a three-year break, you know?" she said, laughing.

"And every year gets better for me, but I was definitely itching to get back to doing what I love."

jilla@sph.com.sg

For more my paper stories click here.