Grammy Preview: Ciara

Twenty-year-old Atlanta crunk diva Ciara set fire to the charts with her coy R&B track "Goodies," her sultry slow jam "Oh" and "1, 2 Step," her hip-hop tag team with Missy Elliott. But when she checked in with Rolling Stone on the day she was nominated for four Grammys, she was freezing her ass off in Cleveland, on tour with Gwen Stefani. "It's snowing outside, and there's ice on the ground," she says. "But it feels like Christmas. I love it."

How did you find out that you were nominated?

I woke up really late this morning for the first time in a while and looked at my pager, and one of my old friends e-mailed me and said, "Congratulations on your nomination." And I was like, "Huh? What nomination?" Then it said, "Grammy."

Are you going to have some champagne at the ceremony?

That's funny -- I don't drink. I'm not twenty-one, and even when I am, I'm not going to drink. I'm a crazy person, though. I get that natural high.

Who, besides you, do you think deserves to win this year?

It will be big for Mariah this time around. She's such an amazing talent. It's great for her to be able to reinvent herself.

Who would you most like to perform with at the Grammys?

Mariah and Missy. And I want to do something with U2. I met Bono, and he's such a cool guy.

Any heroes you haven't met yet?

I've met just about everybody -- except Michael Jordan.

He's probably not going to be there. But you might make a case for a new category.

That'd be hot.

What song from 2005 do you wish you wrote?

I wish I would have written [Carey's] "We Belong Together," Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone," Gwen's "Hollaback Girl" and Kanye's "Gold Digger." Those are some really good records.

Where are some of the weirdest places you've heard your songs?

I watch those VH1 specials every now and then, and I keep hearing "Goodies" and "1, 2 Step" in the background. And that's just really weird, because it's in a whole bunch of their specials, and I'm like, "Huh?"

How will you celebrate if you win?

This may sound a little weird to you, but I'm a simple person. My after-Grammy party is me and all my people hanging together, at the hotel. Then I'm gonna celebrate by making more hit records.

Next: Weezer