Tropical birds Ciara and Rihanna.

Ciara and Rihanna both benefitted from price cuts as methods of securing higher record sales but they have found another way to increase their popularity. Following in the footsteps of the infamous Madonna before her, the former seems particularly interested in the added boost of public attention gained by her feud with her Bajan peer.

We all know that Ciara and Rihanna were previously involved in a high profile clash in the past but the timing of this latest showdown is quite peculiar. In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch if somebody suggested that their joint mentor, LA Reid, had a hand in this foolishness as a clever ploy to manipulate the putty-brained masses.

Shortly after the debut of her new single, “Body Party”, Ciara became a target online jokes after Rihanna’s friend Melissa Forde posted a image of their crew relaxing with the tagline “#BodyParty (bathroom acapella version) #London.” Of course, they were referring to Ciara’s first performance of the song in a Paris bathroom.

What were the chances that Rihanna and her crew would be free at the exact moment that Ciara’s “Body Party” hit the airwaves, especially since they have not addressed their less relevant counterpart in years? Yet, my detective work doesn’t end there.

Ciara addressed the matter on Tony Sculfield & the Morning Riot and showed off the extent of her media training with her response. “I didn’t receive what they did from a positive place,” she stated. “I’ve always thought that everything was cool because I actually remember seeing Rihanna two years ago at the Met Gala after we had the little small back and forth, and from what I recall, everything was cool.”

Quickly following Ciara’s remarks, it was announced that “Body Party” will be issued to iTunes on March 12th. So, either the timing of this spat is a pure coincidence or calculated move by LA Reid Ciara’s team to increase her chances of landing a hit with “Body Party”. Hey, if you were in charge of a struggling artist who is one strike away from being dropped, you’d probably do the same thing.

Photo by Larry Busacca/Getty Images North America

Thoughts?