Ciara’s 20-minute performance in front of approximately 1,800 Eastern fans Friday night in Lantz Arena left many upset and craving for more music.

Audience members expressed their disappointment with the length of the concert.

“The concert was fun and exciting,” said Layka Hill, a junior psychology major. “I had a blast for $15, but we needed 15 more minutes to get our money’s worth.”

Other audience members agreed Ciara’s performance was too short.

“Overall, she put on a good performance, but it was cut too short,” said Marquitta Baines, a junior communication studies major.

“I didn’t expect her performance to be for the last 15-20 minutes of the concert, considering she has 13 songs,” said Darrius Frazier, a senior history and African-American studies major.

Joe Atamian, a junior marketing major and University Board concert coordinator elect, said UB was unsure if the short concert had violated contract agreements.

“We would have liked to hear her perform longer, but students seemed to be enjoying what they saw,” Atamian said.

UB is constructing a survey for possible concerts for next fall, Atamian said.

University Board paid Ciara $25,000 to perform and an additional $10,000 for sound and stage equipment.

Ciara, an 18-year-old R&B singer from Atlanta, was named the recipient of the 2005 Sammy Davis Jr. Female Entertainer of the Year Award last week for this year’s Soul Train Awards.

Ciara has also had success with her debut album “Goodies,” which recently went Platinum and features the current hit, “1,2 Step.”

“It feels good to set a trend,” Ciara said at the meet and greet before the concert.

Ciara entered the stage wearing a black vest, camouflage pants, black boots and hoop earrings with her hair tied in a ponytail and performed her songs, “Oh,” “Thug Style,” “Goodies” and “1,2 Step.”

The concert opened with Flow James, a 22-year-old singer from Fort Heights, Chicago. James was the winner of the freestyle battle at the Twista concert at Eastern in November 2003. This concert was Flow’s first performance since winning the freestyle battle at the Twista concert.

While the crowd enjoyed listening to Flow, Kennedy Valinevicius, a third grader at Carl Sandburg Elementary School, was patiently waiting to get a picture and autograph with Ciara at the meet and greet room.

“I like Ciara’s music,” Valinevicius said. “My favorite song is ‘1,2 Step’.”

Valinevicius said his wait to see Ciara was worth it; she got three digital pictures with Ciara and an autographed poster.

Click here to see more photos of Ciara and Flow from Friday night’s concert.