But to be worthy of the Michael Jackson-level prestige he coveted, Usher needed a man-in-the-mirror moment. Everyone in America knew the term “Yeah!” not just as an everyday affirmation but as a club smash. He had the catalog, choreography, angelic falsetto, and winning grin necessary to be a star. Usher understood that much of a great pop album is simply telling a good story. “Nobody knows who the fuck Billie Jean is. “We wanted the media to ask us questions,” the producer told Vibe in 2014, comparing their artistic license to that of Michael Jackson. II,” a saga about creeping and getting another woman pregnant, was based on Dupri’s life, not Usher’s. The album’s most salacious track, “Confessions Pt. A decade later, executive producer Jermaine Dupri said the song was indeed about her but admitted Confessions wasn’t just Usher’s experience, rather a compilation of its male creators’ infractions, promoted as one man’s expunging of sins. He said he co-wrote the album’s core breakup ballad, “Burn,” while he and Chilli were still together. While it was true that he wasn’t entirely sold on marriage, he told Rolling Stone in 2004 that he did once buy Chilli a 10-karat diamond ring and proposed to her in the most R&B way: in the middle of sex. In constructing the narrative around Confessions, Usher omitted certain facts. Even after accomplishing pretty much everything one can accomplish in the music industry, reaping fame and fortune, Usher remains relatable in his lyrics, and that no doubt translates to his longevity.But the deception worked on multiple levels. Even when his albums as a whole aren't smashing everything in sight, he at least produces one song that will resonate on a large scale, and "Climax" represents that. "Climax" was the lead single, most popular and successful song from Usher's 2012 album Looking 4 Myself. It didn't hurt that Keys and Usher had experienced prior success in collaboration with "If I Ain't Got You." Usher was just as powerful in collaboration as he was by himself-his distinct style never got lost when teaming up with Keys or other artists. Song after song from Confessions was flooding the mainstream, with each song on the album's track list feeling like it could stand alone as a single. All of this is to say, Confessions was as diverse in sound as it was universally popular.įeatured on 2004's Confessions, the "My Boo" duet between Usher and Alicia Keys is timeless. This was at the height of Usher, which is not to suggest that he has dropped off dramatically over the years, but every artist has his or her peak. The track earned Usher MTV Video Music Award of the Year. "Yeah!" is every bit hip hop as it is R&B, and allowed Usher to momentarily escape his slower and more sentimental or sexual songs. You know what words come next when I type, "These are my confessions." If you turned the radio on or went to a school dance, or any club, in 2004 and beyond, you could not (and sometimes, still can't) escape the second track on this album, "Yeah!" featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris. These awards symbolize, obviously, Usher's prominence, but also his ability to make R&B feel like pop music without losing everything that makes R&B, R&B.Īrguably Usher's most famous work, Confessions was released in 2004 as his fourth studio LP. In order, from 2001-12, Usher has won Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("U Remind Me"), Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("U Don't Have To Call"), Best Rap/Sung Collaboration ("Yeah!"), Best Contemporary R&B Album ( Confessions), Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals ("My Boo"), Best Contemporary R&B Album ( Raymond V Raymond), Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("There Goes My Baby"), and Best R&B Performance ("Climax"). Usher has won eight Grammy Awards since breaking onto the music scene in the mid-90s.
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