The news Usher receives on the interlude is enough to make a man think, "What did I get myself into?" And this thought is exactly what's expressed on the next song, "Confessions Part II." Usher sounds lost as he prepares to break the news to his girlfriend. And the quiet storm voice Usher speaks in is a nice touch as well. With the scene Usher portrays and the way the beat fades out, the interlude might as well be part of a soap opera. On the track, Usher acts out his response to his mistress' pregnancy. "Confessions (Interlude)" is the dramatic moment needed for a good story. "Throwback" conveys Usher's regret, and the reason for it is revealed on the next track. But Usher's message is best captured by two of his final lines: "The love of my life / But I wasn't loving you right, baby." And his sentiments match the brooding sound of the beat. He inflects his voice almost each time he asks for another chance, creating a sense of urgency. Usher hears Warwick’s words and responds with desperation. But with it, the cut moves from being a desperate plea to an emotional exchange. "Throwback" would still be a great song without the sample. You're gonna need me one day." These words convey the same regret that Usher admits in his singing, but they offer a voice to the person wronged. Warwick's voice pops up often and says, "You're gonna want me back. And Just Blaze added to his lore with "Throwback," since the Dionne Warwick sample he used is about as vital to the song as Usher. The two producers distinguished themselves with the way they manipulated soul samples. "Throwback" is produced by the great Just Blaze, who helped shift the sound of hip-hop in the early 2000s alongside Kanye West. On the next track, Usher shifts back to the sound heard at the album's start. But it would have been foolish to omit such a big song. Sonically, "Yeah!" sticks out like a sore thumb among the rest of the album's cuts. And the final bar on Ludacris' verse has to be one of the rap lines most repeated in conversation. Usher proves just how catchy a song can be thanks to his voice. The energetic track was destined to be the inescapable hit it became. The track is an emblem of Lil Jon's reign at the time, from a beat that sounds like a melodic alarm to the "WHAT" and "OKAAAAY" ad-libs that inspired great bits on Chappelle's Show. The album's second song is "Yeah!," Usher's monstrous collaboration with Lil Jon and Ludacris.
But as the next track begins, the energy does a 180 that would make Vince Carter proud. You see what I did there, right?Ĭonfessions starts in a calm, yet suspenseful way thanks to the intro. Once the track ends, it's clear that Usher has a lot on his mind *DRAMATIC PAUSE* and he's ready to confess. Usher strengthens this connection with his ad-libs, as his voice echoes in a way that calls Marvin Gaye to mind. He then speaks over production that's reminiscent of old soul music. Usher opens the song with a deep sigh, so it's safe to say he doesn’t have good news to share. The LP's intro is a short offering, but it still sets the tone for what's to come. But in a weird way, the breakup afforded him the world's gaze and that's exactly what his album deserved.
I doubt Usher wanted to endure a public breakup for the sake of his career.
From strong vocals to meaningful lyrics, great production to smart sequencing-pretty much everything you could ask for in an R&B album is present on Confessions. But thankfully, the album itself saved Usher from being just a tabloid star. Some may see the drama that surrounded Usher's album and think it was all a cheap ploy to sell units. This sentiment remained as Usher and Dupri began the recording process, and it manifested in a song titled "All Bad." The singer had to ramp up interest in who he was outside of music. Reid and Usher himself had a solution in mind. But for Usher's team, there was still another level for him to reach.
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He had Platinum albums, high-charting singles and big TV performances. Usher was already one of R&B’s biggest stars prior to Confessions. But few would dominate a chapter the way Usher did with his breakthrough LP. If R&B was a story, lots of characters would be involved. This understanding helped to shape Confessions, the fourth album by Usher. Topics that strike a chord, characters that you root for, anticipation of what’s to come-these elements can make us rewind an album or turn the page all the same. Music and novels are decidedly different artforms, but they both demonstrate the power of a good story. Happy 15th Anniversary to Usher’s fourth studio album Confessions, originally released March 23, 2004.