Confessions (Usher album)
Encyclopedia
Confessions is the fourth studio album
by American R&B
recording artist Usher
, released March 23, 2004, on Arista
-imprint label LaFace Records
. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2003 to 2004 with production by Jermaine Dupri
, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
, and Lil Jon
. Primarily an R&B album, Confessions showcases Usher as a crooner and incorporates musical elements of hip hop
and crunk
. The album's themes generated controversy about Usher's personal relationship; however, the album's primary producer Jermaine Dupri claimed the record reflects his personal story.
The album was an instant commercial success in the United States, selling 1.1 million copies in its first week. Its continued success was bolstered by its four chart-topping singles. As a strategy to boost its sales amid threats of bootlegging
, a special edition was issued with the hit single "My Boo
". Despite some mixed criticism towards its lyrical substance, Confessions received mostly positive reviews and earned Usher several awards, including a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album
. The album has sold over 10 million copies in the US and has been certified diamond
in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA). According to Billboard
, it is the second best-selling album of the 2000s decade in the US and has been regarded by music writers as Usher's greatest work
.
, who produced his last two albums, My Way
(1997) and 8701
(2001). In spite of his vision, Usher contacted a few new producers as well: "With this album I choose some new producers who I figured would definitely allow me to really articulate myself in a different way ... Every album you gotta grow. You gotta look for something different." Dupri also invited his frequent collaborator Bryan-Michael Cox. The album features productions by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
, Just Blaze
, R. Kelly
, and Usher's brother James Lackey.
With forty recorded songs, Usher felt the album had already been completed. Initially, he submitted the album to his record label, Arista
. He and the company's then-president, L. A. Reid
, listened to the record; however, they thought something was missing in it: "You know what, there's like one or two more records that we just gotta get." Usher was displeased with the decision: He felt returning to the studio was the hardest part and needed to re-motivate himself. He went on recording a few more tracks with help from fellow Atlantian
s Lil Jon
and Ludacris
. Eventually, the team was able to produce songs like "Red Light" and "Yeah!". He also recorded songs with P. Diddy and The Neptunes during one of those sessions but were not released.
rep Kawan "KP" Prather thought that it would let the public know Usher personally: "The music has never been the question, but people tend to buy into the artist. The more they know about you, the more they feel like they're there with you." Primarily because of its personal content, Usher said that this is his chance to be real. He named the album Confessions because he felt it is his most personal record to date: "All of us have our Pandora's box
es or skeletons in our closets. I let a few of them out, you know. I've got a lot to say. I've got a lot of things and stuff built in me that I just want to let go of." He wrote more songs than he contributed to his previous album.
Several of the songs in the album were conceptually based on a situation. For instance, "Burn
" was built around a situation where Usher's two-year relationship with Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas
of American R&B-hip hop girl group
TLC
was about to end. Dupri and Cox were talking and felt that there was a song in it, and started writing. Same through with the supposedly title track "Confessions Part II
"; they were conversing about an impregnated a mistress, and its concept was written down. Usher was recording "Confessions Part II" on a July 2003 session in New York City
, United States. With Usher singing the song's lyrics, the theme of cheating inspired him and Dupri; both decided to produce two parts: "Confessions Part I" and "Confessions Part II (the former is heard at the beginning of the video for the latter).
Confessions falls dominantly in the R&B
genre. Usher commented that he chose to work with collaborators who know "... how to interpret R&B from a jazz
standpoint, an old school throwback standpoint, a new school point, a traditional classic standpoint ..." With producers and him set to produce such an album, however, other musical genres including hip hop
were incorporated. While he wanted to do R&B, Usher also wanted his fans to experience hip hop at the same time: "I try to think outside the box." When Lil Jon came on the scene, crunk
was introduced to the R&B-centered album, specifically on the Sean Garrett
-penned song "Yeah!
". Usher said, "'Yeah!' could be called the first consciously styled "crunk R&B" record." The album also includes various slow jam
s.
This record also introduces a new style for Usher, focusing on his voice and technique. Andre "Dre" Harris and Vidal Davis
listened to 8701 and felt that "Usher really needs to sing hard and let people know his vocal ability". With efforts focused on the record to demonstrate his vocal ability to listeners, songs such as "Superstar" and "Follow Me" exhibited Usher in a type of "crooner mode". The ballad-oriented "Burn" also showcases his vocal aptitude.
With strategies to boost the album's sales albeit threats of stealing music in the internet
, Usher and his management readied a follow-up release of Confessions with additional marketing blitz. The idea was considered "musically driven" after Zomba, who absorbed Arista, management was excited about "My Boo
", a song that was recorded for the original version of the album but failed to meet deadline. However, it actually began when American R&B and soul
singer Alicia Keys
, who is featured on the track, "brought in that the talk of repackaging started". With the inclusion of "My Boo", they thought of the album as complete. While they knew of other artists releasing special editions of their albums, the label felt that Confessions had the edge because of its previous success and its physical changes, including a new cover art
, an expanded CD booklet, pullout poster and a letter to fans from Usher. The new version includes "My Boo" and "Red Light", which were leaked alongside other songs that did not appear in the album, and a remix of "Confessions Part II", and "Seduction"; original tracks were also improved like the extended version of "Confessions Part I" and a rap added by American rapper Jadakiss
in "Throwback". The label itself treated the version a new album, with full media advertisements. The album was re-issued in October 2004, six months after its initial release.
With much debate between two songs, "Burn" was originally chosen as the lead single, with plans of filming its music video in late 2003. Meanwhile, Lil Jon leaked "Yeah!" to DJs across the United States in November 2003. Originally, the label did not intend "Yeah!" as a proper single. Released to street DJs and mixtape
s, it was meant to cultivate fans who waited for three years since the release of 8701. While record labels stayed idle during the Christmas season, "Yeah!" was getting favorable and quick response from radio stations though nobody was promoting; it was finally released as the lead single. To keep the album atop the chart, "My Boo" was targeted for release after "Confessions Part II" was diminishing on the Hot 100. The B-side of the UK release includes "Red Light" and "Sweet Lies". The single again topped the Hot 100, giving the album its fourth consecutive number-one. "Caught Up" was released as the album's fifth and final single, and reached number eight in the United States.
Amidst widespread rumors, Usher stated, "People assume things, because as I said, I pull from my personal experiences to make my music." He added that he loved Chilli, however, "... it just didn't work out. But cheating is not what caused the relationship to collide and crash ..." Although "Burn" is a reference to his dying relationship with Chilli—hence the title—Usher answered the press that the impregnating issue was not taken from a specific situation in his life. He also revealed that his friends who went through similar situations inspired him to write those songs: "... it's just something that I collectively got energy from everybody around me that had been through it." In early 2006, Dupri revealed that the story behind the album is his: "... me cheating on my steady girlfriend, having a baby with that other woman and having to confess to everything that happened to my main girl."
called Live
. The feat also carved history in Arista records having the first in any of their released albums to reach such sales. The success of the thirty-year old record label, however, was attributed to its merging with Zomba Records.
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200
, becoming Usher's first number-one album. Confessions also hit number-one on the Canadian Albums Chart
and the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
. Its early, and successive, progress on the chart was said to be partly sustained by its strong single
releases and plenty of press appearances and promotions. With "Yeah!" propelling the album's debut atop the chart, "Burn", the second single off the album, facilitated Confessionss continuing dominance as well. The first two released singles were competing on the Billboard Hot 100; the latter ended the twelve-week number-one chart run of the former, making Usher the second act to achieve such feat. As the album's third single, "Confessions Part II", was about to top the chart and Usher to join with English pop
and rock
group The Beatles
as the only acts to achieve three consecutive number-one singles, American R&B singer Fantasia Barrino
's debut single "I Believe
" prevented it from happening. Despite this, Usher became the first artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay
with three consecutive number-one singles. "Burn" achieved only eight non-consecutive weeks on the Hot 100 after "Confessions Part II" topped the chart; it became Usher's second time to replace own single at the top. With the three singles also, Usher became the first lead artist to simultaneously chart on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart during the Nielsen SoundScan/Broadcast Data Systems (BDS) era. "Yeah!" and "Burn" were 2004's top best-selling singles in the United States, placing at number one and two respectively on the Billboard
Chart Year-Ender. Again, it honored Usher being the first act to achieve the feat since 1964 with the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You".
The album continued its dominance on the chart. D12 World
by D12 ended its five consecutive weeks run at the top spot; however, Confessions reclaimed the position the following week. The album spent a total 9 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the longest-running number one album of the millennium, until 2009, when country singer Taylor Swift
spent 11 weeks atop the charts. Over one month after its release, Confessions was certified three-time platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
for three million US shipments. Confessions topped the list of the most-shipped albums of 2004 in the United States. To date, the album has shipped over ten million copies in the US and has received a diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA). Confessions serves as the second best-selling album of the 2000s decade in the US.
s. At Metacritic
, which assigns a normalized
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
score of 71, based on 13 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". From an artistic viewpoint, the album has been considered as Usher's best album to date, with writers calling it expansive and futuristic. Matt Cibula of PopMatters
wrote that it "might be the best English-language pop album of the year". Entertainment Weekly
s Jem Aswad said that Usher reveals his maturity on the album. Laura Checkoway of Vibe gave the album three and a half out of five stars and wrote "Though Confessions doesn't bring Usher all the way to the artistic maturity one might hope for, tracking this star's progression definitely has its satisfactions." Newsday
writer Angela Fiorello gave Confessions a B rating and called it a "great album", despite noting its second half as a weak.
In contrast, BBC Online's Andrew McGregor gave the album a mixed review and questioned Usher's performance, "Is it mere theatre or is he really putting his cards on the table?" Rolling Stone
writer Laura Sinagra said that Usher "is coming of age, again ... still doesn't quite cut it as a horny roughneck". Jon Caramanica of Blender
viewed that Usher's songwriting skills "isn't a strength, and his ballads often drown in their own inanity". The Washington Post
s Elizabeth Mendez Berry called Confessions "Usher's strongest recording to date", but viewed that his "bedroom drawl... doesn't feel forced, just unimaginative" and expressed a mixed response towards his "straightforward sensuality". The New York Times
writer Kelefa Sanneh commented: "Like lots of recent R & B albums, this one is heavily front-loaded. Usher's voice never fails him [...], but near the end, the songwriting does", but ultimately lauded Usher's performance on the album, stating
Dan Leroy of Yahoo! Music
commended Usher for "bar[ing] his soul intermittently (if not entirely comfortably)" and stated, "the paradox of Confessions is that Usher has never sounded better on the very sort of polite, romantic R&B that this collection was intended to help him transcend." Amy Linden of The Village Voice
commented that "Usher's (alleged) character flaws are easily forgiven, though, because he can sing his cheating ass off," and concluded, "Like 2002's big-selling but underrated 8701, Confessionsis a top-of-the-line pop-soul showcase that—thanks to perennial A-listers Jam and Lewis, Jermaine Dupri (who keeps maturing as a songwriter and producer), and Rich Harrison—manages to be commercially savvy without coming off as too desperate. Sorta like Usher himself."
: R&B/Soul Album, Male (for Confessions); R&B/Soul Single, Male for ("Confessions Part II"); R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band or Duo (for "My Boo"); and R&B/Soul or Rap Dance Cut (for "Yeah!"). At the 2004 American Music Awards
, he won four, including Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Male Soul/R&B Artist. At the 2004 Billboard Music Awards, Usher racked up eleven awards, including Artist of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, and Hot 100 Song of the Year for "Yeah!". In December 2009 it was ranked as the best solo album and second best overall album of the 2000–2009 decade. Its singles Yeah!
, Burn
, and My Boo
were all ranked as some of the best songs of the 2000–2009 decade, respectively placing in order at number two, number 21, and number 36.
's second album, Feels like Home (2004), as well as breakthroughs albums by many new and old artists, it was seen as a sign that US record sales were slowly recovering after three straight years of decline due to competing DVD
s and video games and the prevalent music piracy
. By the end of 2004, the industry had sold 667 million albums, an increase of about 1.6 percent, as recorded by Nielsen SoundScan
. Compared with sales records in 2003, the figures showed eight percent increase.
In a year-end article for The New York Times
, writer Ben Sisario dubbed 2004 "the year of Usher". The success of the album put Usher in the mainstream, becoming the biggest artist of 2004. Others also said that Usher might be the successor of Michael Jackson
. The success of the album had also facilitated Usher to branch out to non-musical ventures. He has opened a restaurant, starred in a film, launched his record label and recruited artists, and has done philanthropic activities like his efforts in helping 2005 Hurricane Katrina
victims. Usher was not the only person who benefited from the album's significant critical and commercial success. Bryan-Michael Cox, who co-wrote and co-produced "Burn", earned credibility in the music industry for his role in the album. Cox had been producing records for several notable American artists, including Alicia Keys, B2K
, Mariah Carey
and Destiny's Child
, among others, but he considered "Burn" as his crowning moment, which earned him two Grammy Award nominations. With 2004 deemed to be his introduction to a larger, more mainstream audience, Cox stated in an interview for MTV that many people were starting to recount what he had done.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
recording artist Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
, released March 23, 2004, on Arista
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
-imprint label LaFace Records
LaFace Records
LaFace Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Sony Music Entertainment.-Company history:LaFace was formed in 1989 as a joint venture between the producing duo Antonio "L.A." Reid & Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and Arista Records. The combined nicknames of the duo's successful...
. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2003 to 2004 with production by Jermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin , known as Jermaine Dupri or JD, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper.- Early life and career :...
, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B and pop-music songwriting and record production team...
, and Lil Jon
Lil Jon
Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...
. Primarily an R&B album, Confessions showcases Usher as a crooner and incorporates musical elements of hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
and crunk
Crunk
Crunk is a music style that originated in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-to-late 1990s and gained mainstream success around 2003–2004. Performers of crunk music are sometimes referred to as crunksters. An archetypal crunk track most frequently uses a drum machine rhythm, heavy bassline, and...
. The album's themes generated controversy about Usher's personal relationship; however, the album's primary producer Jermaine Dupri claimed the record reflects his personal story.
The album was an instant commercial success in the United States, selling 1.1 million copies in its first week. Its continued success was bolstered by its four chart-topping singles. As a strategy to boost its sales amid threats of bootlegging
Bootleg recording
A bootleg recording is an audio or video recording of a performance that was not officially released by the artist or under other legal authority. The process of making and distributing such recordings is known as bootlegging...
, a special edition was issued with the hit single "My Boo
My Boo (Usher and Alicia Keys song)
"My Boo" is a duet between American R&B singers Usher and Alicia Keys, written by Usher, Keys, Jermaine Dupri, Adonis Shropshire, and Manuel Seal, Jr. Set over a hip hop-style track, the song was produced by Dupri. It was included on the re-release of Usher's fourth studio album, Confessions...
". Despite some mixed criticism towards its lyrical substance, Confessions received mostly positive reviews and earned Usher several awards, including a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album
Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album
The Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album was an honor presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality works on albums in the contemporary R&B music genre...
. The album has sold over 10 million copies in the US and has been certified diamond
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA). According to Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
, it is the second best-selling album of the 2000s decade in the US and has been regarded by music writers as Usher's greatest work
Magnum opus
Magnum opus , from the Latin meaning "great work", refers to the largest, and perhaps the best, greatest, most popular, or most renowned achievement of a writer, artist, or composer.-Related terms:Sometimes the term magnum opus is used to refer to simply "a great work" rather than "the...
.
Background and recording
Usher did not think of collaborating with many new record producers to handle Confessions. With the production started in 2003, he opted to continue creating music with Jermaine DupriJermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin , known as Jermaine Dupri or JD, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper.- Early life and career :...
, who produced his last two albums, My Way
My Way (Usher album)
Sample credits* "Come Back" contains a sample of "Funky" by the Ultramagnetic MCs.* "One Day You'll Be Mine" contains a sample of "Footsteps in the Dark" by The Isley Brothers.-Personnel:Credits for My Way adapted from Allmusic....
(1997) and 8701
8701 (album)
8701 is the third studio album by American R&B singer Usher, released by Arista Records on August 7, 2001, in North America. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2000 to 2001, and was handled by several producers including The Neptunes, Jermaine Dupri, Babyface, Kevin "She'kspere"...
(2001). In spite of his vision, Usher contacted a few new producers as well: "With this album I choose some new producers who I figured would definitely allow me to really articulate myself in a different way ... Every album you gotta grow. You gotta look for something different." Dupri also invited his frequent collaborator Bryan-Michael Cox. The album features productions by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III and Terry Steven Lewis are an American R&B and pop-music songwriting and record production team...
, Just Blaze
Just Blaze
Justin Smith, better known as Just Blaze, is an American hip hop music producer from Paterson, New Jersey. Blaze is also the CEO of Fort Knocks Entertainment. He is most well known for producing Jay-Z songs on the albums The Blueprint, The Blueprint 2, and The Black Album. He is also known for...
, R. Kelly
R. Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...
, and Usher's brother James Lackey.
With forty recorded songs, Usher felt the album had already been completed. Initially, he submitted the album to his record label, Arista
Arista Records
Arista was an American record label. It was a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operated under the RCA Music Group. The label was founded in 1974 by Clive Davis, who formerly worked for CBS Records...
. He and the company's then-president, L. A. Reid
L. A. Reid
Antonio "L.A." Reid is a three-time Grammy Award-winning US record executive, songwriter, and record producer. Best known as the co-founder of LaFace Records, he is responsible for signing and helping bring Mariah Carey, Pink, Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Kanye West, Avril Lavigne, Toni Braxton, TLC,...
, listened to the record; however, they thought something was missing in it: "You know what, there's like one or two more records that we just gotta get." Usher was displeased with the decision: He felt returning to the studio was the hardest part and needed to re-motivate himself. He went on recording a few more tracks with help from fellow Atlantian
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
s Lil Jon
Lil Jon
Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...
and Ludacris
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
. Eventually, the team was able to produce songs like "Red Light" and "Yeah!". He also recorded songs with P. Diddy and The Neptunes during one of those sessions but were not released.
Context
One of Usher's first steps in making Confessions was deciding to reveal "his own little secrets". Friend and former A&RA&R
Artists and repertoire is the division of a record label that is responsible for talent scouting and overseeing the artistic development of recording artists. It also acts as a liaison between artists and the record label.- Finding talent :...
rep Kawan "KP" Prather thought that it would let the public know Usher personally: "The music has never been the question, but people tend to buy into the artist. The more they know about you, the more they feel like they're there with you." Primarily because of its personal content, Usher said that this is his chance to be real. He named the album Confessions because he felt it is his most personal record to date: "All of us have our Pandora's box
Pandora's box
Pandora's box is an artifact in Greek mythology, taken from the myth of Pandora's creation around line 60 of Hesiod's Works and Days. The "box" was actually a large jar given to Pandora , which contained all the evils of the world. When Pandora opened the jar, all its contents except for one item...
es or skeletons in our closets. I let a few of them out, you know. I've got a lot to say. I've got a lot of things and stuff built in me that I just want to let go of." He wrote more songs than he contributed to his previous album.
Several of the songs in the album were conceptually based on a situation. For instance, "Burn
Burn (Usher song)
"Burn" is a song by American R&B singer Usher, which he wrote with American songwriters Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox. The song was produced by Dupri and Cox for Usher's fourth studio album, Confessions...
" was built around a situation where Usher's two-year relationship with Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas
Rozonda Thomas
Rozonda Ocelean Thomas , best known by her stage name Chilli, is a four-time Grammy Award–winning American R&B singer and actress who rose to fame as one third of the successful R&B/Hip-Hop/Pop girl group TLC.-Early life:...
of American R&B-hip hop girl group
Girl group
A girl group is a popular music act featuring several young female singers who generally harmonise together.Girl groups emerged in the late 1950s as groups of young singers teamed up with behind-the-scenes songwriters and music producers to create hit singles, often featuring glossy production...
TLC
TLC (band)
TLC is an American musical trio whose repertoire spanned R&B, hip-hop, soul, funk, and new jack swing. Originally consisting of singer Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, rapper-singer Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes and singer Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas it found success in the 1990s while also enduring a series of spats...
was about to end. Dupri and Cox were talking and felt that there was a song in it, and started writing. Same through with the supposedly title track "Confessions Part II
Confessions Part II
"Confessions Part II" is a song by R&B singer Usher, and co-produced by Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox for Usher's fourth album Confessions. Written by Usher, Dupri and Cox, the song is a confession of a man to his woman about his impregnated mistress, a continuation of "Confessions Part I"...
"; they were conversing about an impregnated a mistress, and its concept was written down. Usher was recording "Confessions Part II" on a July 2003 session in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, United States. With Usher singing the song's lyrics, the theme of cheating inspired him and Dupri; both decided to produce two parts: "Confessions Part I" and "Confessions Part II (the former is heard at the beginning of the video for the latter).
Music and style
Confessions falls dominantly in the R&B
Contemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
genre. Usher commented that he chose to work with collaborators who know "... how to interpret R&B from a jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
standpoint, an old school throwback standpoint, a new school point, a traditional classic standpoint ..." With producers and him set to produce such an album, however, other musical genres including hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
were incorporated. While he wanted to do R&B, Usher also wanted his fans to experience hip hop at the same time: "I try to think outside the box." When Lil Jon came on the scene, crunk
Crunk
Crunk is a music style that originated in Memphis, Tennessee in the mid-to-late 1990s and gained mainstream success around 2003–2004. Performers of crunk music are sometimes referred to as crunksters. An archetypal crunk track most frequently uses a drum machine rhythm, heavy bassline, and...
was introduced to the R&B-centered album, specifically on the Sean Garrett
Sean Garrett
Garrett Hamler, better known by his stage name Sean Garrett is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, and record producer. He has produced fifteen number one singles in only seven years of producing music. That number puts him in fifth place on the Billboard list of producers with the most number...
-penned song "Yeah!
Yeah! (Usher song)
"Yeah!" is a song by American singer Usher, released on 3 February 2004 as the lead single from his hit fourth studio album Confessions. The song was written by Lil Jon, Sean Garrett, Patrick J. Que Smith, Ludacris, Robert McDowell, and LRoc. It was produced by Lil Jon, who combined crunk and R&B...
". Usher said, "'Yeah!' could be called the first consciously styled "crunk R&B" record." The album also includes various slow jam
Slow jam
A slow jam an umbrella term for music with R&B and Soul influences. Slow jams are commonly R&B ballads or down tempo songs. The term is most commonly reserved for soft-sounding songs with heavily emotional or romantic lyrical content. This definition has led to intense debate over whether...
s.
This record also introduces a new style for Usher, focusing on his voice and technique. Andre "Dre" Harris and Vidal Davis
Dre & Vidal
Dre & Vidal is a Multi-Grammy Award Winning songwriting and production duo consisting of Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, who are best known as the main producers for Jill Scott and Glenn Lewis...
listened to 8701 and felt that "Usher really needs to sing hard and let people know his vocal ability". With efforts focused on the record to demonstrate his vocal ability to listeners, songs such as "Superstar" and "Follow Me" exhibited Usher in a type of "crooner mode". The ballad-oriented "Burn" also showcases his vocal aptitude.
Release history
Confessions was originally slated to be released on November 6, 2003. However, due to marketing issues, the scheduled date was moved to March 23 of the following year. With several songs recorded, Usher faced the challenge of determining the final track listing. Usher, Dupri, Reid, and then-A&R rep Mark Pitts have their favorites among the forty, but decided to choose those which "came up consistently more". The collective was able to decide fifteen of them with two interludes completing the seventeen track list. Many songs were set aside for future use, including "Red Light" and a remix of "Yeah!". Usher and Arista held advance-listenings for the album, few months before its actual release; he also appeared on TV guestings to promote Confessions.With strategies to boost the album's sales albeit threats of stealing music in the internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, Usher and his management readied a follow-up release of Confessions with additional marketing blitz. The idea was considered "musically driven" after Zomba, who absorbed Arista, management was excited about "My Boo
My Boo (Usher and Alicia Keys song)
"My Boo" is a duet between American R&B singers Usher and Alicia Keys, written by Usher, Keys, Jermaine Dupri, Adonis Shropshire, and Manuel Seal, Jr. Set over a hip hop-style track, the song was produced by Dupri. It was included on the re-release of Usher's fourth studio album, Confessions...
", a song that was recorded for the original version of the album but failed to meet deadline. However, it actually began when American R&B and soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer Alicia Keys
Alicia Keys
Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...
, who is featured on the track, "brought in that the talk of repackaging started". With the inclusion of "My Boo", they thought of the album as complete. While they knew of other artists releasing special editions of their albums, the label felt that Confessions had the edge because of its previous success and its physical changes, including a new cover art
Cover art
Cover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e...
, an expanded CD booklet, pullout poster and a letter to fans from Usher. The new version includes "My Boo" and "Red Light", which were leaked alongside other songs that did not appear in the album, and a remix of "Confessions Part II", and "Seduction"; original tracks were also improved like the extended version of "Confessions Part I" and a rap added by American rapper Jadakiss
Jadakiss
Jason Phillips , better known as Jadakiss, is an American rapper. He is a member of the group The LOX. Jadakiss is one of the three owners of the imprint known as D-Block. In early 2007, Jadakiss signed to Roc-a-Fella Records / Def Jam Records.-Early life:By the age of 16, Jadakiss was a freestyle...
in "Throwback". The label itself treated the version a new album, with full media advertisements. The album was re-issued in October 2004, six months after its initial release.
Marketing
When "Yeah!" was issued, Usher and the label were plagued by marketing strategies. With many potential lead singles that could fare well in music markets, they were choosing between "Yeah!" and "Burn". Considering that the former sufficed what the label was looking for, they also believed the latter would be a blockbuster. Usher as well was skeptical that time if "Yeah!"—which is largely composed around crunk—would be a good choice after doing an R&B record was in his mindset. Meanwhile, they felt "Burn" also failed to meet their expectations: "'Burn' being a great song is one thing, but it's one of them things where people said, 'It's strong, but can we make history with that?' At the end of the day, you want an event." KP recalled, "Everybody was scared to make that first step."With much debate between two songs, "Burn" was originally chosen as the lead single, with plans of filming its music video in late 2003. Meanwhile, Lil Jon leaked "Yeah!" to DJs across the United States in November 2003. Originally, the label did not intend "Yeah!" as a proper single. Released to street DJs and mixtape
Mixtape
A Mix Tape or Mixed Tape is a compilation of songs recorded in a specific order, traditionally onto an audio Compact Cassette.A Mix Tape, which usually reflects the musical tastes of its compiler, can range from a casually selected list of favorite songs, to a conceptual mix of songs linked by a...
s, it was meant to cultivate fans who waited for three years since the release of 8701. While record labels stayed idle during the Christmas season, "Yeah!" was getting favorable and quick response from radio stations though nobody was promoting; it was finally released as the lead single. To keep the album atop the chart, "My Boo" was targeted for release after "Confessions Part II" was diminishing on the Hot 100. The B-side of the UK release includes "Red Light" and "Sweet Lies". The single again topped the Hot 100, giving the album its fourth consecutive number-one. "Caught Up" was released as the album's fifth and final single, and reached number eight in the United States.
Initial reaction
Shortly after Usher and his label held a few listening parties for the album, controversies spread about the mistress-impregnating concept of "Confessions Part II". Although Usher did not foresee such reaction of the album, Dupri already inferred, while making the album, what would be their reaction: "People are gonna question [Usher] on a couple of little lyrics ..." Coincidentally, Usher ended his relationship with Chilli early in 2004. People were speculating about their breakup given the material of the album and his early interviews about its themes. With lyrics Usher admitted to have written because of his guilty conscience, people assumed that he and Chilli broke up because he was unfaithful. In a February 2004 radio interview, Chilli claimed that Usher "cheated" on her that caused their relationship to split.Amidst widespread rumors, Usher stated, "People assume things, because as I said, I pull from my personal experiences to make my music." He added that he loved Chilli, however, "... it just didn't work out. But cheating is not what caused the relationship to collide and crash ..." Although "Burn" is a reference to his dying relationship with Chilli—hence the title—Usher answered the press that the impregnating issue was not taken from a specific situation in his life. He also revealed that his friends who went through similar situations inspired him to write those songs: "... it's just something that I collectively got energy from everybody around me that had been through it." In early 2006, Dupri revealed that the story behind the album is his: "... me cheating on my steady girlfriend, having a baby with that other woman and having to confess to everything that happened to my main girl."
Commercial performance
Confessions was commercially successful, selling nearly 1.096 million copies in the United States in its first week of release. It became the highest-ever first week sales by an R&B artist, the second-highest first week sales for a male artist, and the seventh-highest first week sales of the recorded album charts history by SoundScan. It also equates the combined first-week sales of his four previous album releases, including his live albumLive album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
called Live
Live (Usher album)
Live is a live album by American recording artist Usher. It was recorded on October 15 and 16, 1998 in the singer's hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and released by LaFace Records on March 23, 1999...
. The feat also carved history in Arista records having the first in any of their released albums to reach such sales. The success of the thirty-year old record label, however, was attributed to its merging with Zomba Records.
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, becoming Usher's first number-one album. Confessions also hit number-one on the Canadian Albums Chart
Canadian Albums Chart
The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS...
and the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
. Its early, and successive, progress on the chart was said to be partly sustained by its strong single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
releases and plenty of press appearances and promotions. With "Yeah!" propelling the album's debut atop the chart, "Burn", the second single off the album, facilitated Confessionss continuing dominance as well. The first two released singles were competing on the Billboard Hot 100; the latter ended the twelve-week number-one chart run of the former, making Usher the second act to achieve such feat. As the album's third single, "Confessions Part II", was about to top the chart and Usher to join with English pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
as the only acts to achieve three consecutive number-one singles, American R&B singer Fantasia Barrino
Fantasia Barrino
Fantasia Monique Barrino commonly known as Fantasia, is an American R&B singer, Broadway and television actress who rose to fame as the winner of the third season of the reality television series American Idol in 2004. Following her victory, she released her debut single, "I Believe", which...
's debut single "I Believe
I Believe (Fantasia song)
"I Believe" is the debut single released by singer and American Idol season 3 winner, Fantasia Barrino. The song significantly helped Fantasia rise to fame. The song was co-written by former American Idol contestant Tamyra Gray.-History:...
" prevented it from happening. Despite this, Usher became the first artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay
Hot 100 Airplay
The Hot 100 Airplay chart is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It measures radio airplay, and is one of the three component charts, along with the Hot Singles Sales and the Hot Digital Songs charts, that determine the chart positions of singles on the Billboard...
with three consecutive number-one singles. "Burn" achieved only eight non-consecutive weeks on the Hot 100 after "Confessions Part II" topped the chart; it became Usher's second time to replace own single at the top. With the three singles also, Usher became the first lead artist to simultaneously chart on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart during the Nielsen SoundScan/Broadcast Data Systems (BDS) era. "Yeah!" and "Burn" were 2004's top best-selling singles in the United States, placing at number one and two respectively on the Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Chart Year-Ender. Again, it honored Usher being the first act to achieve the feat since 1964 with the Beatles' "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "She Loves You".
The album continued its dominance on the chart. D12 World
D12 World
Notes* The skit titled "Bugz" is from the song "Desperados" by Eminem Featuring Proof, Bugz & The Almighty Dreadknaughts.* The song "Just Like U" doesn't appear on the clean version of the album....
by D12 ended its five consecutive weeks run at the top spot; however, Confessions reclaimed the position the following week. The album spent a total 9 non-consecutive weeks at number one on the Billboard 200, becoming the longest-running number one album of the millennium, until 2009, when country singer Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
spent 11 weeks atop the charts. Over one month after its release, Confessions was certified three-time platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
for three million US shipments. Confessions topped the list of the most-shipped albums of 2004 in the United States. To date, the album has shipped over ten million copies in the US and has received a diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA). Confessions serves as the second best-selling album of the 2000s decade in the US.
Critical response
Confessions received generally positive reviews from music criticMusic criticism
See also Music journalism for reporting on classical and popular music in the media.The Oxford Companion to Music defines music criticism as 'the intellectual activity of formulating judgments on the value and degree of excellence of individual works of music, or whole groups or genres'. In this...
s. At Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalized
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 71, based on 13 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". From an artistic viewpoint, the album has been considered as Usher's best album to date, with writers calling it expansive and futuristic. Matt Cibula of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
wrote that it "might be the best English-language pop album of the year". Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
s Jem Aswad said that Usher reveals his maturity on the album. Laura Checkoway of Vibe gave the album three and a half out of five stars and wrote "Though Confessions doesn't bring Usher all the way to the artistic maturity one might hope for, tracking this star's progression definitely has its satisfactions." Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
writer Angela Fiorello gave Confessions a B rating and called it a "great album", despite noting its second half as a weak.
In contrast, BBC Online's Andrew McGregor gave the album a mixed review and questioned Usher's performance, "Is it mere theatre or is he really putting his cards on the table?" Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
writer Laura Sinagra said that Usher "is coming of age, again ... still doesn't quite cut it as a horny roughneck". Jon Caramanica of Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
viewed that Usher's songwriting skills "isn't a strength, and his ballads often drown in their own inanity". The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
s Elizabeth Mendez Berry called Confessions "Usher's strongest recording to date", but viewed that his "bedroom drawl... doesn't feel forced, just unimaginative" and expressed a mixed response towards his "straightforward sensuality". The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
writer Kelefa Sanneh commented: "Like lots of recent R & B albums, this one is heavily front-loaded. Usher's voice never fails him [...], but near the end, the songwriting does", but ultimately lauded Usher's performance on the album, stating
Dan Leroy of Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music, owned by Yahoo!, is the provider of a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming...
commended Usher for "bar[ing] his soul intermittently (if not entirely comfortably)" and stated, "the paradox of Confessions is that Usher has never sounded better on the very sort of polite, romantic R&B that this collection was intended to help him transcend." Amy Linden of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
commented that "Usher's (alleged) character flaws are easily forgiven, though, because he can sing his cheating ass off," and concluded, "Like 2002's big-selling but underrated 8701, Confessionsis a top-of-the-line pop-soul showcase that—thanks to perennial A-listers Jam and Lewis, Jermaine Dupri (who keeps maturing as a songwriter and producer), and Rich Harrison—manages to be commercially savvy without coming off as too desperate. Sorta like Usher himself."
Accolades
The album earned Usher numerous accolades. At the 47th Grammy Awards, he was nominated for eight categories and won three: Best Contemporary R&B Album, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal (for "My Boo") and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration (for "Yeah!"). Usher racked up four wins at the 2005 Soul Train Music AwardsSoul Train Music Awards
The Soul Train Music Awards is an annual award show which previously aired in national television syndication, and honors the best in Black music and entertainment...
: R&B/Soul Album, Male (for Confessions); R&B/Soul Single, Male for ("Confessions Part II"); R&B/Soul Single, Group, Band or Duo (for "My Boo"); and R&B/Soul or Rap Dance Cut (for "Yeah!"). At the 2004 American Music Awards
American Music Awards
-Conception:The AMAs were created by Dick Clark in 1973 to compete with the Grammys after the move of that year's show to Nashville, Tennessee led to CBS picking up the Grammy telecasts after its first two in 1971 and 1972 were broadcast on ABC...
, he won four, including Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Male Soul/R&B Artist. At the 2004 Billboard Music Awards, Usher racked up eleven awards, including Artist of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, and Hot 100 Song of the Year for "Yeah!". In December 2009 it was ranked as the best solo album and second best overall album of the 2000–2009 decade. Its singles Yeah!
Yeah! (Usher song)
"Yeah!" is a song by American singer Usher, released on 3 February 2004 as the lead single from his hit fourth studio album Confessions. The song was written by Lil Jon, Sean Garrett, Patrick J. Que Smith, Ludacris, Robert McDowell, and LRoc. It was produced by Lil Jon, who combined crunk and R&B...
, Burn
Burn (Usher song)
"Burn" is a song by American R&B singer Usher, which he wrote with American songwriters Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox. The song was produced by Dupri and Cox for Usher's fourth studio album, Confessions...
, and My Boo
My Boo (Usher and Alicia Keys song)
"My Boo" is a duet between American R&B singers Usher and Alicia Keys, written by Usher, Keys, Jermaine Dupri, Adonis Shropshire, and Manuel Seal, Jr. Set over a hip hop-style track, the song was produced by Dupri. It was included on the re-release of Usher's fourth studio album, Confessions...
were all ranked as some of the best songs of the 2000–2009 decade, respectively placing in order at number two, number 21, and number 36.
Impact
With sales of more than eight million in 2004, Confessions is named in the United States the most-shipped album of the year. Along with the success of the American singer Norah JonesNorah Jones
Norah Jones is an American singer-songwriter and occasional actress.In 2002, she launched her solo music career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album Come Away With Me, which was certified a diamond album in 2002, selling over 20 million copies...
's second album, Feels like Home (2004), as well as breakthroughs albums by many new and old artists, it was seen as a sign that US record sales were slowly recovering after three straight years of decline due to competing DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
s and video games and the prevalent music piracy
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
. By the end of 2004, the industry had sold 667 million albums, an increase of about 1.6 percent, as recorded by Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
. Compared with sales records in 2003, the figures showed eight percent increase.
In a year-end article for The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, writer Ben Sisario dubbed 2004 "the year of Usher". The success of the album put Usher in the mainstream, becoming the biggest artist of 2004. Others also said that Usher might be the successor of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
. The success of the album had also facilitated Usher to branch out to non-musical ventures. He has opened a restaurant, starred in a film, launched his record label and recruited artists, and has done philanthropic activities like his efforts in helping 2005 Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...
victims. Usher was not the only person who benefited from the album's significant critical and commercial success. Bryan-Michael Cox, who co-wrote and co-produced "Burn", earned credibility in the music industry for his role in the album. Cox had been producing records for several notable American artists, including Alicia Keys, B2K
B2K
B2K was an American R&B music group. The group met in 1998, established in 2001, and managed by music producer Chris Stokes with Lil' Fizz, J-Boog, Raz-B, and Omarion as members. The group disbanded in 2004 due to internal disagreements.-2001-2002: B2K:...
, Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
and Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child
Destiny's Child was an American R&B girl group whose final line-up comprised lead singer Beyoncé Knowles alongside Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams. Formed in 1997 in Houston, Texas, Destiny's Child members began their musical endeavors in their pre-teens under the name Girl's Tyme...
, among others, but he considered "Burn" as his crowning moment, which earned him two Grammy Award nominations. With 2004 deemed to be his introduction to a larger, more mainstream audience, Cox stated in an interview for MTV that many people were starting to recount what he had done.
Track listing
Notes- "Throwback" contains a sample of Dionne WarwickDionne WarwickDionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
's 1973 "You're Gonna Need Me". - "Superstar" contains a sample of Willie HutchWillie HutchWillie McKinley Hutchison, known professionally as Willie Hutch was an American singer, songwriter as well as a record producer and recording artist for the Motown record label during the 1970s and 1980s....
' 1973 "Mack's Stroll/The Getaway (Chase Scene)". - "Take Your Hand" contains a sample of Harold Melvin & The Blue NotesHarold Melvin & the Blue NotesHarold Melvin & the Blue Notes were an American singing group, one of the most popular Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s. The group's repertoire included soul, R&B, doo-wop, and disco...
' 1973 "Is There A Place For Me". - Most tracks on the special edition have their running time cut due to the extra songs present on the album.
Personnel
Credits for Confessions adapted from Allmusic.- Darcy Aldridge – Vocals (background)
- Bobby Ross Avila – Guitar, Piano, Scratching, Strings, Keyboards, Vocals (bckgr), Producer, Drum Programming, Wurlitzer, Moog Bass
- Dante E. Barton – Engineer
- Jason Boyd – Vocal Producer
- Valdez Brantley – Producer
- Bryan-Michael Cox – Producer
- Larry Cox – Keyboards
- Ian Cross – Engineer
- Kevin "KD" Davis – Engineer
- Vidal Davis – Producer, Mixing
- Jermaine Dupri – Producer, Mixing
- E Bass – Guitar
- Brian Frye – Engineer
- John Frye – Mixing
- Richard Furch – Mixing
- Sandy Garrett – Vocals (bckgr), Vocal Producer
- Serban Ghenea – Mixing
- Andre Harris – Producer, Mixing
- Rich Harrison – Producer, Instrumentation
- Delicia Hassan – Production Coordination
- Eddie Holland – Composer
- John Horesco IV – Engineer, Assistant
- Iz – Bass, Guitar, Percussion, Scratching, Drums, Keyboards, Producer, Moog Bass
- Jimmy Jam – Producer, Fender Rhodes
- LaMarquis Mark Jefferson – Bass
- Darrale Jones – A&R
- Just Blaze – Producer
- L-Roc – Keyboards
- James Lackey – Producer
- Ken Lewis – Guitar, Engineer, Mixing
- Terry Lewis – Producer
- Anthony Mandler – Photography
- Matt Marrin – Engineer
- Manny Marroquin – Mixing
- Tony Maserati – Mixing
- Tadd Mingo – Assistant
- Johnny "Natural" Najara – Producer
- Paula Patton – Vocals (bckgr)
- Mark Pitts – A&R
- Herb Powers – Mastering
- Usher Raymond – Vocals (bckgr), Producer, Executive Producer
- Tim Roberts – Assistant
- Donnie Scantz – Engineer
- Jon Smeltz – Mixing
- Jan Smith – Vocal Producer, Vocal Coach
- Jonathon "Lil' Jon" Smith – Vocals (bckgr), Producer, Mixing
- Aaron Spears – Producer
- Patrice "ButtaPhly" Stewart – Vocals (bckgr)
- Arthur "Buddy" Strong – Producer
- Phil Tan – Mixing
- Robin Thicke – Producer, Instrumentation
- Ryan Toby – Vocal Producer
- The Trak Starz – Engineer
- Mark Vinten – Engineer
- D.L. Warfield – Design, Layout Design
- Ryan West – Engineer
- Ghian Wright – Assistant
- James "Big Jim" Wright – Bass, Producer, Wurlitzer
Weekly charts
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
2 |
| Austria Albums Chart | 25 |
| Belgium Ultratop 50 Albums (Flanders) Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
10 |
| Belgium Ultratop 50 Albums (Wallonia) Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts... |
7 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
1 |
| Denmark Albums Chart Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl... |
10 |
| Finland Albums Chart | 20 |
| Germany Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
2 |
| Ireland Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
1 |
| Netherlands Mega Album Top 100 | 3 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart | 1 |
| Poland Albums Chart OLiS OLiS is the official list of the highest selling music albums in Poland. The list exists since October 23, 2000 and is provided by ZPAV.... |
35 |
| Sweden Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
11 |
| Switzerland Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
3 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
1 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 |
| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
1 |
| Chart (2005) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| France Albums Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
4 |
| Norway Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
2 |
| Spain Albums Chart | 60 |
Certifications
Decade-end charts
| Chart (2000–2009) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 | 2 |
External links
- Confessions at DiscogsDiscogsDiscogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...
- Confessions at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...