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CD review: Usher’s ‘Here I Stand’
Usher
‘Here I Stand’
(Jive)
It’s hard to believe Usher’s “Confessions” was released only four years ago. No album since has matched its chart dominance — four No. 1 hits (“Yeah,” “Burn,” “Confessions II” and “My Boo”) that spent more than half of 2004 atop Billboard. At the time, its commercial success (9 million records sold) was merely remarkable; in today’s climate, it’s unfathomable.
With the emergence of the digital download and the fracturing of the pop culture scene, the days of the mega album may be gone forever. Since 2004, album sales have plummeted. 2007’s top-seller (Josh Groban’s “Noel”) barely sold 3 million copies. Over the last year, artists used to going platinum their opening weekend (Mariah Carey, 50 Cent) have found themselves struggling to reach that mark at all. Many of the industry’s top stars, like Eminem and Shania Twain, have simply stopped releasing new music all together.
So how do you top an album the rest of the industry couldn’t? The question looms over Usher’s latest, “Here I Stand,” which was released Tuesday. Every pop artist dreams of musical success, but few chased fame as single-mindedly as Usher. Since signing a record deal as a teenager in the early ’90s, he methodically worked himself toward stardom. The musical experimentation of his contemporaries (Justin Timberlake, Andre 3000) never interested him; Usher always stayed safely within the confines of modern R&B.
Indeed, if you could construct the ideal R&B singer, he’d look very much like Usher — more seasoned then younger singers like Chris Brown, more versatile than current hit-makers like Akon and T-Pain, all the while maintaining an image acceptable to both corporate America and the club. You’d have to go all the way back to the original King of Pop to find a comparable artist, no surprise considering how heavily Usher borrows from the “Thriller”-era Michael Jackson.
And while he’s had his brushes with the tabloids, Usher’s been careful to avoid the seedier aspects of superstardom that took down his predecessor. “Here I Stand” emphasizes this wholesomeness. Newly married to his longtime stylist, he’s the father of a newborn. Where “Confessions” revolved around him cheating on the woman he loves, “Here I Stand” is full of earnestly delivered lines about love and commitment: “I was a hustler and a player girl before I met you / But how you made a difference, look what I’ve been missing / You got my life together, and I thank you forever.”
The difference is great art is inspired more by pain than joy. Usher’s imperfections on “Confessions” made him more relatable and gave songs like “Burn” an edge. Aside from the stand-out Young Jeezy assisted lead single (“Love in the Club”) and an R. Kelly-like plunge into lyrical absurdity (“Trading Places”), “Here I Stand” is full of generic R&B standards. They’re well sung, but they’re songs a choir-boy type like “American Idol’s” David Archuleta would be comfortable with. It’s music for the elevator, not the bedroom.
For most of his career, Usher’s been fortunate to be matched with equally talented producers (Diddy, Jermaine Dupri and LA Reid). He’s not similarly challenged through much of “Here I Stand’s” bloated track-list. The few big-name collaborations that do appear (will.i.am, Jay-Z, Beyonce & Lil’ Wayne) seem more for name value than musical chemistry.
Usher’s never been afraid to follow a trend (Lil’ Jon’s “Yeah”), and it may be no coincidence that “Here I Stand” feels so much like “American Idol,” a show that appeals to the blandest elements of pop culture and is one of Hollywood’s last reliable blockbusters. The younger crowd who danced to “Yeah” and sung along to “Burn”? They don’t buy CDs anymore.
Recommended: “Love in This Club”, “Moving Mountains”
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By jaykaybee
May 28, 2008 8:11 PM | Link to this
I really disagree with this review. This album is better than Confessions. It would be immature and sinful if he continued to sing about the things he sung about then. Kudos to him for growing up decently and making a album for his fans who also grew up and need mature material to listen to. Chris Brown and Omarion can do that kind of material, Usher will be 30 soon time for him to stop singing about trashy sex and cheating.