Contrary to what most are saying,

I’m excited about this and I think from the tracks I’ve heard [excluding "Love In This Club"] this album shows maturity. The content is definitely a step up from the position in life he once was in.

He’s older and more mature [wiser?] now and you can tell.

Usher’s back! I’m truly excited about this.

And I’m not even an Usher stan!…. yet

I thought “Confessions” was an OK album. It wasn’t ALL that. His new album is ok, I just think it just needs to grow on me a bit.

@YOUNGIN- Yeah Justin’s cd is WAY better than Usher’s new one for sure!

New cd is ok but not better than Confessions..

Justin and Robin took risks, there is no risk taking on Here I Stand.

Oh okay I heard the album was just okay, for a comeback album he shoulda came harder…

ON A BRIGHTER note ASHANTI THE DECLARATION IN STORES JUNE 3RD

Her comeback is HARD, no lie the album isn’t even out yet and we got people going CRAZY…

The Declaration
JUNE 3RD (next tuesday people)

@ Billy who is talking about Ashanti comeback? I love her song but I am not talking about her comeback. I looooove Usher cd BTW

#69 WROTE:
Rocognize talent. Do yall realize usher was Chris Brown’s age when he recorded My Way. He had way more talent than chris has. Yall make me laugh when yall call chris the next MJ. Yall stupid.

— — —

^^^AMEN GURL!!! DAT WACK ASS CHRIS BREEZY WILL NEVA REACH USHERS LEVEL!!!! DAT LIL NIGGA ONLY GOT HIS DANCE MOVES IF HE GOT INJURED BAD HE WUDNT HAV NOTHING LEFT CUZ HIS ASS CANT SING. N ALL THE WHILE DESE WRINKLED ASS HOES STAY CHANGING THERE BIG ASS GRANNY PANTIES FOR HIS TODDLER LOOKIN ASS!!

NOW I AINT GONNA LIE, I AINT A FAN OF WAT I BEEN HEARING OFF DIS ALBUM, BUT I DONT WANNA RELATE DAT 2 WHAT HES DUN IN HIS PERSONAL LIFE— MAMA RAYMOND AND HIM MAY HAV GONE SEPARATE WAYS MUTUALLY. AND WE DONT KNOW MS TAMEKA AND YALL NEED TO LAY OFF OF THE POOR WOMAN WHOS ONLY CRIME WAS FALLIN IN LOVE WITH USHER RAYMOND. YALL COMPLAIN BOUT HOW BROTHERS DONT TREAT SISTERS RIGHT…UM HE STAYS DEFENDING HIS WOMAN 24/7 DESPITE ALL THE NASTY ASS THINGS PPL SAY. DATS THE KIND OF BLACK MAN WE NEED 2 LOOK FOR INSTEAD OF DISSIN THEY ASSES.

boo.

Listening to the album on MTV leak. Not very excited about it. My favorites so far are Moving mountains, the best thing, mistakes (which sounds like that song Beyonce did :if you let him take me from you). I really wouldnt call them favorites, just songs that catch my attention.

THIS ALBUM IS FIRE! IN MY OPINION ITS BETTER THAN ALL OF HIS OTHER ALBUMS, NOT AS MUCH POP AND NO FILLERS! I WILL CERTAINLY BE BUYING A COPY , THIS IS THE BEST ALBUM IVE HEARD ALL YEAR. USHER HAS A REAL MATURE SOUND NOW.

This album is ok, but comparied to confessions it is garbage

I must agree with the review.. The two songs trading places and best thing..Are really great tracks on the album. If we continue to compare it with confessions it will always come in second. Confessions was just an overall great album and it had great hype to go along with it. At first I was thinking he created this album in a rush to appease his fans. However the more I listen to the music I realize he is singing songs that are more of what place he’s in right now. If you listen to the tracks only two or three really lend to what he did in the past and the rest is new material for a new Usher. As a Usher fan I would love it to have been what we all expected it to be more of the same Usher we are use to. I think that “That Usher” is somewhat suppressed now that he is a Husband and Father. I Like the Album for what it represents…Change.

I am addicted to Confessions but I was shocked when Usher came out with his first single for the new album. What the f*ck? Usher ’s music is usually way more classy and more mature. DId he forget his audience? Mostly women? I want to hear some REAL music from Usher and not the same ole tired repetitive stuff you get on the radio everyday. I will try to listen to his other singles but so far I am not impressed… I still love me some Usher though.

Secondly, Stop hating on that man cause he chose his wife as he should have over his manager whom happens to be his momma…If he would have chosen his momma we would have been calling him a momma’s boy..That man has done so much in his career and personal life we should be proud that he representing so well and not out here with a drug habit, committing crimes, spousal abuse etc. If the worst thing we can say is he chose a wife and his album is okay…I think that’s damn good!!…Let’s Be real!!

Another sad, short sucky review from Brian…who let you take over the music part of this blog?

You suck at reviewing albums, leaking new music, etc.

Since this is a new music review, I will review the music. I don’t like it. The End. His life outside of the studio is none of my business.

yooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! USHER……………………. is WACK…………….. I MEAN WACK……………. U KONW GINUWINE IS COMIN OUT WITH A NEW ALBUM THIS YEAR AND HE IS GOIN TO SHUT USHER UP WITH ALL THAT CRYIN S4IT……….. JAY-Z IS WACK 2 THAT SONG BEST THING WHAT TYPE OF S4IT WAS THAT……… I KNOW SOME WACK A$$ S4IT………. BYE BYE USHER WITH UR WEEK, WACK A$$…. U 2 JAY-Z……. AND ALL JAY-Z AND USHER FAN YA’LL SOME WACK A$$ES 2…….. B I T CH ES….. LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL…………..

COME AND GET SOME U WACK A$$ES

The cd sounds a bit rushed. There are good songs on the album but I think his record company sped up the release due to the somewhat success of Love In This Club which was leaked.

i love the new cd.i love how he talks about now being faithful showing his maturiy now being a father and a married husband….you go usher

my jams are make it rain, this ain’t sex and trading places

In no way can you compare Confessions to Ushers latest effort ” Here I Stand”.. I was never really an Usher fan UNITL Confessions but because of that album i took in his previous work 8701 ECT.. He is an ENTERTAINER and a good one at that.. This album shows GROWTH and Maturity.. he has some banging tracks on the album YES.. his best effort NO…However it is still a good album.. You cant bash his album juss becuase of his personal life.. That is not fair to him has an artist nor as a HUMAN BEING.. its his life allow him to live it.. Base ur opinions on the quality of the music.. NOT ON his personal life!
Tracks that caught my attention…: HIS MISTAKES.. ( FULL BLAST .. I ONLY PLAY THIS TUNE ON FULL BLAST ) BIGG TRACK
Apetite
Moving Mountains
Trading Places
Best Thing

HIS WIFE AINT GOT SHIT TO DO WITH IT..THIS IS NOT GOOD….ITS LIKE EASY LISTENING JAZZ TYPE SHIT ON A SUNDAY AFTERNOON..JUST NOT THE USHER WE HAVE GROWN TO KNOW AND LOVE…TRY AGAIN NEXT ALBUM USH!

The CD is okay. Like they said you will have to listen to it a few times for it to grow on you. I understand that he is happily married but do you have to talk about in almost every song. Damn Usher we get it you are in love with your wife and you are done with your ho-ish ways. My favorite songs are Trading Places, Best Thing and Love you gently (its like a can you handle it pt 2 from Confessions). Not as good as Confessions but that is going to be something hard to top. Nice try Ursher

I don’t care that he is married he is still SUSPECT, and compared to confessions this album is garbage, But this album alone is ok

As much as people are putting his personal life into this…it has nothing to do with it. The point is, the music just isn’t that great. The highlight of Confessions were tracks by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. They aren’t here. The album is poorly ordered, with conflicting themes in conflicting order. In the end, I just don’t understand. Very well written tracks, but all of these tracks on one album is just a playlist of confusion.

OK first off, I listened to th album three times and I’m just not feeling it. It has NOTHING to do with his personal life and who he married I really couldn’t care what he did in his personal life the songs on the album are just not that good. The album is too slow and too long, it’s about to be summer, he needed to come out with something that fits the summer time, something up tempo, that we would want to ride around in our car with the windows down blasting, not something slow and depressing. As I said the songs aren’t good it has nothing to do with his wife.

Also for the people saying that we can’t compare it to Confessions: I partly agree, we can’t compare the message because there are different messages on both albums, but as far as sound and songs we can compare and Here I Stand isn’t as good as Confessions when it comes to the sound and the quality of songs.

it’s not about him being married (to the ppl who think that every bad review is based on dislike for his personal life). I don’t care what he does in his personal life. this album just isn’t up to the Usher-standard. maybe i put the bar too high for him. honestly, i expect nothing but greatness from him and this album isn’t great. that’s why ppl are trashing the album. and for ppl who don’t like the album just b/c of his wife, you need to find someone for you and get out of this man’s life. and can i just say (adding on to the justin thing) i’m not only upset at usher for not making a great album, but i’m upset at him for letting justin beat him. he is more talented than justin vocally and dance-wise but justin is more of a risk-taker and that’s something usher needs to learn from.

I just listened to Usher’s album on MTV leaked and it was a serious disappointment. Maturity doesn’t equal 10 slow ballads and 1 club banger (Love in da club) which by the way is already played out. The song with Will I Am is a complete joke! I can’t see spending my money on this project.

Folks are saying that people are hating on his personal life, but I don’t think that’s true. The fact is, he hasn’t put out an album in 4 years and people expected him to BRING IT and he did not do that.

In my opinion, Usher F’d up when he fired his mom as his manager. Do you really think she would’ve allowed him to put out this type of garbage? She made sure his work was at 100%. He killed the formula that worked for him.

YO I BEEN HAD DA ALBUM RITE OFF OF LIMEWIRE ALL FOR FREE! THANK GOD FOR LIMEWIRE!!

so brian are you saying that the album doesnt even come close to the greatness that is confessions…….cuz i mean thats what it sounds like

i tried not to listen to the leaked tracks but the ones i did hear werent all that great….i still wanna hear the album tho.

a good album doesn’t mean it has to have “club bangers”. so what if it is an album full of love songs. I love confessions but i think Here I stand is a better album. I like every single song on this album. guess im just odd.

I WANT MY MONEY BACK!

Im abosletuly looking forward to it. My FAV tracks are Love In This Club,Moving Mountains,Trading Places and Before I Met You. Im also inloveeeeeeeee with Here I Stand. I think people are going to keep eating there Hate flakes for breakfast and underestimate usher, however his brought his and is going to qkeep bringing it. Im looking forward. Ohh yeahh consiously or Sub consiouly after watching Moving Mountains i put on Narnia LOL…. im intrigued by that video…

Who cares if the album is slow or fast. Who cares about his personal life. To me, the songs are subpar, mediocre garbage. I don’t expect greatness from Usher because he is nowhere near great in my eyes.

Yes, he is better than a lot of people but that don’t speak well for others, not an endorsement for him. This is an album on the level of Omarion not someone who has brought it on three previous albums.

I understand he is now a father and husband, so the direction of his music has changed. Brian McKnight, Babyface, etc. were all married and divorced and still had quality songs and lyrics. Those two men are songwriters (different from Usher); however, despite their record sales have going down, they still show that maturity, growth and wisdom can have life instead of being dwindled down into meaningless, trite, bland lyrics to emphasize a point.

You are mature by your actions, simple lyrics with no feelings behind them won’t accomplish much.

I think its dope you haters!

The problem with this album is simply that it is too repetitive and one-dimensional. While Confessions was an overall theme of infidelity and all the problems that came forth with it, Here I Stand is largely an album full of the same message repeated: he is married. The songs themselves in my opinion are good, some I like better than others, however what keeps the album from being a great album is that these songs all follow one another and with an 18 number track list, it wears down on you.

To those, however, comparing it to Confessions. It IS the same formula. And to those that can’t see that you have to be some kind of blind as he seems to be a one-trick monkey. The release of Love In the Club is similar to that of Yeah, followed by the next ‘break-up’ single, Moving Mountains which is Confessions’ Burn.

Here I Stand is not an album for excitement by any means; it is an album you play before you go to bed or an album you place on for Sunday. It’s filled with slow jams which are not what you would expect from an Usher CD. Perhaps it is that fact that has left fans of his music generally confused. This is not the Usher that we are used to — this is someone different. And I think that is the point that he is trying to convey.

STAND-OUT TRACKS:
1.) Appetite: Tricky did this beat. It’s somewhat of a mid-tempoed song infused with a bit of hip hop. Here, Usher warns the homies to be careful of feeding their “appetite” of young women or they will lose their girl. (For people who love comparing this album to Confessions, this is the ‘Throwback’ of Here I Stand).

2.)Trading Places: Tricky & Dream once again pair up to give Usher a fun, radio-friendly single which plays with the idea of ’switching roles’ in the bedroom. Definitely for the young crowd. While a decent song, the second verse reminds me more of a carnal R. Kelly with it’s ridiculous lyrics and the way Ush sings ’strawburry or grape jellay’ left me in tears from laughter.

3.) Something Special: This song is simple with beautiful lyrics laced over an acoustic guitar. The perfect song that captures that ‘first love’ emotion.

4.) The Best Thing w/ Jay-Z: While the beat seems reminiscent of a song on a Tru Life mixtape, lyrically the song is on point and Jay coming through giving it his Midas touch makes it a great song. Jermaine Dupri produced this, and while there is a little more left to be desired on the production, it is still a great filler track made for cruising on a hot summer day or the background to perhaps an outside basketball game or family reunion.

5.) Lifetime: Produced by Usher’s little brother J-Lack, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. It’s a smooth groove also meant for cruising. Usher’s voice is smooth and simple and without the Babyface whine reminiscent in the album’s second single, Moving Mountains (which, although beautifully written is still one of the worst songs I’ve heard what with the ‘Garage Band’ sounding music). ‘So come on, my mama and your mama want some grandbabies tonight. Would you, be with me for a lifetime?’ He asks. Perfect ‘wooing’ song for any man in love.

CONCLUSION: If you are looking for songs that come forth with a bunch of energy or to play at party, please look elsewhere unless you are feeling the lead single. This is a CD for “the lovers”, and unless you are in love or trying to get there, you may want to pass on Usher this time.

OVERALL GRADE: B-/C+

IT’s messed up that usher’s biggest album,might be the downfall to his career..Every album he drops from here on out will be compared to confessions..He’s never gonna be able to top that,n people shouldn’t expect them too…Some fans are so fly by night,that even if he did drop another confessions,in this day n age,people would find reason to dislike it based on what’s goin on in his personal life.
I feel sorry for the biz,cuz the fans have let alot of no talent ass artists get sum shine,and alot of the vets are starting to tire..There’s only a few people left even keeping R&B and Hip hop alive right now

Now i’m reading these comments but i’m a little taken aback because these people dont know music. He’s a 29 year old man, no longer a little boy/teen heart throb, he has grown man issues. so listen with a more mature mind and then you’ll appreciate the album a lot more. its another classic cd, but i will say its not a confessions but hey you cant judge with confessions. heart ache sales better than happiness in most cases. But the album as a whole is a great album. A album for young grown lovers, or newly married folks. Play and just make love!!!!!!!!!

OMG, he looks so handsome. Just saw his profiile on milllionaire&celeb datiing site “W e a l t h y R o m a n c e. co m” last week. I am wondering what kind of relationship he is looking for on that site.

Usher is a cool dude. I like the CD. I am not caught up up in his personal life b/c I really am not that invested in someone’s signigicant other. I think the album has a nice R&B sound to it. I still like 8701 & Confessions better but this one is has some very very good trademark Usher songs. So do your thing Usher!

Support Usher, Support Black Music. Stop Hating!
This is Truly Some Crab In The Barrel Shit!

I always liked Usher because he was like a black R&B/pop artist and I liked to dance to his music and it was catchy. I really haven’t liked his material off this album. I like the fact that he has matured a bit, because I still think some things like “love in this club” is one of his more immature songs. That’s just my personal opinion. I think what turns me off about this album is not the song content, but his inability to mature his voice. To me he’s still doing that whining stuff and stretching his voice. Now that I’m older and can compare his voice to how he use to sound…he still sounds the same with a voice that hasn’t grown range or trained skills. Real R&B I’m thinking of Musiq, Raheem Devaughn, Tyrese, Tank, Jaheim. Those artists Usher can’t play in the range of R&B with. That’s my opinion from an R&B lover.

Also people please leave his personal life out of this. It’s so wrong to talk about that woman like some do.

I’m so glad I’m not the only feeling this album. I heard it on the The Leak @ MTV. and it was painful. Usher is a great artist. I’m not sure which direction he was trying to make, but I wanted to hear more of his falsetto and I wanted to DANCE. The album in my opinion is not his best work- the songs don’t fit together and it seems forced material. Usher will sell at least 1 plus million copies when it’s all said and done but I will not be among the 1 million.

THE CD IS THE BUMB JUST I JUST GOT IT AND IS GREAT JUST WASH HIM ON AMG HE TALKED ABOUT HIS ALUM AND HIS FAMILY YES SHE WAS THERE AND NO THET DIDNT GET A DIVORCE. JUST RUMERS GOING AROUND BECOUSE HIS CD JUST GOT OUT TODAY. SO STOP HATTING ON HIS WIFE AND TALK ABOUT HIS CD NOT HIS FAMILY. YES I BEEN FAN OF USHER EVER SEANCE HE WAS 13 SO I GROW UP HEARRING ALL HIS SONGS I SAW HIS MOM SHE WAS THERE AT THE BEGING OF HIS SHOW SURPORTTING HIM 100% NOW HE IS MARRYED AND HAVE A BEUITYFUL BASBY BOY. AND I WAS AT THERE WEDDING TO HIS WIFE IS VERY NICE PERSON AND SHE WAS CARRYING HIS CHILD SHE WAS ABOUT 4 TO 5 MORTH ALONG. THEY ARE VERY HAPPY COUPLE. AND HIS MOM SURPPORT BORTH OF THEM 100% SHE IS VERY PROUND OF THEM AND SHE VERY HAPPY ABOUT HER GRANDSON. NOW HE IS 5 MORTHS . AND USHER IS TOURING WITH HIS FAMILY. SO GET USED TO ITYOU WILL SEE MORE AND MORE OF THEM,WEATHER YOU GUYS LIKE IT OR NOT. YEAH MEN USHER IS BACK. LEAVE HIS FAMILY OUT. TALK ABOUT HIS CD AND HIM BUT LEAVE HIS FAMILY ALONE.

Not impressed Usher! You seriously need to dumb that fake relationship you have w/Manteka as she’s clearly distracting you from making the quality of music you normally do. Not sure what she caught you doing but you need to pay her off and stop letting her blackmail you like this. We all know you’re actually HOW YOU DO…well you know.

Dont know why everyone is hating on USH the album is actually good. Its not Confessions but it the best R&B album this year.

I love the CD!

when usher did confessions i knew that that album would be the best he would ever do. and my prediction was correct. he had all this time off to do this wack song. all of them sound the same to me. i only like love in this club remix and the one with jay-z other than that i’m not wasting my hard working money on a non classic music. sorry usher : (

lol I have read majority of these comments and the defensive comments regarding this album cracked me up. Some say “you gotta be in a relationship to understand the album” and some say”y’all can’t relate to this album because he was single on the rest of his albums”LMAO. That’s bullshit. I was a fan of Usher’s for awhile.
“My Way” Usher was becoming a man and he was single and immature on that album. However he was young then. “8701″ and “Confessions” he was in a relationship with Chilli. So that arugment of us not liking this album because he was single then is not true. Oh yeah people not liking Usher’s album because of his new wife because she is dark skin and she is not hollywood beauty is false. If Tameka was beautiful and had a bad reputation before marrying Usher and having his baby people would’ve still hated her especially if she was a non black. Usher has always been opened and has always used his relationship to garner attention for his albums. Especially witrh “8701″ and “Confessions”. Which both dealth with Chilli. So people need to go on with their bullshit excuses on this terrible album. The production and writing was lazy and Usher was always on point with it. This time he slacked off and he took a 4 year hiatus from “Confessions” and it still was bad lol maybe next time Usher.

Wow… I LOVE this CD… Mature… sounds like where he is in his life right now. Im actually stunned by the negative comments in here… But then again, Im 35… aint trynna spend the night dancing to Yeah in da cluh…

I will say that Im another one of those folx who thought 8701 was better than Confessions. I still dont see what all the hype was over that CD…

It’s over! This CD is the nail in the damn coffin…….

Ok, someone could easily get discouraged by most of these comments, lol but I still checked it out and its pretty good, different yes but I still enjoyed most of the tracks it is really not that bad… My favs so far are Best thing with Jay, Appetite, Trading places, Love you gently and Im lovin Echo (not on the album), His mistakes is also nice…

Really dnt kno what his marriage or the lack of ‘club bangers’ has to do with anything…

This CD is fiyah…i don’t know what yall talking bout i love this CD. Real Music is on it’s way back. This Cd shows how much he has grown the past 4 years. I have this on repeat!!!! I’m telling yall go cop it!!!! it’s fiyah!!!!

Most everyone has had a chance to listen to the album…and I personally won’t be wasting any money on it. Everyone says that his personal life should be left out of the equation, but apparently it has had a negetive effect on the quality of his music. This is not the music we expect from a vet in the game.

Man i love the album. i jus got it this morning and i cant stop listening to it.

Well, it’s cool to me. I too, am lost in the negative comments from the same folks who supported Letoya Luckett (and then didn’t even buy the record.) I am also one of the ones shaking my head over the reverence for “Confessions.” Great CD, but not a classic joint for all time. I’d give R.Kelly more credit for that, if we’re talking R&B albums in the last ten years. Usher sounds like what he is - grown. Can’t he change it up? But given the source, I’d say it’s just like what Beyonce experienced on “B’Day.” CL folks hated the uptempo change-up and wanted her to make “DIL2.” But she still sold. I expect Usher will probably do the same. As with “B’Day” the album has also been well received by critics. But Soundscan will tell the tale!

I don’t know about this review Brian. If anyone is interested Donkey Sip did a review of each song.

http://donkeysip.com/

Oh my this cd is soooo good I love it. People keep talking about Confessions and if the cd had sound any thing like Confessions yall would be complaining.

It is truly a move forward. Go Usher!

sounding goood usher!

I’m very disappointed in this cd and I was hoping that it would pick-up were Confessions left off. I only really like a couple of songs.

Just the other day I was listenting more like jamm’in to “Confessions”, eager to here the new album. Sad to say I was not that impressed. I guess Usher is in a different point in his life and that’s cool, so I’ll give it another before I give it away.

P.S. It’s all the Man’s (Tameka) fault ! LMAO

I am a HUGE HUGE USHER fan and I have to say that this cd is just ok. There are a few songs that I like, for example Here I Stand is a really nice song, very heartwrenching and emotional. I will have to continue to listen to it to make it grow on me but it hasn’t just got me wrapped like Confessions did and I know artist try to do different thigs but really the cd is just ok. He’ll get hits off of it because he’s Usher and people love him. There is a lot of growth and maturity and you can tell that Tameka has really changed him. I’m glad he has someone to love but I just didn’t want to hear about it on just about every damn ballad on the cd. BUT, I still love me some Usher!

This album sucks, don’t waste your dollars like I did. I want my money back.

What a waste of 12 bucks.

I GUESS I’LL HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE CD FOR MYSELF CAUSE MOST OF YALL ARE COMPARING THIS TO HIS PAST CD’S AND AS A ARTIST NONE OF THEM ARE NOT GOING TO SOUND THE SAME. HE CAME OUT WITH CONFESSIONS 4YEARS AGO. HE IS NOT IN THE SAME PLACE HE’S MARRIED AND HAS A SON.PEOPLE SAY SAY THE SAME ABOUT JAY-Z. THAT MAN IS 37 YEARS OLD HE’S NOT GOING TO RAPPING YOUNG DUMB$HIT ANYMORE. HE HAS MATURED AND YOU CAN HEAR THAT IN HIS LYRICS. BUT THAT GOES FOR ANY ARTIST. .

overall the cd is ok , it’s a mixed bag..the first half is like a timbaland pop record and the 2nd half is confessions allover again…. i would think the fans would eat this up

I LOVED,LOVED,LOVED confessions and its only natural to compare albums just like we compare sequals-its the same person so why not compare their music. its a natural human thing to do.
while i do read the gossip about artists it has nothing to do with whether or not i like their music-i too bumped amy whinehouse and bumped some of britneys tracks (even though the beats were better than the voice). the fact is that none of these songs do it for me. im going to take a listen to some of the other songs and see if they hit me differently but this album just isnt it.
people were talking like the game was gonna be up for all the other artists that rose while ush was outa the game. thats just not so.
he talked about artists “trying to be like him” *as if he is an original* but id much rather listen to their work.
when youre on point, youre on point. when youre not-YOURE NOT.
nothing personal, its business *or in this case, music*

ok,ok,ok. . .
its on my itunes and im going to take another (honest) listen to it.
usually, i know if im into a song after its played for a minute or less, hence my dissappointment with the songs ive heard thus far. sometimes you have to hear an album a couple times before you love it.
we will see what happens.

OMG, will ppl stop comparing this album to Confessions. Like someone said previously, He is a grown a** man. The album is good. I am so glad he hasn’t stooped to a Chris Brown, Omarion level. When he was their age the matrerial they sing about currently was appropriate. He’s married w/ kids now it’s time to grow the hell up!

In a way Im thinking ” How can one top Confessions” is it really possible?

FYI: if it is more than like 4 or 5 good songs on a cd, it’’s worth buying!!

why usher why..is like 5 or 6 songs that are good here. painter and his mistakes and you was a big disepinment. but love in the club ans the remix, and apettite trading places, thia aint sex is the best songs

I would call myself Usher’s BIGGEST fan! I’ve been riding with him since he came out when he was 14 years old! I love this album. Although I admit, I had to listen to it a few times for me to really vibe with it! Of course Confessions was a huge hit, the world loves to hear about your problems!!!! Now he’s in love and it’s proven all through out this album! This album to me is just as great as all the rest!

I AM USHER’S BIGGEST FAN!!!! GREAT WORK AGAIN MY BABY!

I agree with # 22….TOTALLY!

I don’t like Tameka either, but I would NEVER deny Usher’s great work because of who he choses to live his life with! Ya’ll HATERS need to stop! THAT’S A WEAK EMOTION!

I watched Usher on 106 yesterday and he has really matured and so will his music. So what it’s not 8701 or confessions it’s not supposed to be people that’s called growth. Who wants to keep making the same thing over and over. He has got a good business head as well. Some people are just harsh and negative. I believe some of the feed back is beacuse he’s married to a woman that some people don’t like, like they know her personally. he’s married to the mother of his child and she isn’t your typical lightskinned or interracial girl. He loves her and hell with what negative people say. It’s just sad that most of this comes from black women. Grow up and be postive people.

Everybody really needs to gauge how far Usher’s life has progressed since “Confessions.” If we pay any attention to these life occurences, (i.e.-Tameka, Cinco, Marriage), we’d realize that this boy has finally grown into manhood; not manhood in the sense of having sex with as many women as possible, but manhood as in putting away childish things.
If you young people favor Chris Brown, go ahead and buy a “boy’s” CD. However, for those rated R people out there, (Mature Audiences), that want to hear a GROWING Usher, a real man…not a confessing, cheating, single, rolling stone, buy this album.
He’s not Robin Thicke, Justin Timberlake, Chris Brown, Ne-Yo, or Trey Songz, he’s Usher, an almost 30 year old GROWN ASS man!
The STRENGTH of this album lies in his desire to seperate himself from what everybody has known him for. I honestly don’t think an album becomes a classic until true musical ambition is incorporated into an album, something Usher really strived to have in this album.
Standout records include: Trading Places, Love You Gently, Best Thing, His Mistakes, Appetite, and Appetite. There are really no BAD songs on the album, maybe some he could’ve done without, but not BAD. Trust me, it’ll grow on you guys if you are anywhere near a fan of music or Usher for that matter.

So I’ve listened to the album 2 times through now and its just not that great.
I’ve been an Usher fan forever and like others couldn’t care less about his
personal life. I’m all about black love. But if that’s what you want to sing about,
then at least make some hot songs about being in love. I love grown people’s music since I am grown my damn self. But hot songs are hot songs regardless of the content.