Press
USHER'S "VERSUS" IN STORES AUGUST 24th
Set Contains No. 1 Hit "There Goes My Baby," "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love"
And "Hot Tottie" Featuring Jay-Z
New York, NY Usher will release Versus, a nine-song follow-up to Raymond V. Raymond on August 24th.
Fans will also have the opportunity to purchase Raymond V. Raymond (The Deluxe Edition) which will contain all 22 songs from Raymond V. Raymond and Versus. The new set will include his current No.1 hit "There Goes My Baby" the pop smash "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love" featuring Pitbull , and Usher's explosive collaboration with Jay-Z "Hot Tottie."
Versus is an extension of Usher's sixth studio album Raymond V. Raymond. RVR debuted at No.1 on Pop and R&B albums charts and spawned five hit singles including "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)," "Lil Freak" featuring Nicki Minaj, "There Goes My Baby" and "OMG" featuring will.i.am.
Versus Tracklisting:
Love 'Em All
DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love (featuring Pitbull)
Hot Tottie (featuring Jay-Z)
Lay You Down
Lingerie
There Goes My Baby
Get In My Car (featuring Bun B)
Somebody To Love REMIX (featuring Justin Bieber)
Stranger
Usher will perform his blockbuster summer anthem "OMG" live in Central Park as part of the Good Morning America Concert Series on Friday, August 20th and he will perform on The Early Show on September 3rd. The "DJ Fallin' In Love" video, directed by Hiro Murai, is slated to premiere on VEVO and video networks next week.
Everybody Loves Raymond: Usher's "OMG" No. 1 Song In The Country
For Immediate Release:
May 05, 2010
Everybody Loves Raymond:
Usher's "OMG" No. 1 Song In The Country
As Global Superstar Prepares To Headline Back-To-Back Concerts
In New York And London On The Same Day
New York, NY Usher Raymond IV tops the charts this week as his hit song, "OMG" featuring will.i.am jumps to the No. 1 position on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles and Digital Singles charts. This marks Usher's ninth No.1 single on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart. Indeed, the song is emerging as a world-wide contender for 2010's hot summer song; "OMG" has reached No. 1 on iTunes charts in UK, Australia and Ireland.
Earlier this year Raymond earned the distinction of being the "Top Hot 100 Artist of the Decade." Clearly, the blazing hot five-time Grammy-winning singer continues to make history and raise the bar, according to top music trade publication Billboard no other artist has had more Hot 100 No.1 songs than Usher.
As the single rides the charts, the LaFace/Jive recording artist is preparing to headline two major radio-sponsored radio concerts on the same day in different countries. On June 6th at Meadowlands Stadium, Usher will headline New York's most popular radio concert, Hot 97's Summer Jam and within just hours on the same day, the Trans-Atlantic superstar will headline London's 95.8 Capital FM's Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium. Capital is the No. 1 radio station in London.
"OMG" is from Usher's sixth studio album gold-selling Raymond v Raymond. Since its No. 1 debut five weeks ago, the album has spent four weeks in the No. 1 position on Billboard's R&B Albums chart and has been a Top 10 staple on the Top Albums chart in the U.S. The album made a respectable debut at No. 2 on the UK's Albums chart last week. In addition to the blockbuster "OMG," Raymond v Raymond has scored three other simultaneous hits with "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)," "Lil' Freak" featuring Nikki Minaj and "There Goes My Baby." He currently has three singles in the Top 40 on rhythmic and urban radio formats and all four songs are in the Top 30 on the Ringscan chart. He has cumulatively sold 2.1 million tracks and over one million ringtones to date.
Fans can catch the upcoming Atlanta-based singer/songwriter/entrepreneur/philanthropist making some high-profile surprise U.S. television appearances and performances to be announced in the next few weeks.
Boston Herald "Raymond v Raymond" B+
BOSTON HERALD
"Raymond v. Raymond" (LaFace): B+
By Lauren Carter
Monday, March 29, 2010
Memo to the ladies: Usher's back on the market.
Sure, on his last release, "Here I Stand," the multi-platinum r&b crooner spent most of his time in grown-man territory, reveling in the joys of marriage and fatherhood while professing his undying love for then-wife Tameka Foster Raymond. Well, his undying love was short-lived.
After divorcing the love of his life and ending a two-year marriage, Usher is officially single and ready to mingle.
And while the title of his new album, "Raymond v. Raymond," and lead single, "Papers," imply that his new record (in stores Tuesday) will be a detailed expose on what went wrong in the Raymond household, it's not.
Only a few songs touch on the breakup, and they offer conflicting accounts of what really went down.
On "Papers," Usher points the finger at his ex-wife and complains about the couple's constant arguing.
"Guilty," featuring T.I., finds Usher stating his case in the court of love, claiming he was wrongly accused of cheating just because he was - gasp - getting love from ladies at the club.
But on "Foolin' Around," Usher implies that his own lies and infidelity led to the split. So much for clarity.
Aside from those confusing confessionals, the 31-year-old is back to the playboy ways he swore he'd left behind.
"So Many Girls" is a return to champagne and hedonism, while "Lil Freak" is Eastern-inspired talk of group love and freaks at the bar. On the bouncy, chant-filled "OMG," Usher simultaneously explores lust at first sight and does his best Black Eyed Peas impression with help from will.i.am.
Still an able seducer, the Grammy winner delivers sultry come-ons and heartfelt declarations of affection (for the moment, anyway) on "Mars vs. Venus" and "Okay." "Pro Lover" works up some island flavor as Usher makes it clear he's trying to sign you to his roster of love. Bonus!
Musically, "Raymond v. Raymond" is diverse and satisfying. An all-star cast of producers, including Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox, the Runners, Polow da Don, and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, complement Usher's velvety vocals with a polished, sophisticated sound, from the smooth r&b of "There Goes My Baby" to the cut to download, the Michael Jackson-inspired lead-off track, "Monstar."
Usher's 180-degree turn from devoted husband to thrill-seeking player has made his tales decidedly less believable, but it hasn't compromised the quality of his music. The man who cried true love, then reverted to sipping bubbly in the club, manages to satisfy in spite of himself.
WHAT THE PRESS IS SAYING...
ABOUT HERE I STAND
"...Usher coolly glides over superbly produced beats with that knack for storytelling that has kept him standing tall though all the changes we've witnessed"
- USA Today
"Usher knows what works in the suave come-ons that have made him the male R&B sex symbol for a generation."
- The New York Times
"...It's a more accomplished version of "Confessions," the hooks more effortless, the singing even better, the songwriting more consistent."
- Los Angeles Times
"...Stand's tunes deserve a place in the dance-floor pantheon"
- Entertainment Weekly
"...Usher shows there's still swing in his newly matured swagger."
- US Weekly Magazine
"Through it all runs a voice that has become more self-assured and adventurous, paired with a charismatic sex appeal all the more potent for its new subtlety."
- Chicago Sun Times
"...a lineup of tracks that range from intensely personal to fun and frivolous"
- Boston Herald
"...Usher shows there's still swing in his newly matured swagger."
- US Weekly Magazine
"The house of Usher is still built on a foundation of smooth grooves and sexual feelings
"
- New York Post
"Usher and his team of A-list producers have labored to include a little something for everyone."
- Ft. Worth Star
"Here I Stand" is silky smooth and suavely produced
"
- The Philadelphia Inquirer
Associated Press - Usher transforms from player to parent on new CD
By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY, AP Music Writer
NEW YORK - For more than a decade, Usher's music has been the soundtrack to a player's lifestyle.
From singing about casual sex when he was just 15 to detailing the devastating details of an affair on his blockbuster CD "Confessions," his songs have been filled with sex, passion, romance, partying, and yes, sometimes love - but young love, new love, fleeting love. Lyrics about commitment and enduring relationships were hard to find on his platinum-plus albums.
Until now.
Sure, the first single off his new album may talk about "Love in This Club." But Usher is newly married and the father of a 7-month-old son. He has moved on from the party scene to the family life, and his new sense of responsibility has spilled over into his music on "Here I Stand," which comes out on Tuesday.
"When I started off writing this album, I wasn't married. I wasn't engaged, I didn't have a child," says Usher, 29. "I wanted to make substance-filled records that are off the beaten path from what is typical. Trends die. Love lives on.
"I wrote about so many tumultuous relationships and issues that I've had in relationships and people reacting to it. Let me change the stakes. Let me talk about the pleasures of a relationship."
For some fans, Usher's relationship has been hard to accept. He's had a string of public romances, most notably his three-year relationship with Chilli from TLC. But his connection with his stylist Tameka Foster lit up the blogosphere with negative feedback.
Maybe it was their age difference (at age 37, she's eight years older), or the fact that Foster had been married before and has three children. When the two wed last year, and she later gave birth to their son, Usher Raymond V, there were plenty of good wishes but not universal joy.
"People are so attracted to drama. That's easier to take than a story of righteousness," says Usher, dressed in all denim, looking intense as he sits backstage between rehearsals for his recent appearance on "Saturday Night Live."
"I'm a guy that decided to marry a woman - a black woman - that wasn't perfect, that had flaws, that through all in all, she's been successful on her own. ... and that's a bad thing. I decided to marry this woman, then I decide to be a father to my child," he says with a laugh. "And that's a bad thing. It's not like I got caught with a gram of coke in my car or speeding or was caught for murder, so why would I be ridiculed, that's why I don't understand - that's the part that is mind boggling. Why would I be ridiculed for that, even a year later."
There was also more gossip fodder when Usher dropped his mom-ager, Johnetta Patton, as his manager and replaced her with Benny Medina, who has guided the careers of Diddy, Will Smith and Mariah Carey. Some suggested that Foster pushed Usher's mom out, but he denies that - or that he "left" his mother at all (she still lives nearby his house in Atlanta).
"Me and my mother are still in a good place have always been but we had our time as it relates to manager and artist, and now it's more important to be mother and son," he says strongly. "That matters to me. I took charge of my life and my situation and I dictated to my mother and the world this is what I'm going to do. It's called taking charge, it's called being a man - it's called manning up. It's called being RESPONSIBLE ... And it ain't bad. It's a good thing."
"Big Jon" Platt, a top music publishing executive who has known Usher since he was a 17-year-old heartthrob, says any backlash is due to people not ready to see him grow up.
"That's the problem with the public in general is that they still want to hold on to Usher as this young guy," says Platt, the West Coast Creative/Head of Urban U.S., EMI Music Publishing. "Sometimes people want to hold on to the image they have of you."
Though he may still have a baby face and youthful appeal (his splits and dance moves during "SNL" rehearsals could quiet the "Chris Brown is the next Usher" talk), Usher is clearly ready to break free from his old reputation. His new CD, "Here I Stand," isn't all about family and relationships - there's the will.i.am come-on song "What's Your Name" and the bedroom burner "Trading Places" - but it's highlighted by songs that stress fidelity, lifelong ties and fatherhood. It's the antithesis of the Grammy-winning "Confessions," which sold nine million albums fueled by the party smash "Yeah" and "Burn," about letting go of a relationship.
Now, on the new track "Prayer For You," Usher croons about his newborn son, whose cries open the song. "His Mistakes" warn a man tempted to commit adultery. And "Best Thing" featuring Jay-Z has the former bachelors celebrating the love of one woman.
"I almost hate the words 'grow up' because it makes it seem like he wasn't grown up before," says Platt. "(But) he's just a man whose grown before our eyes ... he's just more serious now."
Given that much of Usher's persona was that of a sex symbol - a single sex symbol - becoming a family man not only in real life but on record could be seen as a risk. But Usher, who co-wrote all the songs on the CD, believes his fans are ready to grow up along with him.
"The fans that were 21 when I was 21 are now 29, so I'm speaking for them as well. I'm speaking to a more mature audience but also not alienating my younger fans," says Usher. "There's something for everybody on this record but I definitely do feel that a more mature audience is going to respect this album and I think that a younger demographic is going to enjoy it just as much."
Usher had a hit with R. Kelly last year with "Same Girl," but otherwise has been largely absent from the charts since the white-hot "Confessions" - one of the best selling records of this decade - finally cooled down in 2005. He hasn't been out of the spotlight, though. Usher's done Broadway, with a stint playing Billy Flynn in "Chicago," launched his own fragrance lines, is part owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers, has his charity work and has been campaigning for Barack Obama for president (the senator recently appointed him a campaign ambassador).
In today's fickle music market, even a year away from the charts can seem like an eternity. But Usher says he isn't worried about how he'll be received, - and as "Love in This Club" proved, has little reason to be. The CD's first single (with Young Jeezy) shot to No. 1 upon its release a few weeks ago and remains a top-five hit on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Me and this No. 1? We've got a love thing," Usher said. "We always meet up, no matter how many years I'm away, we always make it back to each other."
Usher's Newest Single Dominates U.S. Charts
Superstar's Smash Hit "Love In This Club" Skyrockets
From #51* To #1 On Billboard's Pop Singles Chart
And Is The Best-Selling Digital Song In The Country
Fifth Studio Album Titled "Here I Stand"
Scheduled For Worldwide Release In June '08
New York, NY Fans of LaFace/Zomba recording artist Usher are embracing the multi-talented superstar's newest song, "Love In This Club." It is the No. 1 song in the country making an astonishing leap from #51* to the No. 1 position on Billboard's "Hot 100 Singles" chart. "Love In This Club" also claims the No. 1 spot on SoundScan's digital tracks and iTunes tracks charts during the first week of its release. This accomplishment marks Usher's eighth No. 1 single in the United States.
"Love In This Club," featuring Young Jeezy, co-written by Usher and produced by Polow Da Don is also being well-received by music critics; Entertainment Weekly calls it a "Must" listen, proclaiming that Usher "returns with his magnetic club groove."
"Love In This Club" is the first single from his eagerly-awaited fifth studio album titled Here I Stand, slated for worldwide release this June. Here I Stand is Usher's follow-up to his history-making, 9x platinum-selling Confessions. Within the first week of the release of Confessions, Usher sold more than any other R&B artist in the history of Soundscan. The album spawned four #1 hit singles and Usher spent 40 weeks in the No. 1 position on The Billboard Hot 100 which is more than any other male artist in the nearly 50 year history of the chart. The multi-talented, five-time Grammy-winner, musician and actor has sold nearly 14 million copies of Confessions worldwide and it earned a multitude of honors including MTV, BET, and People's Choice awards.
Over the span of his 14-year career, Usher has sold close to 26 million albums worldwide and combining all of his single, album and DVD sales, he's sold in excess of 36 million units globally. With four studio albums, the eponymous first release, Usher (1994) and multi-platinum albums, the 6x-platinum My Way (1997),the 4x-platinum 8701 (2001), and the 9x-platinum Confessions (2004) and one gold-certified live album simply titled Live (1999), and a string of #1 hit singles including "U Remind Me," "U Got It Bad," "Yeah," "Burn," and "My Boo" Usher's return to the top of the charts is inevitable. The Tennessee-born, Atlanta raised performer, songwriter, producer, dancer, actor started his multi-faceted career at the age of 15-years old.
Usher Raymond IV has achieved what few other contemporary entertainers have ever accomplished. He most recently launched a successful line of signature fragrances, actively heads up his own charity, New Look Foundation, a camp for teens that teaches them about the entertainment business, and he is part owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers basketball team.
He is currently gearing up to promote his forthcoming album.
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