![]() ![]() Several songs here have him questioning who he really is (“Looking 4 Myself,” sounding as close to late Police as anyone else has ever done including Sting), or how he found himself alone and battling for custody of his children (“What Happened to U”). Another one is Usher’s apparent loss of identity. He absolutely rips “Climax” and “What Happened to U,” nails party anthems like “Scream” and “Euphoria” to the wall, and puts across harder things even while multitracking himself 35 times over with the greatest of ease. One is that Usher’s voice has never sounded better - and that’s saying a lot. Thank you.)īut there are some unifying threads among this sprawling record. There are 12 producers on the (Deluxe Edition’s) 18 tracks, and songs ranging from retro-soul exercises (Pharrell Williams’ work on “Twisted”) to futuristic R&B (the twins of “Climax” and “I Care For U,” all the way to ’80s new wave pop (the title track) and the deeply strange enigma of “Sins of My Father.” (Salaam Remi, please keep making the catchiest weird music in the U.S. Those of you needing smoothness and unity of tone might want to try something else, because that stuff largely ain’t here. And, while it’s not the coherent thing out there, it is easily one of the best albums of the year. Looking 4 Myself is ambitious without being hifalutin, gritty without wallowing, and emotional without lapsing into pathos. Turns out there IS such a thing as “too interesting.”īut this record… well, this is another thing entirely. ![]() This has sometimes resulted in thrilling pop moments (the best parts of Confessions, the “My Way” video, etc.) and sometimes just been exhausting (almost all of Raymond v. Whatever the reason, he has always worked hard to show us how hard he’s working. ![]() Maybe it’s because he was thrust into pop stardom as a teenager maybe because he’s had some very public ups and downs. Usher Raymond IV has always had all the talent and fame in the world, but he has also always wanted to be taken seriously. ![]()
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