Ursher is hot and at The top of the R&B Music Charts

Usher Raymond was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Drawn from LaFace Records seemingly inexhaustible wellspring of young R&B acts, Usher is one of the few who can boast of real star quality. Indeed after the release of his self titled album in 1994, there seemed to be a danger that he would become better known as a face rather than a musical talent.

He appeared at the Oprah Winfrey Show and performed at the American Music Awards as part of the all star recording collaboration Black Men United However, sales of his Sean " Puffy" Combs - produced debut were a little disappointing at just over a quarter of a million, though it did spawn the hit single " think of you". As a consequence he took creative control over the production of the US Top 10 follow up, " My Way ", although he did enlist Jermaine Dupri, Teddy Riley, and Babyface as co-writers and co-producers. The first single to be taken from the album " you make me wanna" was typical of the smooth ballads offered.

More unusual was the experimental hip hop styled " nice & slow", as a US chart topper in 1998. The album also included a remake of " Slow Jam" featuring Monica. The song " MY Way" climed to #2 in the country in August 98' as he released a live album to keep him up while he recorded new material. In 2001, Usher Released 8701 his third album which produced hits " u Remind Me" , " U Got It Bad", and " U Don't have to call". Usher is the hottest R&B singer out there this day and age, and by comparison today's Michael Jackson! Now it's 2003 and Usher is releasing his next album entitled confessions in 2004

CONFESSIONS features several songs co-written by Usher. Fred Bronson of Billboard Magazine adds that Usher is in "extremely rare territory" being the first solo artist to land three hits inside the top 10 in the same week, matching The Beatles in 1964 and The BeeGees in 1978. Those three hits being "Burn" at #1 on the Hot 100 for 2 consecutive weeks, "Yeah" featuring Lil'Jon & Ludacris at #4 (previously spent 12 weeks at #1) and newest single "Confessions II" at #8. Even beyond those singles, lies examples of the lyrical honesty that the multi-talented entertainer brings to his latest work abound. There's "Truth Hurts" (produced and co-written by super hit makers Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis) which Usher reveals "is a very personal song. Some men don't have the guts to say what they feel but I'm not that kind of guy - I have to fess up! Basically, the song is the story of a man who knows he's done wrong but he's accusing his woman, figuring that by confronting her for whatever she's done, he can cover up what he's been doing. You know, like the accuser is really the one who should be the accused! But if you have a conscience, it's gonna get you and the truth is going to come out anyway ... "

"Superstar," co-written by Usher and produced by Vidal & Dre has an imaginative lyric, referencing Usher's many female fans worldwide. "It's got lines like, 'you are my superstar, I am your Number One1 fan, I'll be your groupie, baby, give me your autograph, I'll sign it right here on my heart!' I think it's a brilliantly-written song," says Usher, "and honestly, I think it's one of the best vocal performances on this album. I definitely wanted to show my growth vocally and you can hear it on tracks like this one ... "

Co-written with Brian Michael Cox and Jermaine Dupri, who also produced the song, Usher's "Burn" is a beautiful slow jam that the multi-talented artist considers "a signature Usher track. After doing this many albums, there's a sound people know me for and you can hear that on ‘Burn.' It's a real 'heartbreak' kind of song in which you know a relationship is falling apart, you know you want to just be friends but it's rough. Every time you talk to her on the phone, you get this feeling in the pit of your stomach, like an ache. There's that feeling of loneliness - it's over and you can't get it back."

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