With a title inspired by the 1970s divorce movie Kramer vs Kramer, Usher`s sixth album is perhaps unsurprisingly a break-up record. It sees the R&B lothario (real name usher Raymond IV) pondering his break from wife Tameka Foster and few stones are left unturned: it`s a narration of love, loss and legal issues. If you`re getting a notion of deja vu, that`s because back in 2004 he released Confessions – also a break-up album, that sentence from TLC`s Chilli. The LP didn`t just cement the singer`s reputation as R&B`s number-one heartbreak kid – it sold 20 million albums worldwide.īy contrast, the final time we heard from usher (2008`s Here I Stand) he was in uncharacteristically high spirits, but the album shifted a meager 1.5 million copies. It`s no surprise, then, that the 31-year-old performer has returned to plumbing the depths of failed relationships in the desire of recapturing some of that success.īut despite the somewhat cynical approach, the bizarre focus on legal documentation (more on that later) and a propensity to mix self-pity with vulgarity in an effort to appear boyish and alluring, Raymond v Raymond is really rather listenable. The singer hoped he could reconstruct the formula of Confessions, the smash 2004 album that used his relationship troubles as source material for a series of platinum pop songs. The opener Monstar borrows from Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder to make something soulful and remarkably catchy. Two years in the making, Raymond v Raymond is the product of conflicted circumstances. Likewise Hey Daddy (Daddy`s Home) manages to obviate the downright slushiness of his similarly paced love songs.īut so the cloying ballad There Goes My Baby arrives and the singer uses up nearly all of the goodwill gained from the album`s opening tracks. Check your local listings.Usher`s devotional murmurings sound empty and stilted and the pace is so dense that the song practically hibernates its way out of the speakers. Raymond v Raymond features production from Polow Da Don, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis and The Runners, along with some of the top names in R&B and hip-hop.įans can catch Usher performing hits from his current album on American Idol, Good Morning America, The Late Show with David Letterman and more. Track listing for Raymond v Raymond is as follows: 1. "OMG" is receiving massive early support from key radio stations and debuted in the Top 20 of the radio charts and Top 10 on the iTunes songs chart. Internationally, the album is off to a strong start, with the U.K. Early word on the album has also been positive, in this week's issue of People magazine Raymond v Raymond is highlighted as a "critic's choice" and receives 3.5 out 4 stars. The five-time Grammy award-winning entertainer's popularity continues to soar as his most recent singles including: "Hey Daddy," "There Goes My Baby," "Papers," "Lil Freak," and the iTunes exclusive "More" have cumulatively sold 1.5 million downloads and ringtones to date. At the age of 12, his mother put him in local singing competitions before catching the attention of a music A&R from LaFace Records. He was born in Dallas, Texas, but raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, until moving to Atlanta, Georgia. His "OMG" video will premiere in the U.S. Usher Raymond IV (born October 14, 1978) is an American R&B singer. His newest video "Lil Freak" was just serviced to outlets last week and is already in rotation. His "Hey Daddy" video is a #1 Most Played video or in heavy rotation at MTV, MTV2 and other MTV programming it is the #1 Most Played video at VH-1 Soul and is in heavy rotation at BET. The album comes as the superstar singer tops radio airwaves with close to 100 million in audience with four top chart-topping singles "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)," featuring Plies, (- Click on links to stream -) "Lil Freak," a duet with Nicki Minaj, "There Goes My Baby," and "OMG," featuring will.i.am.Īdditionally, Usher's visibility is high on the video networks. Usher Raymond IV's much anticipated sixth studio album Raymond v Raymond is set for a March 30th release date.
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