Usher Not So ‘Yeah!’

Usher returns with his sixth album, Confessions, and a song that will no doubt be the annoying single you can’t get out of your head.They say that if the most popular song on an album is the first one, the rest are probably not worth listening to. Let us hope the inverse of this rule applies as well. Confessions opens with a promising enough sound, an intro that sets it up as a semi-concept album with the overarching theme of confession and repentance. Then comes the single “Yeah!”, featuring Ludacris and Lil Jon. The song is a repetitive club jam with indistinguishable lyrics and a beat that sounds like something off a Jock Jams album. Catchy, yes, but not up to par with Usher’s talent. Disappointing in the least. The only redeemable qualities are Ludacris’ rhyme and Usher’s vocals…Lil Jon gets annoying quickly. His “Yeah!”s and “Ok!”s are dated, proving this single will be short-lived. Far different than anything else on Confessions, “Yeah!” is not your typical Usher.

The rest of the album is nothing spectacular, but certainly not bad. Usher shows once again he has nothing if not talent; vocals that are smooth and always right on target. “Burn,” the next single, is your typical Usher: slow, bittersweet, and romantic. In fact, most of the album is your typical Usher…though “Superstar” is slightly retro, and “Bad Girl” is more rock-ish with electric guitars. Old fans will doubtlessly like Confessions, though potential fans who may not be familiar with his work and have invested in it because of “Yeah!” will find the rest quite different than they were expecting.