He works with some of his favorite old producers - Jermaine Dupri, Jam and Lewis - as well as a new crop of stars. When he sings on the title track that 'my chick on the side says she's got one on the way,' he sounds inspired by Jerry Springer, not personal experience.īut when he's not trying to conjure baby-mama drama out of thin air (he recently admitted that the title song is fictional after milking it for months), Usher shines.

Clearly this was part of the singer's publicity strategy, and too often on the album the attempt to part ways with his once squeaky-clean image comes off as forced. At 25, he just emerged from a three-year relationship with TLC's Chilli, and now this ex-choirboy seems intent on proving that he has plenty to cop to - hence the album's title and his public allusions to closeted skeletons. In the lead-up to the mega-selling album, Usher hasn't kept the spotlight on his music alone. Usher's strongest recording to date, it's a mix of addictive, candied R&B that ranges from dance floor dazzlers (the bittersweet 'Take Your Hand') to bashful come-ons ('Superstar'). 'Yeah,' the sweaty lead single from 'Confessions' has been generating electricity since it first broke on the mix-tape circuit months ago, and the rest of the album keeps that spark alive. With big-budget production and high-profile endorsements, Timberlake occupied teen dreams for a time, but now Usher is back to reclaim his 'TRL' throne. That's for the best, because another artist has been trying to muscle in on his heartthrob territory in the interim: Justin Timberlake, whose 2002 'Justified' offered a pale imitation of Usher's fancy footwork and falsetto flirtations. A total-package entertainer - with dance moves and a love life that are almost as interesting as his hits and starring roles in such dubious teen flicks as 'The Faculty' - the young singer has allowed his musical sensibilities to mature as well.

In the three years since his last album, Usher Raymond has been working on more than just those abdominal muscles.

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