As a child, he seemed destined for stardom and then reached even greater heights.
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This article originally ran on February 24, 2024.
Were republishing it in honor of the 30th anniversary of Ushers self-titled debut album.
As a dancer, his movements were sharp and weightless.
By the time he was 18, he was molding R&B in his image.
Their collaboration helpedUsher sell his PG-13 romantic fantasies with more conviction.
Usher continued to show progress on 2001s party-hopping8701,with more emotional nuance and bolder vocal turns.
But it was 2004sConfessionsthat would ultimately solidify his legacy as a lothario with a heart of gold.
So lets examine that work fully and honestly.
175.Cant Stop Wont Stop,Looking 4 Myself(2012)
175.
I will not turn anything produced by will.i.am up past 40 decibels.
174.Will Work for Love,Here I Stand(2008)
174.
Usher wants to do anything including but not limited to washing clothes and finding your TV remote for love.
173.This Christmas,A LaFace Family Christmas(1993)
173.
You shouldnt give a shot to cover Donny Hathaways holiday staple unless youre really gonna go for it.
And teenage Usher just doesnt have the vocal range to make that happen.
172.Guilty (feat.
T.I),Raymond v. Raymond(2010)
172.
Maybe its the chintzy gang vocals on loan from the Love in This Club era.
victim-blaming his partner on his guest verse.
None sound convincing; they just sound tired.
171.Interlude 2 (Cant Stop),Usher(1994)
171.
Teenage Usher has charisma to burn, but not enough to prevent him from straining his voice.
He suffers from a lack of range here, not affection.
170.Scream,Looking 4 Myself(2012)
170.
Ushers stadium pop/EDM phase had a good balance between genuine jams and clunkers.
This belongs on the second list.
Scream is generic fist-pumping music, the textbook definition of no thoughts, just vibes.
169.Mind of a Man,Hard II Love(2016)
169.
168.Smile Again,Usher(1994)
168.
The tamest attempt at dirty macking in Ushers entire discography.
167.ATA,A(2018)
167.
ATA isnt one of them.
166.Confessions Pt.
2 Remix(feat.
Kanye West, Shyne, Twista, & Jermaine Dupri),Confessions(2004)
166.
The drama and mystery surrounding the expertly crafted Confessions Part II makes it a career-defining track for Usher.
Unfortunately, this remix takes that idea and multiples it by four.
165.Good Kisser(2014)
165.
How do you make a song called Good Kisser thats this sexless?
164.Wait for It,The Hamilton Mixtape(2016)
164.
163.Chains(feat.
Nas & Bibi Bourelly) (2015)
163.
162.Champions,Hard II Love(2016)
162.
161.Monstar,Raymond v. Raymond(2010)
161.
160.Call Me a Mack,Poetic Justice: Music from the Motion Picture(1993)
160.
159.Stay at Home(feat.
Future),A(2018)
159.
It doesnt help that the Zaytoven beat and Future verse dont sound particularly exciting, either.
158.So Many Girls,Raymond v. Raymond(2010)
158.
This sounds like a night at the club, and not in a good way.
157.Hot Thing(feat.
A$AP Rocky),Looking 4 Myself(2012)
157.
A bonus track fromLooking 4 Myselfand another of Ushers many strip-club anthems.
But its a recycled wash, not as fascinating as the show floor or as steamy as the backroom.
156.Whats Your Name(feat.
will.i.am),Here I Stand(2008)
156.
Sixteen years removed, its a wonder how this moved anyone on the dance floor.
155.Comin for X-Mas?
(1995)
155.
The second Christmas song Usher made is at least anoriginal.
But its easy to see why he never made another.
154.Come Back,My Way(1997)
154.
153.Just Like Me,My Way(1997)
153.
Usher turns in a decent performance but this works better as a Lil Kim solo track.
132.U R the One,8701(2001)
132.
At least Soulshock & Karlins shuffle beat is pleasant.
151.Red Light,Confessions(2004)
151.
150.Show Me,Looking 4 Myself(2012)
150.
If Usher sounds this bored singing lines like hes reading them off a teleprompter, why should I care?
149.I Cry(2020)
149.
148.Love Em All,Versus(2010)
148.
147.Hey Daddy (Daddys Home),Raymond v. Raymond(2010)
147.
The first single fromRaymond v. Raymond,Hey Daddy has all the buzz of new love.
Luke Steele),Looking 4 Myself(2012)
146.
A dip into self-care (and light romantic gaslighting) thats Top 40plain enough to hear at Target.
145.Let Me,Hard II Love(2016)
145.
144.Interlude 1,Usher(1994)
144.
An interlude as fleeting and superfluous as a morning pee.
143.I Cant Let U Go,8701(2001)
143.
Try-hard rap-rock hybrids were all the rage in the late 90s and early aughts.
R&B-rock hybrids were worse.
142.Intro,Here I Stand(2008)
142.
141.Crash,Hard II Love(2016)
- give this one a decent spark.
140.Peace Sign,A(2018)
140.
Its also hard to be mad at a song where someones legs form a peace sign during sex.
139.The Many Ways,Usher(1994)
139.
Sounds destined to be a hit at every middle-school dance for the rest of eternity.
138.I Dont Know(feat.
P. Diddy),8701(2001)
138.
137.OMG(feat.
will.i.am),Raymond v. Raymond(2010)
137.
Cant even lie, will.i.am did his thing here.
136.Superstar (Interlude),Confessions(2004)
136.
Only this low by virtue of being too short and for not just being Superstar.
135.Good Good(feat.
21 Savage & Summer Walker),Coming Home(2024)
135.
134.I Will,My Way(1997)
134.
133.Appetite,Here I Stand(2008)
133.
Usher is waking up with what else?
other women on the brain.
132.Somebody to Love(feat.
131.Stranger,Versus(2010)
131.
Going from sneaky link to something more can be harrowing, even if youre Usher.
Stranger tries to get at that nebulous middle ground in the glossy way youd expect from theRaymond v. Raymond/Versusera.
While it doesnt set anything on fire, its a different enough spin on a well-worn formula.
130.Hottest Thing,8701(2001)
130.
A familiar scene: Usher has scoped out somebody in the club and is ready to make a move.
that stops the song short in the middle of the second verse push Hottest Thing past the cliches.
Maybe lovedoesexist in this club.
129.Pop Ya Collar,8701/All About U(leak) (2000)
129.
Poor Pop Ya Collar.
(The song was eventually released on international versions of the record.)
128.A-Town Girl(feat.
Latto),Coming Home(2024)
128.
127.Prayer for You Interlude,Here I Stand(2008)
127.
Bonus points for asking his son I really sound that bad?
after he started crying into the mic.
126.California(feat.
Tyga), (2020)
126.
125.Intro,Confessions(2004)
125.
Shakers and guitars set the perfect mood for an album all about fessing up to various infidelities.
124.This Aint Sex,Here I Stand(2008)
124.
Whats the difference between having sex and making love?
It can feel a bit choose-your-own adventure, but the atmosphere is always fun.
123.Gift Shop(feat.
Gunna),A(2018)
123.
Gift Shop sounds like it wouldve fit onDrip or Drown 2.
But, once again, I wish this was just a Gunna solo track.
122.Stone Kold Freak,Coming Home(2024)
122.
Rarely has an Usher bedroom burner felt so anonymous.
121.kindly U,Coming Home(2024)
121.
Was this a Silk Sonic song before Usher got his hands on it?
120.Stronger,Hard II Love(2016)
120.
It sounds like an overblown choir and needlessly theatrical percussion will swoop in on the hook at any minute.
The rumbling beat brings gravitas to Ushers struggle to open up to a lover.
119.Without U (Interlude,)8701(2001)
119.
As the interludes stack up, its hard not to wish they were longer.
The yen in Ushers voice is palpable and ascends the silky piano lines like stairs.
118.Final Goodbye,Usher(1994)
118.
If Usher had his own TV showthen this would be the end credits theme.
117.You Decide,A(2018)
117.
116.Hard II Love,Hard II Love(2016)
116.
115.2nd Round,Looking 4 Myself(2012)
115.
About as sexy and fast as youd imagine.
114.Euphoria,Looking 4 Myself(2012)
114.
113.Lemme See(feat.
Rick Ross),Looking 4 Myself(2012)
113.
Falsetto is one of Ushers secret weapons.
On Lemme See, he hits the mid-high level of his register while lusting after a new paramour.
), but Usher holds his own and keeps the fire burning.
112.She Came II Give It II U(feat.
Nicki Minaj), (2014)
112.
Pharrell really knows how to get Usher moving.
111.Downtime,Hard II Love(2016)
111.
110.One of Them Ones,Coming Home(2024)
110.
Naming a song One of Them Ones is bold, even by Ushers standards.
But waxing poetic about coming around to love songs as hes gotten older should sound more charming than this.
109.Risk It All(feat.
),Coming Home(2024) andThe Color Purplesoundtrack(2023)
109.
Yet the approach is a double-edged sword.
complement each other well, but theres a lot of dead space.
108.Ill Make It Right,Usher(1994)
108.
The intro track to Ushers self-titled debut feels like its working to keep you off-balance.
Like most songs onUsher,he doesnt have enough experience to fully sell the story.
107.Boyfriend(2023)
107.
Easily the peppiest song about being stalked by a lovers boyfriend ever recorded.
106.Keep on Dancin,Coming Home(2024)
106.
U Dont Have to Call without the youthful vigor.
105.Before I Met You,Here I Stand(2008)
105.
In another universe, this replaced John Legends All of Me at weddings.
104.Making Love (Into The Night),Raymond v. Raymond(2010)
104.
The closing track for the non-deluxe version ofRaymond v. Raymondis also its steamiest.
103.Margiela,Coming Home(2024)
103.
A sleek and petty tale of jumping between partners.
102.Say the Words,Looking 4 Myself(2012)
102.
Synthetic funk with a touch of psych rock is a decent look on Usher.
101.You Took My Heart,Usher(1994)
101.
One of the purest distillations of Ushers talents.
100.Ruin(feat.
Pheelz),Coming Home(2024)
100.
Its remarkable how much a shuffling amapiano rhythm can enliven Ushers insistence that his ex aint shit.
99.I Love U,Coming Home(2024)
99.
98.Twisted(feat.
Pharrell),Looking 4 Myself(2012)
98.
Any Usher song dedicated to a good booty is worth at least a cursory listen.
97.Dive,Looking 4 Myself(2012)
97.
96.Something Special,Here I Stand(2008)
96.
A slanted guitar jam that Usher describes as for the lovers.
Whether buying his partner Gucci or letting her sleep in his bed, theyre intertwined.
A pleasant and inoffensive couples dance track.
95.Bop,Coming Home(2024)
95.
Its the little details that make Bop work.
94.Ill Show You Love,Usher(1994)
94.
93.Okay,Raymond v. Raymond(2010)
93.
This feels like a part one (the foreplay?)
to Making Love (Into the Night).
But it could have benefited from a smoother transition between the two.
92.Pro Lover,Raymond v. Raymond(2010)
92.
91.SexBeat(feat.
Lil Jon & Ludacris), (2020)
91.
90.Lifetime,Here I Stand(2008)
90.
89.Hot Tottie(feat.
Jay-Z),Versus(2010)
89.
Hot Tottie is the second, and least exciting, of two Jay-Z collabs in Ushers discography.
They each sound decent but arent in sync with each other.
88.Coming Home (feat.
Burna Boy),Coming Home(2024)
88.
A sultry ode to love.
87.Numb,Looking 4 Myself(2012)
87.
An electronic knocker carried by a gargantuan drop, once again courtesy of Swedish House Mafia.
86.Bedtime,My Way(1997)
86.
The clearest evolution of Ushers style.
This Babyface-written and -produced track wouldve sounded decent in the hands of Boyz II Men or Jodeci.
85.Lingerie,Versus(2010)
85.
84.Bad Habits(2020)
84.
83.Luckiest Man,Coming Home(2024)
83.
Usher has a different spring in his step when he sings about commitment.
On Luckiest Man, his sprightly performance about a future with a potential wife shines.
82.If I Want To,8701(2001)
82.
Toxic before toxic was a thing.
81.Cold Blooded(feat.
The-Dream),Coming Home(2024)
81.
When Usher gets his heart broken, fireworks are imminent.
80.Slow Love,Usher(1994)
80.
Everything about Slow Love is, truly, slow.
79.BIG,Coming Home(2024)
79.
Everything about BIG, from the obvious innuendo to the McDonalds product placement, is silly.
A charmingly shameless song.
78.I.F.U.,Looking 4 Myself(2012)
78.
A decent mix of familiar and challenging, I.F.U.
effectively blends Ushers R&B and EDM sensibilities.
77.On the Side,Coming Home(2024)
77.
As far as side-piece anthems go, On the Side is passable.
I cant stop thinking about how messy Ushers DMs must be.
76.Good Ol Ghetto,8701(2001)
76.
Nostalgia had a hold on Usher at 23.
Here hes channeling the energy of songs like Slow Love while referencing older tracks like Nice & Slow.
you might practically smell the barbecue where he reunites with an old fling.
Nothing major, but a good trip down memory lane.
75.I Care 4 U,Looking 4 Myself(2012)
75.
74.FWM,Hard II Love(2016)
74.
73.Tell Me,Hard II Love(2016)
73.
Usher begging for love sounds best when its in his falsetto.
72.She Aint Tell Ya,A(2018)
72.
Do you understand how smooth you have to be to sing this stuff without getting slapped?
70.Room in a Room,Coming Home(2024)
70.
Seems contradictory, no?
When hes skipping over a beat like this, its easy to get lost in the sauce.
69.Make U a Believer,Hard II Love(2016)
69.
68.Intro-lude 8701,8701(2001)
68.
67.I Dont Mind(feat.
Juicy J), (2014)
67.
I know half of you reading this have already started humming the hook in your head.
65.Kissing Strangers,Coming Home(2024)
65.
How we go from strangers kissin to kissin strangers?
/ From not knowin your name to wishin I could erase it?
is a devastating couplet.
64.Whispers,Usher(1994)
64.
63.I Am the Party,Coming Home(2024)
63.
A steamy groove about forsaking the outside world for a little intimacy.
62.Do It to Me,Confessions(2004)
62.
61.How Do I Say,8701(2001)
61.
IfSuperflyhad been remade in 2004, the soundtrack would sound something like this.
59.Dont Waste My Time(feat.
Ella Mai), (2019)
59.
58.Slow Jam(feat.
Monica),My Way(1997)
58.
57.U-Turn,8701(2001)
57.
How do you do it?
The U-Turn didnt catch on, but the song that inspired it is still a snappy good time.
56.Thats What Its Made For,Confessions(2004)
56.
Im surprised it took Usher this long to get to a musical ode to the penis.
55.Papers,Raymond v. Raymond(2010)
55.
Raymond v. Raymondwas released around the time Usher was divorcing his wife Tameka Foster.
54.Whats a Man to Do,Here I Stand(2008)
54.
Whats a Man to Do?
is a less formal take on the splintering love present on Papers.
53.Caught Up,Confessions(2004)
53.
For once in his life, Caught Up sees the tables turned on Usher.
Hes usually stunting on everyone he sees, but here hes stuck on someone who turned him down.
A thirsty-boy anthem, no more, no less.
52.She Dont Know(feat.
Ludacris)Raymond v. Raymond(2010)
52.
/ Smells like a feast and you lookin like the entree).
51.Moving Mountains,Here I Stand(2008)
51.
On this spirited cut fromHere I Stand,Ushers partner has become distant.
50.Sins of My Father,Looking 4 Myself(2012)
50.
49.U Remind Me,8701(2001)
49.
Yet another instance of Usher having to deal with a taste of his own medicine.
It would be more pathetic if the song wasnt an absolute jam.
48.Love You Gently,Here I Stand(2008)
48.
Textbook definition of grown-folks R&B.
47.Birthday,A(2018)
47.
A salute to birthday sex that I maintain is actually better than Jeremihs Birthday Sex.
46.Confessions,Confessions(2004)
46.
The scene-setting before the bombshell of Confessions Part II.
45.There Goes My Baby,Versus(2010)
45.
We all know Usher has his share of cuffing-season songs, but few sound as assured as this one.
44.What Happened to U,Looking 4 Myself(2012)
44.
But hes having a hard time finding her, and is pining for something outside of sex or status.
A person whose sex is so good, its got Usher changing up all of his habits.
Producers The-Dream and Tricky Stewart keep the beat low-key, even though Ushers thoughts are anything but.
42.Lil Freak(feat.
Nicki Minaj),Raymond v. Raymond(2010)
42.
41.Think of You,Usher(1994)
41.
40.Lay You Down,Versus(2010)
40.
I wonder how often Usher has used that falsetto to get women in real life.
Enough to say things like Ima touch you with my mind / Kiss you with my body.
39.Need U,Hard II Love(2016)
39.
38.Lessons for the Lover,Looking 4 Myself(2012)
38.
Shine on, you debonair crazy diamond.
37.Rivals(feat.
Future),Hard II Love(2016)
37.
36.DJ Got Us Fallin in Love (feat.
Pitbull),Versus(2010)
- to a more internationally appealing audience.
35.Love Was Here,Usher(1994)
35.
I dont know who hurt Young Usher, but they birthed one hell of a torch song.
34.Can U Handle It,Confessions(2004)
34.
Can U Handle It is the sexiest palette cleanser this side of Janet JacksonsDamita Jo.
33.Here I Stand,Here I Stand(2008)
33.
32.Mars vs. Venus,Raymond v. Raymond(2010)
32.
The gorgeous hook sounds like floating through the universes prettiest quasar with the love of your life.
31.No Limit(feat.
Young Thug),Hard II Love(2016)
31.
30.Can U Help Me,8701(2001)
30.
All that time he spent on ballads led Usher to Can U Help Me?
29.My Way,My Way(1997)
29.
Somewhere around the creation ofMy Way,Usher understood he was about to have the world in his hands.
28.Can U Get Wit It,Usher (1994)
28.
By 15, Usher already had yearning down to a science.
27.Missin U,Hard II Love(2016)
27.
Missin U goes to a lot of places in four minutes.
26.His Mistakes,Here I Stand(2008)
26.
25.Trading Places,Here I Stand (2008)
25.
A classic battle of the sexes feels too cliche for even Usher to touch.
But on Trading Places, he flips the script by swapping stereotypical male-female roles.
24.Love in This Club Pt.
Beyonce & Lil Wayne),Here I Stand(2008)
24.
23.Best Thing(feat.
Jay-Z),Here I Stand(2008)
23.
On Hot Tottie, Usher and Jay-Z sounded like they wrote for two different songs.
But theyre on the same page for Best Thing.
22.Get in My Car(feat.
Bun B),Versus(2010)
22.
21.Say What U Want,A(2018)
21.
It takes almost all ofAfor Usher and Zaytoven to finally gel.
20.Seduction,Confessions(2004)
20.
Perfect honey-thick harmonies on the hook?
A wavy guitar line?
Handclaps that fluctuate like a waterbed?
Seduction sounds exactly like it.
19.GLU,(2023)
19.
The way Usher bends his falsetto around the production of this slow sex jam should be studied.
18.Climax,Looking 4 Myself(2012)
18.
To produce the pipes he displays on GLU, a song like Climax had to come first.
17.Yeah!(feat.
Lil Jon & Ludacris),Confessions(2004)
- somehow feels both overexposedandunderrated.
16.Crazy,Usher(1994)
16.
15.Twork It Out,8701(2001)
15.
There will never be a more elegant tribute to fat asses.
Like most Usher songs, it revolves around sex.
But Twork lands in the sweet spot between intimate and overblown.
Each guitar and bass strum is a reverberation of the heat and passion Usher and his lover feel.
14.Take Your Hand,Confessions(2004)
14.
Take Your Hand is a song infatuated with movement.
13.Bad Girl,Confessions(2004)
13.
12.Superstar,Confessions(2004)
12.
Of all Ushers tributes to serious relationships, few have been as detailed and committed to staying the course.
Paired with peppy horns and echoing guitars, it sounds like a Hollywood dream come true.
11.My Boo(feat.
Alicia Keys),Confessions(2004)
11.
10.One Day Youll Be Mine,My Way(1997)
10.
Its like he is trying to summon the eternal swagger of Ronald Isley to keep his composure.
9.Truth Hurts,Confessions(2004)
9.
Truth Hurts is ranked this high because of its audacity.
8.Love in This Club(feat.
Jeezy),Here I Stand(2008)
8.
Believe it or not, there was a period of time when Usher was losing popularity with women.
Its about meeting somebody for the first time, and you kinda wish nobody was there.
The opening synth hits are enough to transport you to a place youve never even been before.
7.Nice & Slow,My Way(1997)
7.
Its crisp and neatly tailored as the blue-and-white color palette in its music video until it isnt.
1 hit on the Hot 100 was a culmination of all the skills hed been building to that point.
6.Burn,Confessions(2004)
6.
Thats only part of what makes this such a special track, though.
Burn became the last word in soulful sad-boi anthems before the term sad boi was even a thing.
He wasnt just on top of the world, he was installing a new roof.
5.Confessions Pt.
2,Confessions(2004)
5.
Watch this, Usher whispers coyly as he gets ready to completely upend his relationship.
Him asking for another chance is the acidic cherry on top.
It would take a decade before listeners would learn it wasnt even Ushers story to begin with.
4.U Got It Bad,8701(2001)
4.
Thoughts of her cascade through his head like the slinky keys and drums descending on the hook.
3.Throwback(feat.
Jadakiss),Confessions(2004)
3.
For Usher, love is a never-ending pursuit, even when hes settled into it.
But he rarelyshows hes been wounded by rejection.
On Throwback, he tosses all of that to the side for some good ol fashioned simping.
Each vocal run hits like a teardrop, every yelp a sniffle.
Even Jadakiss finds it in himself to get tender.
2.You Make Me Wanna …,My Way(1997)
2.
1.U Dont Have to Call,8701(2001)
1.
Twenty-three years later, it stands as his most energetic vocal performance.
It also set the template for two decades of dancefloor heaters.
The piece has since been udpated.
