ARTIST: Usher
ALBUM: Looking 4 Myself
LABEL: RCA
RELEASE DATE: June 12, 2012
Finding Usher
Written by Jeremy Weeden
“I can’t stop, won’t stop, Usher, baby…will he do it again?” r&b superstar Usher asks on his seventh studio album, Looking 4 Myself. By the end of the album the listener will respond with an unequivocal, “Yes!” Looking 4 Myself finds the singer returning to top form with his best album since 2004’s diamond-certified Confessions. The album’s title reflects Usher’s transformation as he matures and grows and dabbles in different music genres. Looking 4 Myself combines pop and r&b to create an album diverse enough to satisfy all the fans Usher has collected throughout his 18-year career. From booty-shaking club anthems, to hip-tinged jams to ride out on, to the slow jams Usher has always been known for, Looking 4 Myself has it all.
The album begins with the will.i.am.-helmed track, “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop,” an attempt to recapture the magic of the smash hit “OMG” (also produced by the Black Eyed Peas frontman). This catchy pop tune may not reach those heights, but it’s a good beginning to the album and will especially appeal to those who love Usher’s pop tunes.
The next track, “Scream,” is one of three singles currently out and does have the potential to go where “OMG” went and possibly higher. This pulsating, electronica dance track has all the makings of one of those songs that is inescapable because it is played everywhere from the department store to sporting events. This is a pure club song about the night life and living it up and is sure to be stuck in your head hours after you hear it.
Another single Usher has released from Looking 4 Myself is the slow burner “Climax.” This break-up song cleverly disguised as a love song is sure to be a favorite of lovers of traditional r&b. While the song slowly builds up, Usher sings of a failed past love: “Going nowhere fast/ We’ve reached the climax… Can’t take it back/ It’s too late, we’ve reached the climax.” A slow, haunting track by renowned producer Diplo plays behind him.
The third single Usher currently has out, which also completes the trio of the type of songs to be found on Looking 4 Myself, is the hip-hop ballad “Lemme See” featuring rap superstar Rick Ross. This sexy, seductive track produced by Grammy award-winning producer Jim Jonsin is sure to be a club banger on the same level as any popular rap song.
The rest of the songs on Looking 4 Myself will fall into a category with one of the three aforementioned songs. This is probably the reason Usher has released those three songs as singles: each one is different enough to appeal to a different fan base and is representative of what can be found on the album. Songs such as the funky “I Care for You” with its choppy beat and perfect harmonization, “IFU” and “Second Round” are hip-hop ballads in the form of “Lemme See.” For the fans who bought the album mainly because of “Climax,” rest assured that there is plenty on Looking 4 Myself that will appease them. “Lesson for the Lovers,” “Dive,” “What Happened to You” and “Say the Words” are songs in the traditional r&b mold. While “Show,” “Twisted,” “Looking For Myself” and “Euphoria” are pop songs.
Looking 4 Myself is an excellent album with an eclectic mix of pop, r&b and hip-hop. Often albums that stray in too many directions seem to lack focus but that is not a problem here. While different styles, all the songs seem to go together. While there is nothing revolutionary, Usher is challenging the notion of what an r&b album should look and sound like. While some may view this as a good thing and others not so much, Looking 4 Myself is definitely one of the best r&b albums of the year so far and is sure to extend Usher’s reign as the current king of r&b.