The Confessions Pdf
Janise Knollman
Confessions is the fourth studio album by American singer Usher. It was released on March 23, 2004, by Arista Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2003 to 2004, with its production handled by his longtime collaborator Jermaine Dupri, along with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and Lil Jon, among others. Primarily an R&B album, Confessions showcases Usher as a crooner through a mixture of ballads and up-tempos, incorporating musical genres of dance-pop, hip hop and crunk. The album's themes generated controversy about Usher's personal relationships; however, the album's primary producer Jermaine Dupri claimed the album reflects Dupri's own personal story.
In the United States, the album sold 1.1 million copies in its first week. To boost sales amid threats of bootlegging, the special edition for the album was issued, which includes the single, "My Boo"; a duet with Alicia Keys. Confessions earned Usher several awards, including the Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album.
According to Billboard, it is the second-best selling album of the 2000s decade in the United States, behind NSYNC's No Strings Attached. With over eight million copies sold in 2004, the album was viewed as a sign of recovering album sales in the US, following three years of decline. It was also exemplary of urban music's commercial peak and dominance of the Billboard charts in 2004. Confessions has been certified fourteen-times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and, as of 2006, has sold over 10.3 million copies in the US and over 15 million copies worldwide;[4] making it the best-selling R&B album of the 21st century by a male artist. Usher would also promote it with the Truth Tour the same year of the album's release, marking his first international tour.
Confessions' concept, production and Usher's vocal delivery received acclaim since upon its release, and in 2020 the album was ranked number 432 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list.[5]
When he began recording Confessions in 2003, Usher claimed he did not want to work with any new producers.[6] Production began between Usher and Jermaine Dupri, who produced his last two albums, My Way (1997) and 8701 (2001).[6] In spite of his vision, Usher stated, "With this album I chose some new producers who I figured would definitely allow me to really articulate myself in a different way ... Every album you gotta grow. You gotta look for something different."[7] Dupri also invited his frequent collaborator Bryan-Michael Cox. The album features productions by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Just Blaze, Usher's brother James Lackey, Dre and Vidal, among others.[8]
When Usher felt that the album was completed,[8] with forty recorded songs, he submitted the album to his record label, Arista.[9] However, he and the company's then-president, L. A. Reid, who listened to the record, thought something was missing in it. "You know what, there's like one or two more records that we just gotta get."[8] Usher was displeased with the decision; he felt returning to the studio was the hardest part and needed to re-motivate himself.[9] He went on recording a few more tracks with help from fellow Atlantans Lil Jon and Ludacris. Eventually, the team was able to produce songs like "Red Light" and "Yeah!". He also recorded songs with P. Diddy and The Neptunes during one of those sessions, but those songs were not released.[9]
One of Usher's first steps in recording Confessions was deciding to reveal "his own little secrets".[6] Friend and former A&R rep named Kawan "KP" Prather thought the album would let the public know Usher personally. Prather said, "The music has never been the question, but people tend to buy into the artist. The more they know about you, the more they feel like they're there with you."[6] Primarily because of the album's personal content, Usher said that this is his chance to be real.[10] He named the album Confessions because he felt it is his most personal record to date: "All of us have our Pandora's boxes or skeletons in our closets. I let a few of them out, you know. I've got a lot to say. I've got a lot of things and stuff built in me that I just want to let go of."[11] He wrote more songs than he contributed to his previous album.
Several of the songs in this album were conceptually based on a situation. For instance, "Burn" was built around the winding down of Usher's two-year relationship with Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas from American R&B-Hip hop girl group TLC.[12] Dupri and Cox were talking and felt that there was a song in it, and started writing.[6] Similarly, with the title track "Confessions Part II", they were conversing about an impregnated mistress, and its concept was written down.[6] Usher recorded "Confessions Part II" during July 2003 recording sessions in New York City. When Usher sang the song's lyrics, the theme of cheating inspired him and Dupri to create two parts; "Confessions Part I" and "Confessions Part II". "Confessions Part I" can be heard at the beginning of the video for "Confessions Part II".[10]
Confessions falls mainly in the R&B genre.[7][8] Usher commented that he chose to work with collaborators who know "... how to interpret R&B from a jazz standpoint, an old school throwback standpoint, a new school point, a traditional classic standpoint ..."[14] With producers and Usher set to produce such an album, however, other musical genres including hip hop were incorporated. While he wanted to do R&B,[6] Usher also wanted his fans to experience hip hop at the same time: "I try to think outside the box."[14] When Lil Jon came on the scene, crunk was introduced to the R&B-centered album, specifically on the Sean Garrett-penned song "Yeah!". Usher said, "'Yeah!' could be called the first consciously styled "crunk R&B" record."[11] The album also includes various slow jams.[10]
This record also introduces a new style for Usher, focusing on his voice and technique. Andre "Dre" Harris and Vidal Davis listened to 8701 and felt that "Usher really needs to sing hard and let people know his vocal ability".[6] With efforts focused on the record to demonstrate his vocal ability to listeners, songs such as "Superstar" and "Follow Me" exhibited Usher in a type of "crooner mode".[6] The ballad-oriented "Burn" also showcases his vocal aptitude.[15]
I have Eminem to thank for that...well, in a time where I felt like music was in transition, and R&B specifically was in a place where it could go older, or it could kind of be what it was. Right? You had all these great, you know, artists that were either performers, dancers, singers, whatever...but I felt like there, the honesty. The honesty of hip-hop, and what Eminem was saying on his records, it motivated me. Like, yo if he could be that honest, you know through hip-hop - and there've been other stories, storytellers, but never quite as vivid as his. So I was like, we need to keep it real like Em. I wanna go all the way in, so lemme talk about the unspoken, the shit that people don't want to talk about and don't want to have to deal with. So, that's what Confessions kinda kicked in. And I got that Cleveland, because, you know with the Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, you know what I'm saying is to just understanding that the rhythm and the flip of it to make it be able to make it be at least, you know, hip-hop appropriate. You know what I'm saying? That's what it was. And that kinda recreated what I felt R&B was and what it is to day, in some ways.[16]
Confessions was slated to be released on November 6, 2003. However, due to marketing issues, the scheduled date was moved to March 23 of the following year.[6][8] With several songs recorded, Usher faced the challenge of determining the final track listing. Usher, Dupri, Reid, and then-A&R rep Mark Pitts each had their favorites among the forty, but decided to choose those which "came up consistently more".[6] The collective was able to settle on fifteen of them, with two interludes completing the seventeen track list. Many songs were set aside for future use, including "Red Light" and a remix of "Yeah!". Usher and Arista held advance listenings for the album, a few months before its actual release; he also appeared on TV guestings to promote Confessions.[9]
With strategies to boost the album's sales albeit threats of stealing music in the internet, Usher and his management readied a follow-up release of Confessions with an additional marketing blitz.[17] The idea was considered "musically driven" after Zomba, who absorbed Arista, management was excited about "My Boo", a song that was recorded for the original version of the album but failed to meet deadline.[17] However, it actually began when American R&B and soul singer Alicia Keys, who is featured on the track, "brought in that the talk of repackaging started".[17] With the inclusion of "My Boo", they thought of the album as complete.[18] While they knew of other artists releasing special editions of their albums, the label felt that Confessions had the edge because of its previous success and its physical changes, including new cover art, an expanded CD booklet, a pullout poster and a letter to fans from Usher.[17] The new version includes "My Boo" and "Red Light", which were leaked alongside other songs that did not appear in the album,[19] and a remix of "Confessions Part II", and "Seduction"; original tracks were also improved like the extended version of "Confessions Part I" and a rap added by American rapper Jadakiss in "Throwback". The label itself treated the version a new album, with full media advertisements.[17] The album was re-issued in October 2004,[20] seven months after its initial release.[21]
In selecting which single to release first, Usher and the label considered various marketing strategies. With many potential lead singles that could fare well in music markets, they were choosing between "Yeah!" and "Burn".[6] Even though "Burn" was just what the label was looking for, they believed that "Yeah!" would be a blockbuster.[6][8] Meanwhile, they felt "Burn" also failed to meet their expectations: "'Burn' being a great song is one thing, but it's one of them things where people said, 'It's strong, but can we make history with that?' At the end of the day, you want an event."[6]