IT’S
BUZZ!
WHAT THE CRITICS ARE SAYING ABOUT USHER’S “LOOKING 4 MYSELF”

“The seventh album by the reigning emperor of R&B is lighter than air and sexy as hell.”
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“Usher remains the most viable heir to Michael Jackson’s King of Pop throne.”
“The line on Usher's soon-to-be blockbuster album Looking 4 Myself captures the veteran R&B crooner leaping over boundaries, Marvel hero style…solidly soulful, dramatic in all the right places, heartfelt, deeply danceable, sexy: in a shiny new package, it's classic R&B. As a powerful force in the pop mainstream…Usher not only has the budget to keep making himself relevant; he wields the kind of influence that helps define what relevance looks like.”
“The only thing that rings false on Usher’s seventh LP is the title: If there’s anyone who doesn’t have an identity crisis, it’s Usher Raymond. The theme here, such as it is, is his own versatility. Club rave-ups, hip-hop ballads, synth pop, blaxploitation funk, a Max Martin song, a Will.i.am jam… – all here.”
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“The almighty star confidently displays various sides of himself, proving that he can be all things to all people with another R&B-pop blockbuster.” 3 ½ out of 4 stars

“On his seventh studio album, the self-assured veteran confidently steps out of his sonic comfort zone. …Usher …has chosen to keep growing and moving ahead.” 3½ out of four stars

“After more than a decade of being on top, Usher’s new album ‘Looking 4 Myself’ proves he’s never been more prescient….His new album “Looking 4 Myself” continues his quest to outrace the zeitgeist, most notably with its first single “Climax.” It’s a monstrous track, and likely to be 2012’s official summer jam, only if it’s not overtaken by one of the many other surefire hits on the album.”
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“…A man who’s been famous for most of his life and who has been more commercially successful than almost anyone in the history of his chosen field, grabs the Euro-house sounds that currently dominate the charts, bending and twisting them until they suit his needs, giving a master-class in how a great pop musician can make a moment his own.”
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“If Usher dipped his toe in the pool of global sounds on “Raymond vs Raymond,” he dives right in on “Looking 4 Myself.” Hardly any of the 14 songs on the standard version of the album (there are 18 on the deluxe) sound like conventional R&B. Everything is splashed with a hint of something spacey or foreign…’Show Me’ is …a huge song that promises to fill up dance floors ... ‘Dive’ is a sexy slow winding cut, damp with yearning, that’s powered by Usher’s falsetto….’Climax’ is the best breakup cut of 2012…”
“From r&b slow jams to killer dubstep tracks, Usher is ‘forever evolving. ‘Looking’ expands Usher’s style in adventurous and unexpected ways.” “’I think his album is one of those that will sound the trumpet of change (commented Pharell Williams).’”
“He’s always been popular, but now he sounds cool.”
“R&B’s main man bum-rushes the dance floor with a whomping package of fist-pump inciting party starters. The kinetic “Can’t Stop Won’t Stop” …confessional ballads (the skin-tingling No.1 single “Climax”), plus falsetto-laced electro-funk (“Twisted”) that cements his rep as Michael Jackson’s heir apparent.” 4 out of 4 stars
“’Looking 4 Myself,’ (is) a truly next-level soul album. One that has the warm, organic feel of R&B and deep pop hooks, but also the pulsating low-end and shimmering keyboard flourishes of EDM. It's a sprawling album…with many highlights…”