Usher Confessions Album Zip
Download File ->>->>->> https://geags.com/2titHD
Confessions is the fourth studio album by American singer-songwriter 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 Diamond 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;[3] making it the best-selling R&B album of the 21st century by a male artist.
When he began recording Confessions in 2003, Usher claimed he did not want to work with any new producers.[4] Production began between Usher and Jermaine Dupri, who produced his last two albums, My Way (1997) and 8701 (2001).[4] 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.\"[5] 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.[6]
When Usher felt that the album was completed,[6] with forty recorded songs, he submitted the album to his record label, Arista.[7] 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.\"[6] Usher was displeased with the decision; he felt returning to the studio was the hardest part and needed to re-motivate himself.[7] He went on recording a few more tracks with help from fellow Atlantian's 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.[7]
One of Usher's first steps in recording Confessions was deciding to reveal \"his own little secrets\".[4] 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.\"[4] Primarily because of the album's personal content, Usher said that this is his chance to be real.[8] 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.\"[9] 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.[10] Dupri and Cox were talking and felt that there was a song in it, and started writing.[4] Similarly, with the title track \"Confessions Part II\", they were conversing about an impregnated mistress, and its concept was written down.[4] 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\".[8]
Confessions falls mainly in the R&B genre.[5][6] 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 ...\"[12] 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,[4] Usher also wanted his fans to experience hip hop at the same time: \"I try to think outside the box.\"[12] 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.\"[9] The album also includes various slow jams.[8]
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.[4][6] 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\".[4] 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.[7]
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.[14] 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.[14] 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\".[14] With the inclusion of \"My Boo\", they thought of the album as complete.[15] 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.[14] The new version includes \"My Boo\" and \"Red Light\", which were leaked alongside other songs that did not appear in the album,[16] 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.[14] The album was re-issued in October 2004,[17] seven months after its initial release.[18]
To keep the album atop the chart, \"My Boo\" was targeted for release after \"Confessions Part II\" was diminishing on the Hot 100.[15] The B-side of the UK release includes \"Red Light\" and \"Sweet Lies\". The single again topped the Hot 100, giving the album its fourth consecutive number-one. \"Caught Up\" was released as the album's fifth and final single, and reached number eight in the United States.[19]
After Usher and his label held a few listening parties for the album,[23] controversies spread about the mistress-impregnating concept of \"Confessions Part II\".[7] Although Usher did not foresee such a reaction to the album,[23] Dupri already guessed, while making the album, what the public's reaction would be: \"People are gonna question [Usher] on a couple of little lyrics ...\"[8] Coincidentally, Usher ended his relationship with Chilli early in 2004.[24] People speculated about their breakup given the content of the album and Usher's early interviews about its themes. With lyrics Usher admitted to have written because of his guilty conscience, people assumed that he and Chilli broke up because he was unfaithful.[24] In a February 2004 radio interview, Chilli claimed that Usher \"cheated\" on her, and that caused their relationship to split.[25]
Confessions was met with generally positive reviews. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 71, based on 13 reviews.[26]
Matt Cibula of PopMatters wrote that it \"might be the best English-language pop album of the year\".[38] Entertainment Weekly's Jem Aswad said that Usher \"reveals his new-found maturity by opening with the grittiest song he's ever done.\"[29] Laura Checkoway of Vibe said that, \"Though Confessions doesn't bring Usher all the way to the artistic maturity one might hope for, tracking this star's progression definitely has its satisfactions.\"[37] Q magazine observed \"addictive R&B hooks and all-dancin', all-lovin' subject matter boosted with hot production tweaks.\"[34] Amy Linden of The Village Voice commented that \"Usher's (alleged) character flaws are easily forgiven, though, because he can sing his cheating ass off,\" and concluded, \"Like 2002's big-selling but underrated 8701, Confessions is a top-of-the-line pop-soul showcase that ... manages to be commercially savvy without coming off as too desperate. Sorta like Usher himself.\"[39] Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times said that near the end, the songwriting \"fails\" Usher on a \"heavily front-loaded\" R&B album, but felt that his performance is solid throughout: 153554b96e
https://www.wald2021shop.de/forum/forum-rund-um-beauty/ls-magazine-ls-models-issue-03-lsm-set-top
https://www.rapveterans.com/group/the-forum/discussion/3ff03f43-d2f8-4cb6-9ce3-58884f30c99d