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Untitled

Looking 4 Myself is the seventh studio album by American R&B recording artist Usher, released on June 8, 2012. The album was released on RCA Records, following the disbandment of Jive Records in October 2011. Several producers were involved with the production of the album, including Diplo, Rico Love, Jim Jonsin, Salaam Remi, Pharrell Williams and Max Martin, among others. It features several guest vocalists, including Rick Ross, Pharrell, Luke Steele and A$AP Rocky. The album adopts Usher's concept of "revolutionary pop", which he introduced in November 2011. His intent is to produce a sound relevant in the [current] era of music, by incorporating music genres such as electronic, R&B, soul, hip hop, and pop.[1]

The album has been preceded by three singles: "Climax", "Scream" and "Lemme See" featuring rapper Rick Ross. "Climax" peaked in the top-twenty on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for ten consecutive weeks, whilst "Scream" peaked in the top-ten on the Hot 100. Usher promoted the album by performing in the off-broadway show Fuerza Bruta: Look Up, as well as several other shows and events including Saturday Night Live, Good Morning America and Capital FM Summer Time Ball.

Upon its release, Looking 4 Myself received generally positive reviews from music critics. Most critics praised the album's diversification in music genres, whilst some were ambivalent towards its lack of structure and pop material. The album debuted atop the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 128,000 copies in its first week, becoming Usher's fourth number one album. The sales represent the smallest first week figures for Usher since My Way (1997).

Background and recording

Rico Love has contributed to the album's production, stating his job is to ensure it stays classic.

The album is the follow-up to Usher's Grammy Award-winning album Raymond v. Raymond (2010), which was a commercial success and received mixed reviews.[2][3] On March 30, 2012 Usher confirmed that a deluxe edition of the album would be released, and announced some of the producers involved on the album, including Diplo, Rico Love, Jim Jonsin, Salaam Remi and Max Martin.[4][5] Other producers involved include Australian electronic music duo Empire of the Sun, Swedish House Mafia - who worked on the songs "Numb" and "Euphoria" - and Labrinth.[6][7] David Guetta revealed that he and Usher have also recorded songs for the album, and teased The Hollywood Reporter that they have collaborated on a "crazy" record.[8]

Rico Love stated that his job is to ensure that the album stays "classic", and further elaborated, stating "I don’t feel like Usher is just a Top 40 artist or just an R&B artist or just a rhythmic artist. I gotta make records that connect to all formats.”[9] Love was interviewed by Billboard, where he spoke about his relationships with artists and experiences. He commented on how Usher wanted to do things differently on Looking 4 Myself compared to his previous efforts, saying "What he wanted to do [on Looking 4 Myself] was explore himself musically. He stepped outside of what was safe and normal. He wanted to make an album that expressed where he was going sonically and not just where he's been for the past 12 to 15 years. He's growing, developing, moving, shaking, and being something that's new, cultural, and that's affecting people sonically. That's kind of forcing the people to grow and elevate".[10]

Whilst speaking with The Guardian, Usher said that his album is "consistent" and an "eclectic" project; he spoke about how he thought that collaborating with producer Diplo was "a risk" and followed by saying: "But hey man, if you take no risk, you stand to gain nothing in life. Dare to be different. I don't look like you, I don't walk like you, I don't dance like you, I don't move like you or talk like you. That doesn't make me odd, that makes me who I am."[11] Whilst talking to MTV, Usher stated that Looking 4 Myself is "the most artistic of an album" he has ever had in history.[12] When questioned by Reuters during an interview regarding the latter quote, and how this project was different, Usher explained that he felt he was near a "rebirth" and that prior to Looking 4 Myself, he felt restricted and conformed to a specific standard. He said to himself "I gotta go with what I feel and hopefully people will follow me".[13] The album art and track listing for both the standard and deluxe edition of the album were revealed on May 3, 2012.[14] On June 4, 2012, 30 second snippets of each track from the album were leaked on the internet.[15]

Composition

"Climax"
Looking 4 Myself's lead single is set in common time,[16] and is built around a haunting riff.
"Sins of My Father"
"Sins of My Father" is a soul song with prominent blues, dub, Motown and reggae influences.
Problems playing these files? See media help.

Usher told Sylelist in November 2011 that he is working on a new genre of music, which he depicted as "revolutionary pop".[17] He explained that it "combines several other music genres to form a new sound".[17] In a later interview, Usher clarified that his latter quote was misinterpreted, in that it is not a specific type of sound "I think what happened was to kind of find the inspiration behind where I was and what I worked on, it was revolutionary. Like it's a pop sound, something that would be more relevant. If I had to name it anything it would be a "relevant sound," a "relevant music". Based on what people really want to hear and what they're listening to [...] it's about relevant music".[1] Randall Roberts of Los Angeles Times summed up the production of the album, writing that it "draws on a world of styles permeating pop culture in 2012", by implementing the genres electronic dance, dubstep, pop and hip-hop to create a hybrid pop.[18] Allmusic's Andy Kellman described revolutionary pop as "contemporary pop-oriented R&B, or european dance-pop, or some combination of the two", and that the album is "weighted more heavily toward dance-pop" compared to his previous albums.[19] Looking 4 Myself opens with club track "Can't Stop Won't Stop", which contains the melody of Billy Joel's 1983 "Uptown Girl";[18][20] it contains a synth heavy hook and incorporates elements of dubstep.[20][21] "Scream" is another club oriented track, with heavily sexual lyrics.[20][22] The song contains heavy use of bass—particularly in the chorus—and is noted to be reminiscent of Usher's "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" (2010).[20][22] The third track "Climax" is a quiet storm slow jam,[16][23] built around a haunting riff, complemented by sparse drum machine and some musical accompaniment.[24] Its lyrics focuses on Usher's anguish over a failed relationship;[20] Usher described both "Climax" and "Scream" as "truly polar-opposite tracks. Where "Climax" sears and broods, "Scream" celebrates and dances."[25]

Follow-up track "I Care 4 U" is a mid-tempo R&B song,[21] which fuses 90's R&B and hip-hop with dubstep,[20] produced by American record producer Danja. "Show Me", another Danja produced record, is described by Randall Roberts of Los Angeles Times to feature "driving house synth-claps with a propellant techno rhythm bubbling beneath it."[18] A mid-tempo track,[20] "Lemme See" contains a synth-heavy production with contributed vocals from American rapper Rick Ross.[20] "Twisted", which was produced by and features record producer-rapper "Pharrell", is the seventh track. It is a 60's retro-soul track, with heavy use of percussions and bass throughout.[20] Usher described the track as "nostalgic", and explained that his intent was to also "modernize it", similar to records produced by Cee Lo, Bruno Mars and Andre 3000.[26] "Dive" discusses a commitment to a relationship,[27] whilst containing a triple-entendre, according to Matt Cibula of PopMatters.[27] The ninth track is "What Happened to U"; it is a downtempo song,[28] sung by Usher primarily using falsetto.[29] It samples the late The Notorious B.I.G.'s "One More Chance".[30] The album's title track features Empire of the Sun member Luke Steele, and is both new wave and soft rock.[19] The title refers to [Usher's] musical journey, and was inspired by his travelling and the latter band.[1] First of the two Swedish House Mafia tracks is "Numb", a euro disco and electronic dance track,[31][32] its lyric's message was described by Erika Ramirez of Billboard to simply be "Forget your troubles and fist-pump!".[20] The next track is "Lesson for the Lovers", a slow-tempo track with heavy production, produced by long-time collaborator Rico Love.[20] Ramirez compared the track to songs from Usher's Confessions era.[20] "Sins of my Father" is a soul song with prominent blues, dub, Motown and reggae influences;[20][33] it is about being a "tortured soul" in a "volatile" relationship.[33] Looking 4 Myself closes with "Euphoria", the second Swedish House Mafia produced track on the album. It is described as more "tense" and "powerful" compared to "Numb".[20][34]

Promotion

Marketing

"Twisted" is more of a nostalgic record, so when you think about the classic R&B record, we managed a way to modernize it, even though that's very relevant, you hear records like Cee Lo, you hear Bruno Mars and also Andre 3000, and that sound is very relevant in this time. So this was kind of our way to tie it all together and give you something different that you probably wouldn't normally get from me".

—Usher, discussing album track "Twisted" during MTV First.[26]

Usher held multiple private listening sessions for Looking 4 Myself;[35] he tweeted "My listening session was like none other, a moment...for all who was there to share it with me...thank you. There is much more to come. URIV".[36] On April 27, 2012 Usher debuted the album in the off-broadway show Fuerza Bruta: Look Up, in Daryl Roth Theater in New York City.[37] When speaking to MTV, he explained his reasoning for performing in the show "It's not often that you're able to give somewhat of a visual or an emotional kind of basis of what your songs mean [...] I felt like, yeah, it would be a physical challenge, yeah it would be a lot for me, but [I want to] at least try it, there are many times I'd seen the show and I'd only hoped that I would make it happen".[38] Steven Horowitz of Rolling Stones commented that Usher "theatrically sequenced the entirety of the project to strobing lights and choreographed moves".[39] Horowitz also praised Usher's performance, concluding that "the veteran entertainer reasserts himself as a master of rapturous dance fodder, capable of turning a room into a thumping rave with ease".[39] Usher appeared on Good Morning America, where he spoke about Looking 4 Myself, and discussed his legal battle with ex-wife Tameka Foster.[40]

Live performances

Usher appeared on Saturday Night Live—hosted by Will Ferrell—where he performed the singles "Scream" and "Climax".[41] He performed both singles again, in the 2012 Today summer concert, being the opening act of the series.[42] Usher performed "Scream" in the 2012 Billboard Music Awards; during the performance he wore a black suit, bowler hat and bow tie whilst dancing with a masked female, who later disappeared behind a came and was replaced by a male dancer who mirrored Usher's performance.[43] On June 9, 2012 Usher began performing in the UK, by first appearing in the Capital FM Summer Time Ball– his second appearance in his career. He entered the stage doing the moonwalk and then performed his 2010 single "OMG". Backed-up by female dancers whilst doing choreographed routines, he then preceded to perform his previous and current singles, including "Yeah!", "Without You", "Climax" and "Scream".[44] Usher again performed "Scream" in the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles during Microsoft's conference. He performed the dance routines presented in the video game Dance Central 3, via the Kinect to the latter song.[45] Usher promoted the album on its release date in the UK—June 11—by performing in a one-off concert in the HMV Hammersmith Apollo in London. The performance was directed by Hamish Hamilton, and was streamed to Usher's VEVO channel on YouTube.[46] The same week, he appeared on BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, where he covered the song "Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People, and performed "Scream".[47] Usher performed "Climax" in the 2012 BET Awards; Kelly Carter of MTV described the performance as "fairly muted", due to Usher's appearance and dancing being minimalistic.[48]

Singles

On February 14, 2012 the album's lead single "Climax" was leaked,[49] and was digitally released on February 22, 2012.[50] The song was met with positive reviews, with praise being directed towards Diplo's production and Usher's vocals, which were compared to that of Canadian singer The Weeknd.[24] "Climax" debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number eighty-one with 31,000 digital units sold on the week of March 10, 2012 and has since peaked at number 17.[51][52] The song topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart marking Usher's twelfth number one single on the chart, and overtaking R. Kelly for the most number one's again on the latter chart. "Climax" sustained the position for ten consecutive weeks,[53] before being replaced by Kanye West's "Mercy".[54] The following week, "Climax" replaced the latter song's position, topping the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for a total of eleven weeks, tying with "You Make Me Wanna..." (1997) as Usher's longest running number one single on the chart.[55]

The second single from the album is "Scream", and was premièred on the internet on April 26, 2012. The song was co-written by Savan Kotecha, who has previously worked with artists including Britney Spears, One Direction and Cher Lloyd. Both Kotecha and Max Martin—who produced the song—were responsible for Usher's "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" (2010). "Scream" was made available for purchase as a digital download on April 27, 2012. It officially impacted the Top 40/Mainstream and Rhythmic radio on May 1, 2012.[56] The song has currently peaked in the top ten on several charts, including the Billboard Hot 100,[52] Canadian Hot 100,[57] Japan Hot 100,[58] Scottish Singles Chart[59] and UK Singles Chart.[60] The third single is "Lemme See" featuring rapper Rick Ross; it premiered on April 30, 2012. It was made available for purchase as a digital download on May 8, 2012 and is given as a free download if the album is pre-ordered from May 8 and onward.[61] The song was released to urban radio on May 8, 2012 and has currently peaked at number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[52][62] Internationally, "Lemme See" peaked at number ninety in the United Kingdom,[63] and number eighty-eight in France.[64]

Reception

Critical response

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic(75/100)[65]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[19]
The A.V. Club(B–)[28]
The Boston Globe(mixed)[66]
Entertainment Weekly(B)[31]
The Guardian[67]
Los Angeles Times[18]
Pitchfork Media(7.6/10)[29]
Rolling Stone[16]
Slant Magazine[68]
Sputnikmusic(3.5/5)[21]

Looking 4 Myself received generally positive reviews from music critics.[65] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average score of 75, based on 19 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[65]The Guardian writer Alex Macpherson gave the album a four out of five stars, complementing Usher's vocals saying that they "are in fine fettle", and likened the musical direction that the album takes, writing "most interesting is when the album goes in directions that don't cleave to obvious aesthetics".[67] Billboard's Erika Ramirez perceived a similar opinion, writing that Usher has found a way to "evolve himself" and stay "two steps ahead of the game".[20] Entertainment Weekly's Melissa Maerz says that Looking 4 Myself still sounds like "the Usher you know; it's just a little more interesting than his usual onslaught of skull-pounding beats and silk-sheets ballads."[31] Allmusic writer Andy Kellman gave it three-and-a-half out of five stars and expressed a positive response towards Usher's shift to dance music, though still asserts that "he's more of a creative force when he's working with slower, soul-rooted material".[19] Los Angeles Times's Randall Roberts described the album as not genre defying, but instead utilises the music styles of the [current] era– it's "more pop than it is revolutionary".[18] The A.V. Club writer Evan Rytlewski commented on the album's material, writing "Not all of it works, but none of it is unpleasant, either [...]" whilst also praising Usher for branching out and taking risks.[28]

In contrast, Now writer Kevin Ritchie gave the album a mixed review and touted "Climax" as one of the only few stand-out tracks.[69] Slant Magazine's Eric Henderson viewed the album to lack structure, writing that it's "unavoidably uneven", giving it three out of five stars.[68] Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe criticized Usher's use of auto-tune, writing "[...] the unnecessary deployment of Auto-tune on a singer who can actually hold his own vocally".[66] The Observer's Killian Fox wrote that "for every hit—"Lemme See" is another—there are a couple of misses: "Can't Stop Won't Stop", the Euro-dance opener produced by will.i.am, is horribly overblown".[70] BBC Online's Natalie Shaw disproved of select tracks, but ultimately praised the album's material writing "Looking 4 Myself reveals Usher as lost within the genre pick ‘n’ mix as he ever was; but in between its shortcomings, this seventh album sees him beaming proudly through a new and exciting sound".[71] Ryan Hadfield of Consequence of Sound awarded the album three-and-a-half stars out of five, and wrote that Usher is "reinventing himself" which is why he "still matters in 2012 while artists like Next are an afterthought".[32] Pitchfork Media's Carrie Battan awarded the album seven-point-six out of a possible ten, and wrote that "Usher's strength lies in R&B, and he's adjusted well to shifting ground" though "not everything on Looking 4 Myself hits the mark"– overall, Battan perceived a positive opinion.[29]

Commercial performance

Looking 4 Myself was predicted to sell 120,000 – 130,000 units during its first-week in the United States, based upon day-one sales.[72][73][74] The figure is under-weight compared to his previous effort Raymond vs. Raymond (2010), which sold 329,000 units during the same period and to date has sold over 2 million copies worldwide.[2] Despite the low figure estimation, Looking 4 Myself was still expected to top the Billboard 200 chart and on the week ending June 17, 2012, did so, selling 128,000 copies domestically in its first week.[74] The album marks Usher's fourth consecutive number one studio album in the United States.[75] The following week of the album's release, Looking 4 Myself dropped to number six on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 48,000 copies.[76] In its third week, the album again dropped positions, falling three spots to number nine, selling 36,000 units.[77] In its fourth week, Looking 4 Myself sold 30,000 units and fell to number fifteen,[78] and in its fifth week rose to number twelve, selling 20,178 copies.[79]

In the United Kingdom, Looking 4 Myself debuted at number 3 selling 27,000 units, giving Usher his fifth consecutive top-three album in the country.[80] It sold 16 units less than Amy MacDonald's third studio album Life in a Beautiful Light which debuted one place ahead at number 2.[80] Looking 4 Myself debuted at number three on the ARIA Albums Chart, giving Usher his fifth consecutive top-five album in the country.[81] The album debuted at number fifteen on the Japanese Albums Chart, selling 6,727 copies, on the week ending June 17, 2012.[82] It debuted at number four on the Dutch Albums Chart,[81] and number five on the Swiss Albums Chart.[81]

Impact

With Looking 4 Myself debuting with the smallest first-week figures since Usher's second studio album My Way—which sold 67,000 copies[75]—whilst also being a significant decrease compared to his previous effort, Raymond v. Raymond, Gail Mitchell of Billboard contemplated on whether this was due to the pop oriented material present on the album. Derrick Corbett, operator of urban based radio stations under Clear Channel Communications, put the album's sales down to this reason, saying that Usher's core audience and fans feel alienated.[83]

Others believe that the low sales is due to the industry changing, saying that album figures will not achieve the numbers that were produced in the past. Neke Howse of WKYS agreed with this, saying that both Usher and label mate Chris Brown—who also experienced low first week sales with his fifth studio album Fortune—will "be fine, and their albums will do OK."[83]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Can't Stop Won't Stop"Will Adams, Keith Harris, William M. Joelwill.i.am, Harris3:51
2."Scream"Max Martin, Shellback, Savan Kotecha, Usher Raymond IVMartin, Shellback3:55
3."Climax"Raymond IV, Thomas Pentz, Ariel Rechtshaid, Sean "Redd Stylez" FentonDiplo3:53
4."I Care for U"Nathaniel Hills, Raymond IV, Eric Bellinger, Juan Najera, Kevin Cossom, Marcella AraicaDanja4:08
5."Show Me"Hills, Cossom, Raymond IV, AraicaDanja3:43
6."Lemme See" (featuring Rick Ross)James Scheffer, Daniel Morris, Nickolas Marzouca, Raymond IV, Bellinger, Lundon "Da Bridge" Knighten, William RobertsJim Jonsin, Mr. Morris4:13
7."Twisted" (featuring Pharrell)Raymond IV, Pharrell WilliamsPharrell3:43
8."Dive"Rico Love, James Scheffer, Morris, Frank RomanoJonsin, Love, Romano, Mr. Morris3:47
9."What Happened to U"Raymond IV, Bellinger, Noah Shebib, Sidney Brown, Sean Combs, Reginald Ellis, Norman Glover, Carl Thompson, Christopher WallaceShebib, Omen*4:22
10."Looking 4 Myself" (featuring Luke Steele)Love, Pierre Medor, Earl Hood, Eric Goudy IILove, Medor, Earl & E4:12
11."Numb"Raymond IV, Klas Åhlund, Steve Angello, Sebastian Ingrosso, Axel Hedfors, Alessandro Lindblad, Ryon Lovett, Terry LewisAxwell, Angello, Ingrosso, Lindblad, Åhlund3:46
12."Lessons for the Lover"Love, Medor, Hood, Goudy IILove, Medor, Earl & E5:07
13."Sins of My Father"Salaam Remi, Love, Raymond IV, LewisRemi, Love*3:56
14."Euphoria"Raymond IV, Åhlund, Angello, Ingrosso, Hedfors, Lovett, Lewis, NajeraSwedish House Mafia4:20
Total length:56:48
Deluxe edition bonus tracks
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
15."I.F.U."Love, Andrew "Pop" Wansel, Autoro "Toro" Whitfield, Ronald "Flippa" ColsonWansel, Whitfield*, Flippa*4:02
16."Say the Words"Raymond IV, Steele, Surahn SidhuSteele, Surahn4:01
17."2nd Round"Raymond IV, Pentz, Rechtshaid, NajeraDiplo, Rechtshaid3:22
18."Hot Thing" (featuring A$AP Rocky)Raymond IV, Williams, Rakim MyersPharrell3:27
Total length:71:38

(*) Denotes co-producer

Notes[30]

Personnel

Credits for Looking 4 Myself adapted from Allmusic.[84]

Managerial

Performance credits

Visuals and imagery

Instruments

Technical and production

Chart performance

Chart (2012) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[81] 3
Australian Urban Albums Chart[85] 1
Austrian Albums Chart[81] 29
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[81] 15
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)[81] 24
Canadian Albums Chart[86] 7
Danish Albums Chart[81] 12
Dutch Albums Chart[81] 4
French Albums Chart[81] 20
German Albums Chart[81] 8
Irish Albums Chart[87] 11
Italian Albums Chart[88] 35
Japanese Albums Chart[82] 15
Mexican Albums Chart[89] 97
New Zealand Albums Chart[81] 11
Norwegian Albums Chart[81] 28
Scottish Albums Chart[90] 11
South African Albums Chart[91] 10
South Korean International Albums Chart[92] 56
Spanish Albums Chart[81] 42
Swiss Albums Chart[81] 5
Taiwanese Albums Chart[93] 7
UK Albums Chart[80] 3
UK R&B Chart[94] 1
US Billboard 200[75] 1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums[86] 1

Release history

Region Date Format Label Edition(s)
Australia[95][96] June 8, 2012 CD, digital download Sony Music Entertainment Standard, deluxe
Germany[97][98]
Belgium[99][100] RCA Records
Ireland[101][102]
Netherlands[103][104]
New Zealand[105][106]
Austria[107] Digital download
Norway[108]
Finland[109] June 11, 2012
Portugal[110]
Sweden[111]
Denmark[112][113] CD, digital download
France[114][115]
United Kingdom[116][117]
Italy[118][119] June 12, 2012
United States[120][121]
Mexico[122] Digital download
Spain[123]
Canada[124][125] CD, digital download Sony Music Entertainment
Japan[126] June 13, 2012 CD Deluxe
Nigeria[127] June 29, 2012

See also

References

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  2. ^ a b "Usher confirms new single details". Digital Spy. 2010-12-01. Retrieved June 13, 2012.
  3. ^ Raymond v. Raymond (2010): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2010-03-30.
  4. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (March 30, 2012). "Usher's Looking For Myself Due June 12". MTV News (MTV Networks). Retrieved April 26, 2012.
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  30. ^ a b Looking 4 Myself (Media notes). RCA Records. 2012. {{cite AV media notes}}: |format= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |artist= ignored (|others= suggested) (help)
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  32. ^ a b Hadfield, Ryan. Review: Looking 4 Myself Consequence of Sound. Retrieved on June 23, 2012
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Preceded by Billboard 200 number-one album
June 30, 2012 – July 7, 2012 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Looking_4_Myself&oldid=503193894"