Confessions

Usher

album cover

Little Things Take This over the Top

Caught Up," one of the five (!) singles to chart from this megahit by Atlanta singer Usher Raymond, starts out sounding like every other competent but ultimately empty R&B single of recent vintage. There's an uptight little vocal melody that requires Ush to apply his golden pipes to exactly four notes. Underneath that is a clubready whomping beat that sounds like it was inspired by a drum corps rehearsal.

Nothing much, in other words, is particularly new. And yet the wily Usher keeps things interesting—just by the writhing, utterly "caught up" way he sings about this girl. He's a dramatist of the droppingbread-crumbs school, sprinkling isolated thoughts that pull you into the refrain. And that refrain, when it arrives, is not shy: For months this was the most concentrated dose of ear candy available on the radio. It's where Usher makes like Michael Jackson circa "Billie Jean," playing the misunderstood victim. As he tells how the girl's got him wrung out, he goes through every Jacko contortion, and sometimes even multitracks several vocals together, in a Marvin Gaye–like cascade. All it takes is a few spins through the title phrase to get addicted. Usher's wriggling leads, which are slightly different each time, do the rest.

Like many contemporary R&B projects, Confessions patches together tracks by different big-name producers. "Caught Up" is one of several pieces by the duo of Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, who'd worked similar magic for Jackson and Jill Scott. Their tunes sit alongside sumptuous ballads ("Burn," produced by Jermaine Dupri) and one thrilling club jam ("Yeah!," produced by Lil' Jon, with a cameo by Ludacris). Usually such recordmaking-by-committee results in a wandering, diffuse product—several hot tracks followed by filler. But Usher, smoothness personified, gets everything to mesh, making this one of the most creative examples of post-millennial urban pop.

Genre: R&B
Released: 2004, Arista
Key Tracks: "Caught Up," "Confessions Part 2," "Yeah!," "Throwback."
Catalog Choice: My Way
Next Stop: Luther Vandross: Ultimate Collection
After That: Beyoncé: Dangerously in Love
Book Pages: 797–798