Usher (album)

Usher
Studio album by
Usher
ReleasedAugust 30, 1994
Recorded1993–1994
Genre
Length63:13
Label
Producer
Usher chronology
Usher
(1994) 		My Way
(1997)
Singles from Usher
  1. "Can U Get wit It"
    Released: July 1, 1994
  2. "Think of You"
    Released: November 10, 1994
  3. "The Many Ways"
    Released: January 26, 1995

Usher is the debut studio album by American singer Usher, released on August 30, 1994, by LaFace Records and Arista Records. As executive producer, Sean "Puffy" Combs mostly handled production work on the album, as additional production was provided by Chucky Thompson, DeVante Swing and Al B. Sure!, among others. Despite underperforming on the charts, debuting at number 167 on the US Billboard 200, the album reached number 4 on the US Heatseekers Albums Chart. The songs "Can U Get wit It", "Think of You" and "The Many Ways" were released as singles to support the album.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyC−[2]

Billy Johnson Jr. of Yahoo! Music called the debut album "an enjoyable ride."[3] Anderson Jones of Entertainment Weekly in a negative review of the album called the songs "sophomoric" and "remarkably dull."[2]

Commercial performance

Usher debuted at number 167 on the US Billboard 200 chart.[4] The album has sold over 500,000 copies in the United States to date.

Track listing

No.TitleLyricsMusicProducer(s)Length
1."I'll Make It Right"
  • Faith Evans
  • Darren Benbow
  • Kiyamma Griffin
  • Isaiah Lee
  • Laquentis Saxon
Alexander Richbourg
4:50
2."Interlude 1"
  • Usher Raymond
  • Evans
Chucky ThompsonThompson0:40
3."Can U Get wit It"DeVante SwingSwingSwing/Timbaland4:56
4."Think of You"
Thompson
  • Thompson
  • Combs
3:48
5."Crazy"Brian Alexander MorganMorgan
  • Morgan
  • Herb Middleton
  • Combs[A]
5:14
6."Slow Love"
  • Sure
  • Lee
4:57
7."The Many Ways"
Hall
5:43
8."I'll Show You Love"
  • Charles Bobbit
  • James Brown
  • Evans
  • Joe Howell
  • Richbourg
  • Mark South
  • Fred Wesley
Richbourg
  • Richbourg
  • Combs
4:43
9."Interlude 2 (Can't Stop)"
  • Evans
  • Raymond
Thompson
  • Thompson
  • Combs
2:42
10."Love Was Here"
  • Sure
  • Griffin
  • Sure
  • Griffin
  • Sure
  • Griffin
5:37
11."Whispers"
  • Pearson
  • Swing
  • Pearson
  • Swing
5:15
12."You Took My Heart"
FerrellEddie F5:10
13."Smile Again"
Herb Middleton
  • Middleton
  • Combs
4:38
14."Final Goodbye"
HallHall5:00

Notes

  • ^[A] denotes co-producer

Sample credits

  • "I'll Make It Right" contains a sample from "Top Billin'" (1987) by Audio Two.
  • "Slow Love" contains a sample from "The Show" (1985) by Doug E. Fresh.
  • "I'll Show You Love" contains a sample from "Blind Man Can See It" (1973) by James Brown.
  • "Final Goodbye" contains a sample from "Nobody Beats the Biz" (1988) by Biz Markie.

Personnel

Charts

References

  1. ^ "allmusic ((( Usher > Overview )))". AllMusic. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  2. ^ a b Jones, Anderson (September 30, 1994). "Usher – Music – EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  3. ^ Johnson Jr., Billy (August 30, 1994). "Usher Reviews on Yahoo! Music". Yahoo! Music. Archived from the original on August 27, 2006. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  4. ^ "allmusic ((( Usher > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Allmusic. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
  5. ^ "Usher Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  6. ^ "Usher Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  7. ^ "Usher Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
  8. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2021.