Usher (album) explained

Usher
Type:	studio
Artist:	Usher
Cover:	Usher - Usher.png
Released:	August 30, 1994
Recorded:	1993 - 1994
Length:	63:13
Next Title:	My Way
Next Year:	1997

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

Billy Johnson Jr. of Yahoo! Music called the debut album "an enjoyable ride."^[1] Anderson Jones of Entertainment Weekly in a negative review of the album called the songs "sophomoric" and "remarkably dull."

Commercial performance

Usher debuted at number 167 on the US Billboard 200 chart.^[2] The album has sold over 500,000 copies in the United States to date.

Track listing

Notes

• 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

• Assistant engineering – Daniel Beroff
• Drums – Alexander Richbourg
• Engineering – Al B. Sure!, Charles "Prince Charles" Alexander, Bob Brockman, Larry Funk, Gerhard Joost, Tony Maserati, Brian Alexander Morgan, Nasheim Myrick, Rob Paustian
• Executive production – Sean "Puffy" Combs, L.A. Reid
• Guitar – Darryl Pearson
• Keyboards – Herb Middleton
• Mixing – Charles "Prince Charles" Alexander, Bob Brockman, Sean "Puffy" Combs, David Dachinger, DeVante Swing, Rob Paustian, John Shrive

• Multi-instruments – DeVante Swing, Brian Alexander Morgan, Tim Mosley, Darryl Pearson
• Photography – Michael Benabib
• Production – Al B. Sure!, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Ward Corbett, DeVante Swing, Edward "Eddie F" Ferrell, Kiyamma Griffin, Dave Hall, Isaiah Lee, Brian Alexander Morgan, Darryl Pearson, Alexander Richbourg
• Songwriting – Ward Corbett
• Vocals – Usher
• Background vocals – Darren Benbow, Mary Brown, Faith Evans, Dave Hollister, Crystal Johnson, Darryl Pearson, Laquentis Saxon, Usher, Levar "Lil' Tone" Wilson

Charts

Year-end charts

External links

• Usher at Discogs

Notes and References

1. Web site: Billy. Johnson Jr.. Usher Reviews on Yahoo! Music. Yahoo! Music. August 30, 1994. March 15, 2011. https://web.archive.org/web/20060827062900/http://ca.music.yahoo.com/read/review/12054055. August 27, 2006. dead.
2. Web site: [{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r203803/charts-awards/billboard-album|pure_url=yes}} allmusic (((Usher > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums)))]. Allmusic. March 15, 2011.
3. Web site: Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1995. Billboard. January 13, 2021.