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.
| Usher | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 30, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | 1993–1994 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 63:13 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Usher chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Usher | ||||
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Critical reception edit
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AOTY | 60/100[1] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| Entertainment Weekly | C−[3] |
| Yahoo! Music | (favorable)[4] |
Billy Johnson Jr. of Yahoo! Music called the debut album "an enjoyable ride."[4] Anderson Jones of Entertainment Weekly in a negative review of the album called the songs "sophomoric" and "remarkably dull."[3]
Commercial performance edit
Usher debuted at number 167 on the US Billboard 200 chart.[5] The album has sold over 500,000 copies in the United States to date.
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I'll Make It Right" |
| Alexander Richbourg |
| 4:50 |
| 2. | "Interlude 1" |
| Chucky Thompson | Thompson | 0:40 |
| 3. | "Can U Get wit It" | DeVante Swing | Swing | Swing/Timbaland | 4:56 |
| 4. | "Think of You" |
| Thompson |
| 3:48 |
| 5. | "Crazy" | Brian Alexander Morgan | Morgan |
| 5:14 |
| 6. | "Slow Love" |
|
| 4:57 | |
| 7. | "The Many Ways" |
| Hall |
| 5:43 |
| 8. | "I'll Show You Love" |
| Richbourg |
| 4:43 |
| 9. | "Interlude 2 (Can't Stop)" |
| Thompson |
| 2:42 |
| 10. | "Love Was Here" |
|
|
| 5:37 |
| 11. | "Whispers" |
|
|
| 5:15 |
| 12. | "You Took My Heart" |
| Ferrell | Eddie F | 5:10 |
| 13. | "Smile Again" |
| Herb Middleton |
| 4:38 |
| 14. | "Final Goodbye" |
| Hall | Hall | 5:00 |
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 edit
Information taken from Allmusic.[6]
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Charts edit
Weekly charts edit
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Year-end charts edit
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References edit
- ^ "Usher - Usher". Album of The Year.
- ^ "allmusic ((( Usher > Overview )))". AllMusic. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
- ^ a b Jones, Anderson (September 30, 1994). "Usher – Music – EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ "allmusic ((( Usher > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Allmusic. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
- ^ "allmusic ((( Usher > Credits )))". Allmusic. Retrieved March 15, 2011.
- ^ "Usher Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
- ^ "Usher Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
- ^ "Usher Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
- ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 1995". Billboard. Retrieved January 13, 2021.