In 2004 I was in the 6th grade. I had box braids (obviously), girl band aspirations, and Usher lyrics printed out and inserted into the front of my social studies binder. Specifically, they were the lyrics to ‘Burn’ which I used to unabashedly belt out during lunch period because I had literally no shame.
On today’s #throwbackthursday I’m talking 10 years since Usher’s Confessions album.
On today’s #throwbackthursday I’m talking 10 years since Usher’s Confessions album.
This was obviously a time before Usher started working with his son Justin Bieber and things were strictly R&B. I think the thing that attracted me to the record (despite the fact that I was 12 and had practically no taste in music) was how raw it seemed. It’s a breakup album in the simplest terms which, as a 12 year old, I definitely identified with.
A break up album with complex themes, hypothetical or not, can be extremely hard to pull off. Just ask Robin Thicke. That being said, Confessions has just the right ratio of ‘I’m sorry, I fucked up’ songs to counterbalance the ‘I’m on the prowl for some casual sex’ songs; a feat which most artists are yet to master.
In fact, with this album, Usher and Luda pioneered the famous concept of a “lady in the streets but a freak in the bed”, a status I myself am eternally striving for.
It’s kind of hard to talk about this record without discussing ‘Burn’ in depth. When the video first came out, MTV used to run videos around 6 am when I would have to get up and get ready for school. The amount of times I can genuinely remember dancing and singing into my microphone (a remote control) along to ‘Burn’ is chilling. For some strange reason, images of Usher’s girlfriend diving into a burning swimming pool were really impressive to me at the time. Like for some reason my 6th grade brain didn’t get CGI and I just thought she was really dedicated to her craft.
I eventually came up with complex vocal harmonies with my friends because we were gonna make it big like Destiny’s Child and our cover of ‘Burn’ was going to skyrocket us to fame. Of course my music career was derailed when it became apparent that nobody cares about 12 year olds. It's all water under the proverbial bridge.
Please don’t get me STARTED on the speaking interlude on Confessions Part II. I was scandalised to say the least. But to deny its utter audacity and flawless execution is to deny oneself the simplest of truths: That this album is actually super dope.
10 years after Confessions , I want you to look in the mirror and ask yourself if this is not one of the best R&B albums of the early 2000s. If your answer isn’t an emphatic “yes!” then I need you to watch this video of ‘Burn’ like 800 times or until you have any concept of reality.
I eventually came up with complex vocal harmonies with my friends because we were gonna make it big like Destiny’s Child and our cover of ‘Burn’ was going to skyrocket us to fame. Of course my music career was derailed when it became apparent that nobody cares about 12 year olds. It's all water under the proverbial bridge.
Please don’t get me STARTED on the speaking interlude on Confessions Part II. I was scandalised to say the least. But to deny its utter audacity and flawless execution is to deny oneself the simplest of truths: That this album is actually super dope.
10 years after Confessions , I want you to look in the mirror and ask yourself if this is not one of the best R&B albums of the early 2000s. If your answer isn’t an emphatic “yes!” then I need you to watch this video of ‘Burn’ like 800 times or until you have any concept of reality.
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