Usher: Confessions

By REBECCA BARRY

(Herald rating: * * * *)



Usher was a 14-year-old choir boy when he was discovered 10 years ago, and he has obviously enjoyed growing up in public since. Why else, on his fifth studio album, would the R&B star reveal his infidelity or contribution to an unwanted pregnancy with his "chick on the side"?

The transition comes off as a little forced but it makes sense. Not only is he milking the publicity surrounding the end of his three-year relationship with Chilli of TLC, he's now competing with celebrity-dater Justin Timberlake and the queens of urban raunch, Janet Jackson and Beyonce - he also guests on Naughty Girl, her sexiest single yet.

Thankfully, other than having more time to work on his abdominals, he has matured into an R&B artist of some substance.

His voice has deepened slightly making him capable of a more diverse range of styles, from confident party starter (Yeah) to vulnerable falsetto (Can U Handle It?) and seductive, D'Angelo drawl (Bad Girl).

Aside from his number one hit Yeah with Ludacris and sexy bedroom ballad Burn, the album is brimming with potential singles. There's the Motown-inspired Throwback, the askew bump 'n' grind of Caught Up and the gorgeously sultry Superstar.

The dynamic production has much to thank for that. Usher's favourites - Jermaine Dupri, Jam and Lewis - join Just Blaze, Lil Jon and Dre and Vidal on the credits, an impressive creative team of engineers not afraid to strip things back. Yeah must be the most under-produced hit yet. The songs might not be as luminary as the title suggests but Usher has still proved himself a credible pin-up.

Label: Arista