Usher has had one of the most remarkable runs in music history. While his rivals in the R&B industry in the 1990s and early 2000s struggled as new trends in the genre came and went, Usher adapted, experimenting with dance music while retaining his incredibly alluring romantic swagger.
Usher hasn’t released a solo album in eight years, and it’s been six years since A, his joint venture with Zaytoven, was published. This is the longest hiatus from music releases he’s had. We’ve witnessed a kind of Usher renaissance in recent years, fueled by a lucrative Las Vegas residency that produced innumerable viral videos of well-known ladies like Issa Rae, Keke Palmer, and Doja Cat fulfilling every girl’s fantasy of being serenaded by the superstar. There wasn’t a better moment for Usher to return with new music, and a lot of it, than right before his extravagant performance that would headline the Super Bowl halftime show. Coming Home, the title of his most recent album is apt: the star’s expansive 20-song record is comfortable and nostalgic.
Usher begins his ninth album with three consecutive features: Summer Walker and 21 Savage on the “Lovers & Friends”-like track “Good Good,” Burna Boy on the upbeat, sensual, double-entendre title track, and The-Dream on the trap-influenced “Cold-Blooded.” Usher’s rendition of “A-Town Girl,” which features Latto and samples Billy Joel, is an unexpected standout. It’s a bright and infectious pop song that cleverly flips “Uptown Girl” to express his love for Atlanta: “Shawty’s an A-Town girl/Got her own money but she never pays to get inside/No lie.” Usher is the only one who can properly pull off this kind of absurd sample while still having fun.
Usher performs alone for most of the record, maintaining a lively and dance-oriented vibe. Except his poorly placed duet with H.E.R. from The Color Purple soundtrack (“Risk It All”), the album’s languid jams are never excessively slow. The upbeat, synth-pop love song “Keep on Dancing” and the sensual, mid-tempo song “Bop,” which says, “Girl, I miss you like Jodeci/Girl, I miss you like ‘Pac/Girl, I miss you like Aaliyah/Come back and make this song stop/Don’t let this turn into a bop,” are sandwiched between it.
The song veers between Usher’s two musical extremes: party songs perfect for a cookout and timeless sexy playlist tracks. The hour-plus of new music isn’t as concentrated as Usher’s previous albums, even though none of them are huge failures; it sounds more like him throwing everything he knows about to a wall and seeing what sticks. Usher’s not attempting to be any other kind of pop or R&B artist, so even though the album verges on being too long, it mainly goes down well. The collection serves as a helpful reminder that he is talented in many areas.
