Usher

Usher's third album marks his departure from the bubblegum RnB of his 1994 self-titled debut and 1998's My Way. His phrasing is more assured; the subject matter thornier and more sexual; and the production fuller, with more hip-hop veneer. The bouncy "U Remind Me" is a catchy, mid-tempo jam about mistaken identity, while the slow-burning "U Got It Bad" is a tortured plea to an obsessive lover. Though the archetypes may be familiar, Usher carries them off with more panache than most.

On the smooth follow-up to his six-times-platinum 1997 album, My Way,
twenty-two-year-old R&B heartthrob Usher shows the polish of a showbiz veteran. His
velvety voice and sky-high tolerance for crooning about girls - girls up in the club, girls
from the old neighborhood, non-English-speaking girls, girls he's better off without - are on
full display, making 8701 likely to resonate with the same crowd his single "Nice... More >