Usher (album)

Usher
Studio album by Usher
Released	August 30, 1994
Recorded	1993-1994
Genre	R&B, Hip hop soul
Length	63:13
Label	LaFace
Producer	Sean "Puffy" Combs (exec.), L.A. Reid (exec.), Al B. Sure!, Ward Corbett, DeVante Swing, Edward "Eddie F" Ferrell, Kiyamma Griffin, Dave Hall, Isaiah Lee, Brian Alexander Morgan, Darryl Pearson, Alexander Richbourg
Usher chronology
Usher (1994) My Way (1997) Singles from Usher "Can U Get wit It" Released: July 11, 1994 "Think of You" Released: January 9, 1995 "The Many Ways" Released: June 9, 1995

Usher is the debut studio album from American R&B artist Usher, released August 30, 1994 on LaFace Records.

The album peaked at number one hundred sixty-seven on the Billboard 200 chart.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Entertainment WeeklyJMIMINUI	(C-)[2]
Yahoo! Music	(favorable)[3]

The album peaked at #167 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and reached #25 on the R&B Albums chart.^[4]

Billy Johnson Jr. of Yahoo! Music called the debut album "an enjoyable ride."^[3] Anderson Jones of Entertainment Weekly in a less than enthusiastic review of the album called the songs "sophomoric" and "remarkably dull."^[2]

Track listing

No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Length
1.	"I'll Make It Right"	Benbow, Evans, Griffin, Lee, Saxon	Sean "Puffy" Combs, Alex Richbourg	4:50
2.	"Interlude 1"	Evans, Raymond, Thompson	Carl "Chucky" Thompson	0:40
3.	"Can U Get wit It"	Swing	DeVante Swing	4:56
4.	"Think of You"	Evans, Jones, Raymond, Thompson	Sean "Puffy" Combs, Carl "Chucky" Thompson	3:48
5.	"Crazy"	Morgan	Brian Alexander Morgan	5:14
6.	"Slow Love"	Brown, Lee	Al B. Sure!	4:57
7.	"The Many Ways"	Brown, Hall	Dave "Jam" Hall	5:43
8.	"I'll Show You Love"	Bobbit, Brown, Evans, Howell, Richbourg, South, Wesley	Sean "Puffy" Combs, Alex Richbourg	4:43
9.	"Interlude 2 (Can't Stop)"	Evans, Raymond, Thompson	Sean "Puffy" Combs, Carl "Chucky" Thompson	2:42
10.	"Love Was Here"	Brown, Griffin	Al B. Sure!, Kiyamma Griffin	5:37
11.	"Whispers"	Pearson, Swing	Darryl Pearson, DeVante Swing	5:15
12.	"You Took My Heart"	Corbett, Ferrell, Jones, Raymond, Tonge	Edward "Eddie F" Ferrell	5:10
13.	"Smile Again"	Evans, Hollister, Middleton	Sean "Puffy" Combs, Herb Middleton	4:38
14.	"Final Goodbye"	Chambers, Corbett, Hall, Norris	Dave "Jam" Hall	5:00

Sample credits

• "Think of You" contains a sample of "Tidal Wave" as performed by Ronnie Laws.^[5]

Chart history

Album

Chart (1994)[4]	Peak position
U.S. Billboard 200	167
U.S. Heatseekers	4
U.S. R&B Albums	25

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions[6]
		U.S. Billboard Hot 100	U.S. Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks
1994	"Can U Get wit It"	59	—	13
1995	"Think of You"	58	23	8
	"The Many Ways"	—	—	42

"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Personnel

Information taken from Allmusic.^[7]

• assistant engineering – Daniel Beroff
• drums – Alexander Richbourg
• engineering – Al B. Sure!, Charles "Prince Charles" Alexander, Bob Brockman, Larry Funk, Gerhard Joost, Tony Maserati, Brian Alexander Morgan, Nasheim Myrick, Rob Paustian
• executive production – Sean "Puffy" Combs, L.A. Reid
• guitar – Darryl Pearson
• keyboards – Herb Middleton
• mixing – Charles "Prince Charles" Alexander, Bob Brockman, Sean "Puffy" Combs, David Dachinger, DeVante Swing, Rob Paustian, John Shrive
• multi-instruments – DeVante Swing, Brian Alexander Morgan, Tim Mosley, Darryl Pearson
• photography – Michael Benabib
• production – Al B. Sure!, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Ward Corbett, DeVante Swing, Edward "Eddie F" Ferrell, Kiyamma Griffin, Dave Hall, Isaiah Lee, Brian Alexander Morgan, Darryl Pearson, Alexander Richbourg
• songwriting – Ward Corbett
• vocals – Usher
• vocals (background) – Darren Benbow, Mary Brown, Faith Evans, Dave Hollister, Crystal Johnson, Darryl Pearson, Laquentis Saxon, Usher, Levar "Lil' Tone" Wilson

Notes

1. ^ "allmusic ((( Usher > Overview )))". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r203803. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Jones, Anderson (1994-09-30). "Usher – Music – EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,303918,00.html. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
3. ^ ^{a b} Johnson Jr., Billy (1994-08-30). "Usher Reviews on Yahoo! Music". Yahoo! Music. http://ca.music.yahoo.com/read/review/12054055. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
4. ^ ^{a b} "allmusic ((( Usher > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums )))". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r203803/charts-awards/billboard-album. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
5. ^ "Rap Sample FAQ - Quick FAQ Search: Usher". The-Breaks.com. http://the-breaks.com/search.php?term=Usher&type=6. Retrieved 03-15-2011. 
6. ^ "allmusic ((( Usher > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r203803/charts-awards/billboard-single. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 
7. ^ "allmusic ((( Usher > Credits )))". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r203803/credits. Retrieved 2011-03-15. 

External links

• Usher at Allmusic
• Usher at Discogs