Ok, so I've never really been a big Usher fan. I've always let the fanfare reign supreme with the chicks. Being a complete heterosexual however I do understand Usher's appeal. Young, well-groomed, non-threatening, and oh yeah rich. I was a big fan of his previous work, Confessions, were he came clean like a virgin school girl. Confessions was very identifiable for me as I was going through a near break-up with the woman that I loved. Songs like "Burn" and "Confessions" were instant classics that piggy-backed on the club friendly "Yeah".
I have mixed emotions on his latest effort "Here I Stand" however. Usher sounds more mature than ever with this project and is definitely more accepting of his life as an adult. Instead of confessing his mistakes he seems to embrace them and acknowledges that they have made him stronger. Though the subject matter is mature, the lyrics and melodies he chose just don't do it for me. As I listened, I desperately wanted to hear a song that connected with me in a special way..none of them did, although several had tremendous potential. It's obvious that Usher meant well with this project as I can hear that every word is pure and expressive. It just fails to grab me as a listener and someone who is not a die-hard Usher fan. I'm sure fan-girls and boys will hate me for this but I feel like the album was rushed and doesn't adequately capture the emotions the way that I think Usher would have wanted them to be captured. All in all the album is solid with room for improvement. I rate this album 8.0 broken hearts out of 10.
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