Posts tagged "Raymond v. raymond"

Ushering in a New Era of Mediocrity with “Versus”

I stand corrected. When Usher’s “Raymond V. Raymond” came out earlier this year, I predicted that after a solid first week, it was going to flop hard. Well, I guess I have egg on my face. Thanks to the inexplicable success of the will.i.am-assisted hit “OMG”, “Raymond” has already outsold Usher’s (much better qualitatively but not as pop-friendly) previous record “Here I Stand”. In order to keep the momentum going (and maybe to hoodwink Usher’s fans into buying material that […]

From "Yeah!" To "Oh HELL No!": Usher's "Raymond v. Raymond"

For a second, Usher was the King of Pop. He’d been successful by anyone’s definition of the word, but 2004’s “Confessions” sent him into the stratosphere. It spawned 4 #1 singles, won 3 Grammy Awards, and is the last album to be certified Diamond for shipments of 10 million copies. Not only had Usher officially made the leap from teen idol to adult superstar, but his follow up album, 2008’s “Here I Stand”, was widely expected to cement his megastar […]