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The 25 Best Usher Songs

Three decades of hits from an R&B icon

Usher

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Usher has notched over 50 appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 since “Thinking Of You,” off his self-titled 1994 debut, first charted. Those songs represent an ongoing temperature-check for the moods and styles of contemporary pop, from the guitar-flecked quiet storm of “Slow Jam” to the breezy Afrobeats of this week’s “Ruin.” It helps, of course, that throughout that timespan he did more than chase trends, arranging each of his albums around coherent themes and refusing to treat even deep-album cuts as anything less than essential. (Seriously: find the dud track on Confessions.)

Credit his voice, which simpers and emotes with fresh hurt when necessary but can punch as hard as a Max Martin beat when the chorus hits. Credit the dance moves, which hold their own alongside royalty like Beyonce and Michael Jackson. But mostly, credit his ear — the ability to find his pocket and stay contemporary over three decades of wildly fast-moving pop music. To celebrate his upcoming Super Bowl performance, here’s our ranking of his 25 best songs.

4

‘Climax’ (2012)

Looking 4 Myself is one of Usher’s most rewarding front-to-back albums, a mid-career hard left into EDM, trance, and experimental pop that yielded this collaboration with Diplo — easily one of the singer’s boldest, most singular songs. The title suggests a release that never quite comes, no matter what the hi-hats insinuate, always arriving breathlessly back at the same pulsing synth line. Usher’s classically emotive falsetto scales heights with little warning, etching out a liminal relationship. The song sounds sculpted from glass: a masterpiece of postmillennial, noirish R&B.–C.P.

3

‘You Make Me Wanna’ (1997)

Though the lyrics to “You Make Me Wanna” signal that Usher is embroiled in a rocky love triangle, the hip-hop influenced, Jermaine Dupri-produced track ranks among one of the smoothest jams in his discography. Combined with the performer’s passionate delivery and down-tempo production, “You Make Me Wanna” set him apart within the late-Nineties R&B crowd. Though he was 19 at the time of its release, he already sounded like a seasoned vet.–J.J.

2

‘Confessions Pt. II’ (2004)

Clean yet cutting-edge production, a storytelling saga for the ages, undeniable vocals. Not only did these sonic hallmarks allow “Confessions Pt. II” to become one of Usher’s signature songs, they also encapsulate what we love about R&B in general. While the star’s 2004 magnum opus LP Confessions features a seemingly endless string of hits, the title track and its iconic sequel in particular highlight his strengths as a vocalist, performer, and all-around musician. “Pt. II” not only stands among the giants in Raymond’s solo discography, it topped our list of the 100 Best R&B Songs of the 21st Century.–J.J.

1

‘U Don’t Have To Call’ (2001)

The story goes that Michael Jackson passed on this track, along with several of the Neptunes’ beats on Justin Timberlake’s 2002 debut Justified. But while you don’t have to squint too hard to hear MJ performing “Rock Your Body” or “Senorita,” “U Don’t Have To Call” sounds tailor-made for Usher, whose indefatigable swag carries the breezy night-out anthem into pop-music valhalla. Amid precision-engineered pings, jazzy chimes, and those kicky Neptunes drums, the singer turns a rejection into a reason to go out, projecting a celestial confidence that sweeps the listener along. The result is the ultimate Usher song, transforming the messy detritus of a relationship into pop-music perfection.–C.P.