Usher's 3rd studio album 8701 is turning 20. The project was originally intended for release in 2000 under the title All About U, but was delayed due to numerous leaks on Napster. The renamed title represented Usher's career at the time spanning his first time singing in church in 1987 to the albums release in 2001.
Several producers had a hand in the project, including The Neptunes, Jermaine Dupri, Babyface, Bryan Michael Cox and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. 8701 set the blueprint for Usher's monster follow-up Confessions. 8701 follows the them of Usher's relationship experience. At the time he was in a relationship with Chili from the group TLC. She was the featured lady in the videos for the singles.
8701 peaked at #8 and has been certified platinum by RMNZ.
"U Remind Me" was the first single to be released. A midtempo groove produced by Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. The song would win Usher his first Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 2002. "U Remind Me" would peak at #3 on the RMNZ chart and has been certified Gold. It started the relationship story of the album with Usher meeting a girl that just reminds him of too many exes and therefore he feels he can't date her.
Usher would find the same success in NZ with the second single "U Got It Bad." It would peak at #3 and be certified Gold. Jermaine Dupri and Bryan Michael Cox teamed up for production on this one. Dupri was seeking to make another slow jam banger similar to the song "Nice & Slow" that he produced for Usher's second album My Way. "U Got It Bad" would continue the albums story with Usher finding himself troubled with thoughts of his ex-girlfriend.
The third part of the albums story came via the single "U Don't Have To Call." Usher finds himself over the ex and getting on with his life. It would eventually win Usher his second consecutive Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 2003. "U Don't Have To Call" didn't fare as well here in NZ only peaking at #27 on the charts.
The fourth and final single "U-Turn" saw Usher pick up the tempo with a dance track produced by Jermaine Dupri.
An albums singles can tell the story of a project but sometimes whether they succeed or not can have you scratching your head. We are certainly scratching our heads with 8701s final single "Can U Help Me." Why this song didn't chart/perform better is out of our grasp. This song is a prime example of quality album material. A ballad put together by none other than the greats Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Records like this simply has us stating, bring back begging in R&B.
What can really lock in a project are the album cuts and 8701 def contains some solid ones you should check out if you haven't before. Two we want to put on your radar are the bedroom jam "Twork It Out" and the seductive "How Do I Say."
While Confessions is generally looked at as Usher's best (with good reason) there are many who would consider 8701 a stronger album and we can't blame them. It set the relationship playbook that we would see play out in greater fashion with Confessions. 8701 saw Usher begin his ascension into the realm of being the global pop star we know today. Coming into the 2000s Usher was already solidified in the R&B realm based off his previous work but 8701 allowed him to build, crossover and expand.
If you haven't given 8701 a listen to in a while take a trip back and enjoy one of the best from 2001.
