Usher
8701
Release Date: Aug 7, 2001
Genre(s): Pop, R&B, Urban
Record label: Arista
Music Critic Score
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Album Review: 8701 by Usher
Fairly Good, Based on 2 Critics
Based on rating 6/10
Usher has the reputation as a loverman, largely because he fits the bill so well. He looks good, his material is smooth and seductive, and he has a nice voice, even if he tends to favor melisma. This has been true throughout his career, and remains true on his third album, 8701, a classy, seductive affair masterminded by Usher, Jermaine Dupri, and Antonio "L.A." Reid.
Opinion: Fairly Good
Judging by the indolent reception of Usher’s performance at this year’s American Fashion Awards afterparty, you’d think the 22 year-young multi-platinum phenom was washed up. The crowd listlessly meandered around the room, sipping Cristal and popping cherries as if the night’s entertainment was being pumped in from the speakers of some second-rate Jersey Shore DJ. Imagine my wonder, then, when the pant-dropping crooner’s new smash, “U Remind Me,” made a swift ascent up the pop and R&B charts a few weeks later.