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Raymond v. Raymond
Raymond v. Raymond is the sixth studio album by American singer Usher, released on March 26, 2010, by LaFace Records. Production for the album took place in 2009 and was handled by several producers, including Jermaine Dupri, The Runners, Ester Dean, Polow da Don, RedOne, Jim Jonsin, Danja, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Bangladesh, Zaytoven, and Tricky Stewart.
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 329,000 copies in its first week. It is certified three-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of three million copies in the United States. The album also produced five singles that achieved chart success, including US hits "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)", "Lil Freak", "There Goes My Baby", and international hits "OMG" and "More".
Upon its release, Raymond v. Raymond received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who were ambivalent towards its songwriting and themes. Nonetheless, the album earned Usher several awards, including Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Usher promoted the album with a supporting international tour, OMG Tour, in 2011.
In December 2005, Usher became romantically involved with stylist Tameka Foster, whom he then married on August 3, 2007. Foster gave birth to Usher Raymond V later that year. Usher released his fifth studio album Here I Stand on May 13, 2008. It featured more mature, adult-oriented themes, influenced by his marriage to Foster; this thematic shift ultimately led to the album becoming less successful with fans and sales than his previous work. A year and a half later on June 12, 2009, following his marriage, Usher filed for divorce from Foster, with no initial reasoning. Once the divorce was finalized on November 8 that year, Usher explained that there was "no reasonable hope of reconciliation" and their marriage was "irretrievably broken"; both Foster and Usher had been living separately since July 2008. The divorce was highly documented by the press.
People felt like I'd stepped away from the perception I'd sold for all the years I'd been doing this, when people buy my albums, they buy them for the connection. Here I Stand was very specific to where I was in my life. I don't think everyone was there.
Prior to the filing, Usher relocated to Las Vegas in 2009 to begin working on his sixth studio album. The album was recorded at the Studio at the Palms in Vegas and Atlanta. Producers involved with its production included Jermaine Dupri, The Runners, Ester Dean, Polow da Don, RedOne, Jim Jonsin, |Danja, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Bangladesh and Tricky Stewart. Initially under the title Monster, the album's name was changed to Raymond v. Raymond, taking inspiration from the 1979 American drama film Kramer vs. Kramer.
Raymond v. Raymond mirrors Usher's 2004 Confessions, as a self-confessional album, with several recordings from the album inferring to Usher's marriage. Jive Records urban music president and album executive producer Mark Pitts also conceived the album as a return to the themes of the latter album; "based on what happened with Confessions", Pitts wanted to reproduce its success. Pitts told The New York Times that "Usher had a rough couple years", elaborating: "The scrutiny of everything going on, he was worrying too much about what people were thinking. We felt like we had to get his swagger back. Dust off the bed and get it popping and young again." Pitts noted that it was important Raymond v. Raymond addressed the rumors that circulated around Usher's marriage. The latter reiterated that the album is not specifically about his marriage, and that it is "about the tug-of-war between man and woman, and the honesty a man has to have."
"Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)" was released as the first single on December 8, 2009. The single peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song also peaked at number sixty-eight on the Austrian Singles Chart. Its music video was directed by Chris Robinson, and was shot in West Hollywood at "The London". It premiered on MTV on January 28, 2010. For the album's second single, "Lil Freak", Usher and featured artist Nicki Minaj shot a music video for the song on March 9, 2010, in Los Angeles with director TAJ. The single reached number eight on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked at number 109 on the UK Singles Chart.
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Raymond v. Raymond
Raymond v. Raymond is the sixth studio album by American singer Usher, released on March 26, 2010, by LaFace Records. Production for the album took place in 2009 and was handled by several producers, including Jermaine Dupri, The Runners, Ester Dean, Polow da Don, RedOne, Jim Jonsin, Danja, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Bangladesh, Zaytoven, and Tricky Stewart.
The album debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 329,000 copies in its first week. It is certified three-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of three million copies in the United States. The album also produced five singles that achieved chart success, including US hits "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)", "Lil Freak", "There Goes My Baby", and international hits "OMG" and "More".
Upon its release, Raymond v. Raymond received generally mixed reviews from music critics, who were ambivalent towards its songwriting and themes. Nonetheless, the album earned Usher several awards, including Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary R&B Album and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Usher promoted the album with a supporting international tour, OMG Tour, in 2011.
In December 2005, Usher became romantically involved with stylist Tameka Foster, whom he then married on August 3, 2007. Foster gave birth to Usher Raymond V later that year. Usher released his fifth studio album Here I Stand on May 13, 2008. It featured more mature, adult-oriented themes, influenced by his marriage to Foster; this thematic shift ultimately led to the album becoming less successful with fans and sales than his previous work. A year and a half later on June 12, 2009, following his marriage, Usher filed for divorce from Foster, with no initial reasoning. Once the divorce was finalized on November 8 that year, Usher explained that there was "no reasonable hope of reconciliation" and their marriage was "irretrievably broken"; both Foster and Usher had been living separately since July 2008. The divorce was highly documented by the press.
People felt like I'd stepped away from the perception I'd sold for all the years I'd been doing this, when people buy my albums, they buy them for the connection. Here I Stand was very specific to where I was in my life. I don't think everyone was there.
Prior to the filing, Usher relocated to Las Vegas in 2009 to begin working on his sixth studio album. The album was recorded at the Studio at the Palms in Vegas and Atlanta. Producers involved with its production included Jermaine Dupri, The Runners, Ester Dean, Polow da Don, RedOne, Jim Jonsin, |Danja, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Bangladesh and Tricky Stewart. Initially under the title Monster, the album's name was changed to Raymond v. Raymond, taking inspiration from the 1979 American drama film Kramer vs. Kramer.
Raymond v. Raymond mirrors Usher's 2004 Confessions, as a self-confessional album, with several recordings from the album inferring to Usher's marriage. Jive Records urban music president and album executive producer Mark Pitts also conceived the album as a return to the themes of the latter album; "based on what happened with Confessions", Pitts wanted to reproduce its success. Pitts told The New York Times that "Usher had a rough couple years", elaborating: "The scrutiny of everything going on, he was worrying too much about what people were thinking. We felt like we had to get his swagger back. Dust off the bed and get it popping and young again." Pitts noted that it was important Raymond v. Raymond addressed the rumors that circulated around Usher's marriage. The latter reiterated that the album is not specifically about his marriage, and that it is "about the tug-of-war between man and woman, and the honesty a man has to have."
"Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)" was released as the first single on December 8, 2009. The single peaked at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The song also peaked at number sixty-eight on the Austrian Singles Chart. Its music video was directed by Chris Robinson, and was shot in West Hollywood at "The London". It premiered on MTV on January 28, 2010. For the album's second single, "Lil Freak", Usher and featured artist Nicki Minaj shot a music video for the song on March 9, 2010, in Los Angeles with director TAJ. The single reached number eight on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 40 on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked at number 109 on the UK Singles Chart.