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Coming Home (Usher album)

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Coming Home
Usher holding a peach behind his neck
Studio album by
Usher
ReleasedFebruary 9, 2024 (2024-02-09)
Recorded2019–2024
Genre
Length66:40
LabelMega
Producer
Usher chronology
A
(2018) 		Coming Home
(2024)
Singles from Coming Home
  1. "Good Good"
    Released: August 4, 2023
  2. "Ruin"
    Released: February 2, 2024
  3. "Kissing Strangers"
    Released: February 9, 2024[2]

Coming Home is the ninth studio album by American singer Usher. It was released on February 9, 2024, through gamma.,[3] coinciding with his Super Bowl LVIII halftime show performance.[4][5] It is Usher's first solo album since Hard II Love (2016) and follows the release of his collaborative album with record producer Zaytoven, A (2018). Coming Home features collaborations with Burna Boy, Summer Walker, 21 Savage, Latto, The-Dream, H.E.R., Pheelz, and Jungkook.

Coming Home peaked at number two on the US Billboard 200, and received generally favorable reviews from critics, while the lead single "Good Good" reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album is also nominated for Album of the Year at the 2024 BET Awards.

Background and promotion

[edit]

Following the headlining of his own residency at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada and numerous renewals ever since, Usher started gearing up for an upcoming album release in mid-2023. In July, the singer teamed up with French cognac producer Rémy Martin in a campaign titled "Life Is a Melody".[6] An accompanying advertisement previewed an unreleased song called "Coming Home", a first hint at the title of his upcoming album.[7] The track 'Risk It All' with H.E.R. was featured on the soundtrack to The Color Purple musical remake. The album's title references Raymond's promotion of the African-American culture within the state of Georgia and the city of Atlanta, specifically.

On September 24, 2023, it was announced that Usher would be the headliner of the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show, a self-described "honor of a lifetime".[8] The event took place at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. He promised a show "unlike anything else they've seen" from him before.[9] The musician announced the accompanying album to be released the same day, February 11, 2024; the release date was later changed to February 9. It includes the single "Good Good" with Summer Walker and 21 Savage.[10] Usher stated that he and his team put a lot of creativity and effort into the record, in order "to tell a story that is open to interpretation" and is intended to connect with people.[11] Coming Home is Raymond's first independent album, and supported by the tour Usher: Past Present Future (2024–2025).[12][13][14]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.1/10[15]
Metacritic76/100[16]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[17]
Clash6/10[18]
HipHopDX3.9/5[19]
The Independent[20]
Pitchfork8.0/10[21]
Slant Magazine[22]
The Daily Telegraph[23]

Coming Home received generally favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 76 based on nine reviews.[16] Jon Pareles, writing for The New York Times, remarked that the album had the singer return in "familiar guises." He found that Coming Home "sums up and expands what Usher does best," further noting that the "personas are familiar, and so is Usher's musical universe, with the supple physicality of his vocals floating in electronic soundscapes. But he still comes up with ingenious variations on his longtime subjects."[24] In her review for Rolling Stone, Brittany Spanos wrote that Coming Home was "appropriately titled: the star's sprawling, twenty-song LP is nostalgic and familiar as Usher leans into the past without making it feel stale [...] The album is a reminder that he is pretty great at a lot of things. Glad he came home."[25]

Neil McCormick from The Daily Telegraph called Coming Home a "cheesy but exuberant comeback album" as well as a hugely impressive reminder of Usher's pop skills, and another testament to the enduring appeal of high class R&B." He concluded: "It might even be the best of his career, if you can overlook the fact that at 20 tracks long it's a bit bloated."[23] Pitchfork's Julianne Escobedo Shepherd wrote that Usher "remains most comfortable and effective playing the sensual lover with come-hither abs, where even the most blatant sexual metaphor doesn't come off as seamy" and he "maintains the versatility he's established through the years" on the album.[21] Chuck Arnold from the New York Post described the album as a "refreshing return to real R&B" and found that Usher "hasn't lost any of his powers of seduction."[26] AllMusic editor Andy Kellman noted that "like all of Usher's earlier post-millennial LPs, Coming Home is long and pieced together." He found that "Usher is in his element, at his most charming" throughout the album.[17]

HipHopDX's Alex Siegel wrote that while the album was not "a completely smooth return to form," it felt "liberated from post-Confessions expectations and the gravity of current trends. This helps explain why the album is an at-times schizophrenic hodgepodge of sounds and styles."[19] Clash critic Shahzaib Hussain remarked that "there's narrative cohesion, yes, but a leaner structure, and more daring in construction would have been welcomed. Still, Coming Home, in the context of a seasoned entertainer experiencing a career Renaissance, gives adoring fans a sprinkling of every musical touchstone in the R&B canon."[18] Slant Magazine critic Paul Attard found that the "album feels less driven by creative ingenuity or an aesthetic vision than by sheer showmanship" and noted that some material on it "could have used some extra polish to reach its fullest potential."[22] The Independent's Helen Brown called the album a collection of "cheesy seduction songs" and further commented: "Lyrical foreplay isn't exactly the singer's strong suit on this throwback album full of percussive panting."[20] Less impressed, Mark Richardson from The Wall Street Journal called Coming Home "decidedly uneven, with a handful of awkward moments and dull patches."[27]

Commercial performance

[edit]

In the United States, the album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200, earning 91,000 album-equivalent units, calculated from 45.82 million on-demand streams and 53,000 pure album copies. Coming Home marks Usher's ninth top 10-charting album on the Billboard 200.[28] The album marked the second highest debut of the week and was the best-selling album of the week, with 53,000 units sold: 47,500 digital sales and physical sales of 5,500 (4,000 on CD and 1,500 on vinyl). Its debut marked the largest first-week sales for an R&B album in more than four years, since Lionel Richie's 2019 live album Hello From Las Vegas sold 65,000 copies in its opening week.[29] Coming Home marked Usher's fifth number-one album on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart, having previously topped the chart with Looking 4 Myself (2012), Raymond v. Raymond (2010), Here I Stand (2008), and Confessions (2004).[29]

Track listing

[edit]
Coming Home track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Coming Home" (featuring Burna Boy)
Pheelz3:15
2."Good Good" (featuring Summer Walker and 21 Savage)
Mel & Mus4:07
3."A-Town Girl" (featuring Latto)
3:32
4."Cold Blooded" (featuring The-Dream)
3:16
5."Kissing Strangers"
  • Busbee
  • Ryan Daly[v]
3:08
6."Keep on Dancin'"
3:11
7."Risk It All (from the Original Motion Picture The Color Purple) remix" (featuring H.E.R)
H.E.R.3:21
8."Bop"
3:42
9."Stone Kold Freak"
  • Ghost-Kid
  • Rico Love
  • K. Thomas
  • Jakub "Jakob Malibu Lee" Liszko
3:34
10."Ruin" (featuring Pheelz)
  • Raymond
  • Moses
  • Ndumiso Manana
Pheelz3:01
11."Big"
  • Raymond
  • T. Thomas
  • Javiere Boswell
Chang[v]3:27
12."On the Side"
3:03
13."I Am the Party"
  • Mauldin
  • Cox
  • Dupri
  • Cox
3:39
14."I Love U"
3:17
15."Please U"
Oliver2:58
16."Luckiest Man"
3:21
17."Margiela"
  • Raymond
  • Gesteelde-Diamant
  • James Lackey
  • The-Dream
  • JLack
3:44
18."Room in a Room"
  • Raymond
  • Austin
  • Emile
Anthony R. Smith[v]2:17
19."One of Them Ones"
  • Raymond
  • K. Thomas
  • R. Ishman
  • Stovall
  • MacDonald
  • Julian Morgan
  • Michael Coleman
  • Emile
  • Damon Thomas
  • D'Mile
  • D. Thomas
3:13
20."Standing Next to You (remix)" (featuring Jungkook)
3:34
Total length:66:40
Digital Skims bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
21."Believe"
  • Antoine Harris
  • Cox
  • Mauldin
  • Raymond
  • Dupri
  • Cox
3:31
Total length:70:11
Digital expanded edition bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
22."Naked"
  • Phillip Cornish
  • Patrick "Guitarboy" Hayes
  • Yountie Strickland
  • Michael Coleman
  • Maurice Ryan Toby
  • Raymond
  • PhilTheKeys
  • Guitarboy
  • Big Yount
4:42
Total length:74:53

Note

  • ^[v] signifies a vocal producer.

Personnel

[edit]

Musicians

  • Usher – vocals
  • Pheelz – background vocals (track 1), vocals (10)
  • Burna Boy – vocals (track 1)
  • Summer Walker – vocals (track 2)
  • 21 Savage – vocals (track 2)
  • Latto – vocals (track 3)
  • The-Dream – vocals (track 4)
  • Christopher Stewart – keyboards (tracks 6, 14)
  • Felly the Voice – background vocals (track 6)
  • Tomi Martin – guitar (track 6)
  • Jens Isaksen – keyboards (track 6)
  • Ben Parris – keyboards, programming (track 6)
  • H.E.R. – vocals (track 7)
  • Mike Burton – horns (track 11)
  • Wilber Williams – horns (track 11)
  • Melvin Jones – horns (track 11)
  • Jermaine Dupri – bass guitar, drums, programming (track 12, 21)
  • Bryan-Michael Cox – keyboards, programming, synthesizer (track 12, 21)
  • Dernst Emile II – bass guitar, keyboards (track 14)
  • Izzy Fontaine – bass guitar, guitar (track 15)
  • Vaughn Oliver – arrangement, drum programming, keyboards (track 15)
  • Jon Bellion – chorus (track 20)
  • Andrew Watt – chorus (track 20)
  • Jungkook – chorus, vocals (track 20)

Technical

  • Emerson Mancini – mastering
  • Mike Bozzi – mastering, engineering (track 20)
  • Patrizio "Teezio" Pigliapoco – mixing (tracks 1, 3, 9, 18, 19)
  • Jessica Wong – mixing (track 2)
  • Preston "Prizzie" Reid – mixing (track 2)
  • Manny Marroquin – mixing (tracks 4, 5, 11, 15)
  • Jaycen Joshua – mixing (tracks 6, 12–14)
  • C. "Tricky" Stewart – mixing (track 7)
  • Miles Walker – mixing (tracks 8, 16)
  • Leslie Brathwaite – mixing (track 17)
  • Serban Ghenea – mixing (track 20)
  • Anthony R. Smith – mixing (track 20), engineering (1–7, 9–13, 15, 18–20)
  • Brandon Harding – engineering (tracks 4, 8, 17), engineering assistance (14)
  • Mike Larson – engineering (tracks 4, 8) engineering assistance (14)
  • Kesha Lee – engineering (track 4)
  • Morgan David – engineering (track 4)
  • Ben "Bengineer" Chang – engineering (tracks 5, 11, 16)
  • Richard Ledesma – engineering (track 6)
  • Miki Tsutsumi – engineering (track 7)
  • Dear Pricey – engineering (track 13)
  • Brian Thomas – engineering (track 14)
  • Vaughn Oliver – engineering (track 15)
  • Chris "KingMixx" King – engineering (track 17)
  • Ignacio Portale – mixing assistance (tracks 1, 3, 9, 18, 19
  • Trey Station – mixing assistance (tracks 4, 5, 11, 15)
  • Zach Pereyra – mixing assistance (tracks 4, 5, 11, 15)
  • Anthony Vilchis – mixing assistance (tracks 4, 5, 11, 15)
  • Mike Seaberg – mixing assistance (tracks 6, 12–14)
  • Bryce Bordone – mixing assistance (track 20)
  • Kyle Oueis – engineering assistance (tracks 1, 6, 11)
  • Veronica "V2" Velez – engineering assistance (track 6)
  • Colin Bryson – engineering assistance (track 7)
  • Naruse Tsutsumi – engineering assistance (track 7)
  • DJ Riggins – engineering assistance (tracks 12–14)
  • Jacob Richards – engineering assistance (tracks 12–14)
  • Rachel Blum – engineering assistance (tracks 12–14)

Artwork

  • Aakomon Jones – art direction
  • Bellamy Brewster – art direction, photography
  • Allen Chiu – graphic design

Charts

[edit]
Chart performance for Coming Home
Chart (2024) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[30] 46
Australian Hip Hop/R&B Albums (ARIA)[31] 12
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[32] 65
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[33] 59
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[34] 69
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[35] 24
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[36] 19
French Albums (SNEP)[37] 51
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[38] 61
Japanese Hot Albums (Billboard Japan)[39] 36
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[40] 22
Nigerian Albums (TurnTable)[41] 34
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[42] 169
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[43] 24
UK Albums (OCC)[44] 24
UK Independent Albums (OCC)[45] 7
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[46] 4
US Billboard 200[47] 2
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[48] 2
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[49] 2

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Usher – Coming Home: Super Bowl, here we come". February 9, 2024.
  2. ^ Carpio, Eileen (February 9, 2024). "Usher – Kissing Strangers (Radio Date: 09-02-2024)". EarOne (in Italian). Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  3. ^ "Former Apple Executive Larry Jackson Launches Gamma, New Music Company with Usher, Rick Ross on Roster". March 8, 2023.
  4. ^ McIntosh, Steven (February 12, 2024). "Usher joined by Alicia Keys and will.i.am at Super Bowl half-time show". BBC News. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  5. ^ Daly, Rhian (February 12, 2024). "Usher brings out Alicia Keys during throwback Super Bowl Halftime Show performance". NME. Retrieved February 12, 2024.
  6. ^ Lyda, Jake (July 13, 2023). "Usher Previews Song "Comin Home" From New Album". HotNewHipHop. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  7. ^ Abraham, Mya (July 13, 2023). "Usher Previews New "Comin' Home" Single In Rémy Martin "Life Is A Melody" Campaign". Vibe. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  8. ^ Geraghty, Hollie (September 24, 2023). "Usher announces new album 'Coming Home' arriving same day as Super Bowl Halftime show". NME. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  9. ^ Rys, Dan (September 24, 2023). "Usher to Headline 2024 Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show". Billboard. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  10. ^ Blistein, Jon; Kreps, Daniel (September 24, 2023). "Usher Is Headed to the Super Bowl for 2024 Halftime Show". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  11. ^ Ellington, Andre (September 24, 2023). "Usher to Headline 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show, Announces New Album 'Coming Home'". HipHopDX. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  12. ^ Saponara, Michael (February 20, 2024). "Usher Is Taking His Past Present Future Tour to Europe: Here Are the Dates". MSN. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  13. ^ Directo-Meston, Danielle (February 14, 2024). "Usher's 'Past Present Future' Tour Adds 10 New Dates: Where to Get Concert Tickets Online". Yahoo! Entertainment. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  14. ^ Lane, Lexi (February 20, 2024). "Usher Is Finally Returning To Europe To Play Shows For His 'Usher: Past Present Future Tour' This Spring". Uproxx. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  15. ^ "Usher – Coming Home > Critic Reviews". AnyDecentMusic. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  16. ^ a b "Coming Home – Usher > Critic Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 15, 2024.
  17. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "Usher – Coming Home". AllMusic. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  18. ^ a b Hussain, Shahzaib (February 9, 2024). "Usher – Coming Home". Clash. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  19. ^ a b Siegel, Alex (February 11, 2024). "Usher's 'Coming Home' Reminds Fans That The King Of R&B Hasn't Gone Anywhere". HipHopDX. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  20. ^ a b Brown, Helen (February 11, 2024). "Usher review, Coming Home: Cheesy seduction songs should make for an entertaining Super Bowl halftime show". The Independent. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  21. ^ a b Shepherd, Julianne Escobedo (February 14, 2024). "Usher: Coming Home Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  22. ^ a b Attard, Paul (February 11, 2024). "Usher Coming Home Review: A Hire-Wire Homecoming That Falls Short". Slant Magazine. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  23. ^ a b McCormick, Neil (February 9, 2024). "Usher, Coming Home, review: this Super Bowl star might have scored himself a comeback". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on February 9, 2024. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  24. ^ Pareles, Jon (February 8, 2024). "On the Eve of the Super Bowl, Usher Proves His Mastery". The New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  25. ^ Spanos, Brittany (February 9, 2024). "Usher Is the Smooth R&B Chameleon We Know and Love on 'Coming Home'". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on February 9, 2024. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  26. ^ Arnold, Chuck (February 9, 2024). "Usher 'Coming Home' review: A refreshing return to real R&B". New York Post. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  27. ^ Richardson, Mark (February 12, 2024). "'Coming Home' by Usher Review: A Fumbling R&B Return". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on February 12, 2024. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  28. ^ Caulfield, Keith (February 18, 2024). "Kanye West & Ty Dolla $ign's 'Vultures 1' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  29. ^ a b Caulfield, Keith (February 20, 2024). "Usher's 'Coming Home' Debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales Chart". Billboard. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  30. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  31. ^ "ARIA Top 40 Hip Hop/R&B Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  32. ^ "AT-Longplay-Top75". Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  33. ^ "Ultratop.be – Usher – Coming Home" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  34. ^ "Ultratop.be – Usher – Coming Home" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  35. ^ "Usher Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  36. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Usher – Coming Home" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  37. ^ "Top Albums (Week 7, 2024)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved February 19, 2024.
  38. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Usher – Coming Home" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  39. ^ "Billboard Japan Hot Albums – Week of February 14, 2024". Billboard Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  40. ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. February 19, 2024. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  41. ^ "Official Top 100 Albums: February 9th, 2024 – February 15th, 2024". TurnTable. Archived from the original on February 21, 2024. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  42. ^ "Portuguesecharts.com – Usher – Coming Home". Hung Medien. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  43. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Usher – Coming Home". Hung Medien. Retrieved February 18, 2024.
  44. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  45. ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  46. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved February 17, 2024.
  47. ^ "Usher Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  48. ^ "Usher Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
  49. ^ "Usher Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 21, 2024.
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