Dont Call Ushers New Album A Comeback

Usher is having one hell of a week.

He broke the internet with those photos from his Skims Men collab, announced a 24-city tour on Tuesday, graced the cover of Billboard on Wednesday and will be releasing his ninth studio album on Friday. And in the midst of it all, hes preparing for the Super Bowl Halftime Show this Sunday.

My headspace is in the clouds, man. I feel like this has been an amazing two years of my life. One hundred shows sold out in Las Vegas, and then 101 is at the Allegiant Stadium, he told HuffPost over Zoom, referring to the big game. Man, you cant ask for a better kind of wrap-up of this year or the last year than that. 

Ushers 30-year career has been leading up to this moment, but its the seeds hes planted these past couple of years with his twice-extended Vegas residency that have borne significant fruit for the eight-time Grammy winner. 

Calling it a comeback doesnt feel right. Years after his massive success with Confessions the last male R&B album to go diamond, by the way   Ushers later projects didnt get the same fanfare as earlier ones. But be clear: Usher never lost it. The rise of streaming and the music industrys (and fans) propensity to lock artists into a specific era in their careers always encourage evolution. 

But his latest album, Coming Home, leans into growth, on his own terms and at a milestone height in his career.

Usher gives his fans a 20-track offering with his ninth studio album. The project, executive produced by Usher and L.A. Reid, includes features from Summer Walker, 21 Savage, The-Dream, HER, Latto, Pheelz and Jung Kook. Its, of course, an R&B album, but Usher doesnt shy away from experimenting with Amapiano and Afrobeat (the Ghana trip that sparked that was like a coming home as well). 

Like the name suggests, the multi-hyphenate artist is returning to his roots. Its a nod to Atlanta, specifically, the city he moved to at 12 to become the superstar we know today. His journey home began five years ago, when Usher became an independent artist. Without leaning on A&Rs, managements agendas or record label politics, hes taken a different type of command in his career thats awakened anyone who tried to sleep on him.

I think somewhere between the beginning of that five-year experience and then us going into a pandemic really gave me a deeper perspective of what mattered. And thats family and love. Love matters. That doesnt mean that we dont have complications internally. That doesnt mean that we dont in some ways kind of go through fear and doubt and even the thought of backpedaling. But the only way that we truly forge forward is moving forward.

The themes he explores on the album arent uncommon for Usher: love, lust, betrayal, regret. Theres a bit of danger in tracks like Cold Blooded, On the Side and Room in a Room. He romantically croons on Luckiest Man, Risk It All, Bop and Please U. And he turns up a bit on earworms A Town Girl and Margiela.

Usher has spent 30 years singing about love, from his experience and others But theres a certain agency and healed space with which he approaches Coming Home even in comparison to 2016s Hard II Love album that make it clear that this grown man has done even more growing. 

Through marriage, divorce, trying again and the many ups and downs of life, Usher has mostly used his music to tell his story. Coming Home is no different. This time he hopes his message inspires others to not give up on love.

This moment is a love letter to my fans, especially those ones who have stood with me through what has been perceived as tumultuous times and prayed for me or either had well wishes for me. I want you to know that Im covered, that love is the reason why Im able to continue to keep going. 

He continued, Im giving this to [fans] because I wanted [them] to understand what I was going through because I didnt talk to [them] about it while I was going through it. Ive always been a person who does not necessarily talk to the world. I talk to the world through interviews like this. I talk to the world through my music. So this is a love letter to all of my fans.

At this stage, Ushers metric of success is whether or not his kids think what hes doing is cool with some wiggle room for the things he thinks are cool even if they dont like them. For the Super Bowl Halftime Show on Sunday (something his kids undoubtedly think is cool), Usher said hell be celebrating for the 30 years of a career that I stand on, he said on I Know Thats Right.  

The weight of the show isnt lost on him as the day approaches.

I just want to give my all, because thats what I said I would do when I came to Las Vegas. I want to give it my all. Ive seen many people perform on this stage. Happy that I was given the opportunity. I know what it means, and Im not planning to disappoint.

And with an audience that could exceed 200 million watching him perform in the city he brought new life to since his recently retired residency began, Ushers plans for Vegas dont end with the big game. 

Thats something magical about this place in Las Vegas, so I do plan on being here again in the future, doing more here. I dont know what it is exactly, but this city has definitely meant a lot to me. And I love it, actually. It is a bit of a coming home when Im here now.

Coming Home is now streaming on music platforms.