Confessions (Usher album)

Confessions is the fourth studio album by American singer Usher. It was released on March 23, 2004 from Arista Records. The album was recorded between 2003 and 2004. It was produced by Jermaine Dupri, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, and Lil Jon. Confessions is an R&B album with some hip hop and crunk styles. The album's theme had controversy. This was because of Usher's personal relationship. Producer, Jermaine Dupri later said that the album is about Usher's personal story.

The album was a success in the United States. It sold 1,095,000 copies the first week. It continued to sell more copies because of its four singles. A special edition version was released. It had the hit single "My Boo". This was to try and help the album sell more records and to stop bootlegging. Some music critics gave a mixed review for the album's lyrics. However, the album was given positive reviews. The album also won several awards. It won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B Album.

Confessions has sold 10,000,000 copies in the US. It was certified diamond by the RIAA. This means that the album shipped 10,000,000 copies. Many music critics believe the album was Usher's "greatest works". According to Billboard the album is the second best-selling album of the 2000s in the US. The album debuted at number one on many music charts around the world. It became the first album by Usher to do this.

Track listing

Personnel
Credits for Confessions from Allmusic.

 Darcy Aldridge – Vocals (background)
 Bobby Ross Avila – Guitar, Piano, Scratching, Strings, Keyboards, Vocals (bckgr), Producer, Drum Programming, Wurlitzer, Moog Bass
 Dante E. Barton – Engineer
 Jason Boyd – Vocal Producer
 Valdez Brantley – Producer
 Bryan-Michael Cox – Producer
 Larry Cox – Keyboards
 Ian Cross – Engineer
 Kevin "KD" Davis – Engineer
 Vidal Davis – Producer, Mixing
 Jermaine Dupri – Producer, Mixing
 E Bass – Guitar
 Brian Frye – Engineer
 John Frye – Mixing
 Richard Furch – Mixing
 Sandy Garrett – Vocals (bckgr), Vocal Producer
 Serban Ghenea – Mixing
 Andre Harris – Producer, Mixing
 Rich Harrison – Producer, Instrumentation
 Delicia Hassan – Production Coordination
 Eddie Holland – Composer
 John Horesco IV – Engineer, Assistant
 Iz – Bass, Guitar, Percussion, Scratching, Drums, Keyboards, Producer, Moog Bass
 Jimmy Jam – Producer, Fender Rhodes
 LaMarquis Mark Jefferson – Bass
 Darrale Jones – A&R
 Just Blaze – Producer
 L-Roc – Keyboards
 James Lackey – Producer

 Ken Lewis – Guitar, Engineer, Mixing
 Terry Lewis – Producer
 Anthony Mandler – Photography
 Matt Marrin – Engineer
 Manny Marroquin – Mixing
 Tony Maserati – Mixing
 Tadd Mingo – Assistant
 Johnny "Natural" Najara – Producer
 Paula Patton – Vocals (bckgr)
 Mark Pitts – A&R
 Herb Powers – Mastering
 Usher Raymond – Vocals (bckgr), Producer, Executive Producer
 Tim Roberts – Assistant
 Donnie Scantz – Engineer
 Jon Smeltz – Mixing
 Jan Smith – Vocal Producer, Vocal Coach
 Jonathon "Lil' Jon" Smith – Vocals (bckgr), Producer, Mixing
 Aaron Spears – Producer
 Patrice "ButtaPhly" Stewart – Vocals (bckgr)
 Arthur "Buddy" Strong – Producer
 Phil Tan – Mixing
 Robin Thicke – Producer, Instrumentation
 Ryan Toby – Vocal Producer
 The Trak Starz – Engineer
 Mark Vinten – Engineer
 D.L. Warfield – Design, Layout Design
 Ryan West – Engineer
 Ghian Wright – Assistant
 James "Big Jim" Wright – Bass, Producer, Wurlitzer

Charts

Weekly charts
Chart (2004)Peak positionAustralia Albums Chart"australian-charts.com – Usher – Confessions". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-10-18.2Austria Albums Chart"Usher – Confessions – austriancharts.at" (in German). austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-10-18.25Belgium Ultratop 50 Albums (Flanders)"ultratop.be – Usher – Confessions". ultratop.be. ULTRATOP & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2010-10-18.10Belgium Ultratop 50 Albums (Wallonia)7Canadian Albums Chart"Usher Album & Song Chart History: Canadian Albums" . Billboard.com. Retrieved 2010-10-18.1Denmark Albums Chart"danishcharts.com – Usher – Confessions" . danishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-10-18.10Finland Albums Chart"finnishcharts.com – Usher – Confessions". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-10-18.20Germany Albums Chart"Musicline.de – Chartverfolgung – Usher – Confessions"  (in German). musicline.de. PHONONET GmbH. Retrieved 2010-10-18.2Ireland Albums Chart"GFK Chart-Track: TOP 75 ARTIST ALBUM, WEEK ENDING July 8, 2004" . GFK Chart-Track. Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved on 2010-04-02.1Netherlands Mega Album Top 100"dutchcharts.nl – Usher – Confessions" (in Dutch). dutchcharts.nl. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 2010-10-18.3New Zealand Albums Chart"charts.org.nz – Usher – Confessions" . charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-10-18.1Poland Albums Chart"Usher – Confessions – olis.onyx.pl – Polish Album Chart". olis.onyx.pl. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2011-07-31.35Sweden Albums Chart"swedishcharts.com – Usher – Confessions". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-10-18.11Switzerland Albums Chart"Usher – Confessions – swisscharts.com". swisscharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-10-18.3UK Albums ChartUK Charts: Usher Rules On Single & Album Rundown . 2004-03-28. TourDates.Co.UK. Retrieved on 2010-04-02."Usher, Rihanna Lead The Way On U.K. Charts". 2008-06-02. Billboard.com. Retrieved on 2010-04-02.1US Billboard 200"Usher Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200" . Billboard.com. Retrieved 2010-10-18.1US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums"Usher Album & Song Chart History: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums" . Billboard.com. Retrieved 2010-10-18.1

Chart (2005)Peak positionFrance Albums Chart"lescharts.com – Usher – Confessions" (in French). lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-10-18.4Norway Albums Chart"norwegiancharts.com – Usher – Confessions". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-10-18.2Spain Albums Chart"spanishcharts.com – Usher – Confessions". spanishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2010-10-18.60

Decade-end charts
Chart (2000–2009)Position US Billboard 200"Top 100 Music Hits, Top 100 Music Charts, Top 100 Songs & The Hot 100: Best of the 2000s – Billboard 200 Albums". Billboard.com. Retrieved 2010-10-18.2

 References 

Other websites
 Confessions at Discogs
 Confessions at Metacritic

Category:2004 albums
Category:Usher albums