If Usher wants to rise to the immense stature of his late idol, MJ, then he must stay loyal to his fans and true to his style of music. Music that inspires, creates intense feelings and tells a story.
[London Bridge Is Falling]
The Phenomenal Usher Lets Down A Little
What do I think of Usher? Can I compare him to Michael Jackson?
Usher is incredibly talented. His voice is fantastic and unique and his dancing can be mindblowing, surreal and even gravity defying.
When he performs on stage, he commits fully, he is energetic, rhythmic and gives his absolute all. In this respect, he reminds me of the late Michael Jackson. And although, there are a lot of worthy performers today, Usher coming close in my opinion, the King’s shoes will remain unfilled. He was simply a musical genius who stayed true to his style, yet incorporated emerging trends in order to move with the ever changing taste and market in the music industry. This is artistic growth.
Usher recently appeared at the Britain’s Got Talent finale here in London on 5th June. He performed his monster hit, OMG. Entertaining it was, but does not compare to his past hits like ‘Confessions’, ‘You Remind Me’ and my all time favourite ‘Burn’, which is simply hot! Those were meaningful songs, songs that evoked deep emotions and made you literally well up. The lyrics allow one to reflect on their own lives, loves, dreams, regret and hope.
The lyrics in OMG, “honey’s got booty like pow, pow, pow” and “honey’s got boobies like wow, wow, wow” do not convey any creativity or originality and in my opinion sexually explicit and degrading. The song, which felt talked rather than sang, might as well have been an instrumental. I couldn’t hear the distinct voice that is Usher. Had I not been watching, I would not have known that it was he. He sounded like any other artist of today, doing auto tune, a blend of trance, rap, RnB, pop and whatever else. Indefinable. It is the worst style of music and completely unintelligent. Usher is better than this.
I felt no chills up my spine, no goose bumps during his performance, it was like Usher done lost his mojo! I get that Usher is trying to move with the times and that is essential for artistic growth. Why not incorporate this latest trend into his own unique blend of hip hop and RnB, instead of totally changing direction. What about the old fans that have supported him up until now, surely they must feel abandoned. If Usher wants to rise to the immense stature of his late idol, MJ, then he must stay loyal to his fans and true to his style of music. Music that inspires, creates intense feelings and tells a story.
Compare the smooth, sexy and sensuous tone of ‘Burn’ to ‘OMG’. “I love you”, he croons, “I just feel like this is coming to an end and it is better for me to let it go now, than hold on and hurt you…I gotta let it burn”. Your heart literally skips a beat in fear and anticipation, listening to these lyrics. This is what rhythm and blues is about, profound emotions.
‘Confessions’, which is true in so many of our lives is deeply moving and thought provoking. The cracking of the mirror in the video, seemingly symbolising the falling apart of his life.
Britain’s Got Talent was won by a gymnastic act, spellbound, and they were truly spellbinding, unfortunately I wasn’t spellbound by Usher.
Allimadi writes for The Black Star News from London
“Speaking Truth To Empower.”
