Usher received mixed reviews from music critics, some of whom expressed concern that its lyrics were unusually explicit for a 14-year-old performer. Billy Johnson Jr. of Yahoo! Music praised the album as "an enjoyable ride," noting that Usher "delivered several standout tracks" on his debut. Similarly, The New York Amsterdam News called the album a "masterful blend of soul-stirring R&B complemented by a hip hop sensibility." Less impressed, Anderson Jones of Entertainment Weekly described the songs on Usher as "sophomoric" and "remarkably dull," concluding that "what really bogs [Usher] down is an unspectacular delivery. Unlike Tevin, Aaliyah, or even the young Michael Jackson, [he] sounds exactly like the 15-year-old he is." AllMusic gave the album three out of five stars, reflecting the overall mixed critical reception. In retrospect, Usher expressed dissatisfaction with the album, suggesting it did not reflect his authentic artistic identity. He later stated: You have got to be true to who you are. You can't go out as a "fad" in the industry; you have to be true to who you are, and I figure that's the reason why, maybe, I didn't have as much success with the first album. That wasn't me. That’s something Puffy wanted me to do, and it was a fad."

Track listing

Notes

  • <sup></sup> denotes additional producer(s)
  • <sup></sup> denotes co-producer(s)

Sample credits

  • "I'll Make It Right" contains a sample from "Top Billin'" (1987) by Audio Two.
  • "Slow Love" contains a sample from "The Show" (1985) by Doug E. Fresh.
  • "I'll Show You Love" contains a sample from "Blind Man Can See It" (1973) by James Brown.
  • "Final Goodbye" contains a sample from "Nobody Beats the Biz" (1988) by Biz Markie.

Personnel

  • Herb Middleton – keyboards
  • Alexander Richbourg – drums, production
  • Daniel Beroff – assistant engineering
  • Al B, Sure! – engineering, production
  • Charles "Prince Charles" Alexander – engineering, mixing
  • Bob Brockman – engineering, mixing
  • Larry Funk – engineering
  • Gerhard Joost – engineering
  • Tony Maserati – engineering
  • Brian Alexander Morgan – engineering, multi-instruments, production
  • Nasheim Myrick – engineering
  • Rob Paustian – engineering, mixing
  • Sean "Puffy" Combs – executive production, mixing, production
  • L,A, Reid – executive production
  • Darryl Pearson – guitar, multi-instruments, production, background vocals
  • Herb Middleton – keyboards
  • David Dachinger – mixing
  • DeVante Swing – mixing, multi-instruments, production
  • John Shrive – mixing
  • Tim Mosley – multi-instruments
  • Michael Benabib – photography
  • Ward Corbett – production, songwriting
  • Edward "Eddie F" Ferrell – production
  • Kiyamma Griffin – production
  • Dave Hall – production
  • Isaiah Lee – production
  • Usher – vocals, background vocals
  • Darren Benbow – background vocals
  • Mary Brown – background vocals
  • Faith Evans – background vocals
  • Dave Hollister – background vocals
  • Crystal Johnson – background vocals
  • Laquentis Saxon – background vocals
  • Levar "Lil' Tone" Wilson – background vocals

Charts

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Weekly chart performance for Usher

|-

! scope="col"| Chart (1994)

! scope="col"| Peak<br />position

|-

|-

|-

|}

Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Year-end chart performance for Usher

|-

! scope="col"| Chart (1995)

! scope="col"| Position

|-

! scope="row"| US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)

| 89

|}

References

  • Usher at Discogs