10 Albums That Usher’s ‘Confessions’ Birthed

Jeremih – Late Nights With Jeremih“Yeah!” was the outlier on Confessions, becoming the biggest single on the album while stylistically straying from the rest of the project. Lil Jon injected the song with crunk juice, and though Jeremih didn’t ingest the same formula, he incorporated trap, the Southern successor to crunk, into Late Nights With Jeremih.

Producers like FKi and Mike Will Made It provide pointedly non-R&B beats that Jeremih makes work within the tapestry of the project. Gucci Mane, 2 Chainz, Fabolous, Mikey Rocks, Twista, YG and E-40 all feature as well, making the tape something of a rap showcase. Confessions not only made it okay to include more pop-leaning rap sounds on an R&B album, but it made those sounds hot through “Yeah!”

BJ The Chicago Kid – Pineapple Now-LatersCreeping into the collective rap conscious on songs with Kendrick Lamar, Schoolboy Q and Freddie Gibbs, BJ The Chicago Kid is one of the most slept-on R&B acts out. His debut full-length Pineapple Now-Laters features the kind of hip-hop infusion that fueled Confessions’ success, but it also has a similarly bare vulnerability in songs like “I Want You Back” and “His Pain.”

BJ takes all of life’s lumps with a hung head and turns those experiences into a beautiful R&B journey. Usher wasn’t the first to do that on Confessions, but he did pave the way for a new generation to trace similar paths in their music.

Drake – So Far GoneDrake must have taken Usher’s breakup pretty hard, too. 60% rapper, 40% R&B vocalist, Drizzy emphasized his vulnerability, his mistakes, and his weaknesses on his breakout project. For a rapper it was somewhat unheard of, but for a singer it’s well-traversed ground. Confessions allowed Usher to find strength in truth, and Drake amplified that strategy to make a career out of it.

The-Dream – 1977It’d be remiss not to mention one of the most influential R&B acts currently doing it. At the time of recording Confessions, Usher was going through a rough breakup with Rozonda “Chili” Thomas of TLC, and together with Jermaine Dupri, he decided to let some of those real-life situations inform the songs he was making. Thus “Burn” was born, although Dupri would later claim that songs like “Confessions Part I & II” were actually inspired by his own experiences of infidelity, not Usher’s.

Terius took the same approach to what is arguably his best album, 1977. At the time, he was going through a divorce with Christiana Milian, and the darkness of that process casts a shadow on songs like “Wake Me When It’s Over,” “Wedding Crasher” and “Long Gone.” He departed from the pop-centric sound of previous hits for 1977, and while the album didn’t produce any hits, it did allow Nash to vent on personal issues. Confessions set that precedent.

Adele – 21Aesthetically, 21 and Confessions don’t share many similarities, if any, either vocally or musically. But Adele’s meteoric rise stemmed from the hit song “Rolling In The Deep,” and it was made the same afternoon that she broke up with her boyfriend. Adele’s entire album was made in the aftermath of that breakup, and she sought to capture her raw emotions in the studio with producer Paul Epworth.

21 deals heavily in depression and heartbreak, just as Confessions deals with guilt and moving on. Both albums parallel each other in the wake of emotional turmoil, so it makes sense that Adele would look to the massive popularity of Usher’s album, made under similar circumstances, when making her own.

Future – PlutoDidn’t expect this one, did you? Future is a hybrid artist, one-part, one-part singer and one-part warbler. L.A. Reid, the same one who discovered Usher in Atlanta, groomed Future on Epic Records. Confessions was personal to the point of discomfort; Pluto was jarringly diverse, and it produced a similar effect.

Future can be a street rapper or a heartfelt lover, depending on the song. He leans on the former but can always tap into the latter. Usher walked a similar tight rope on Confessions. The album wasn’t all remorse and regret – “Bad Girl,” “That’s What It’s Made For” and “Seduction” are all celebratory tunes. Usher didn’t put all his eggs in one basket, and fellow ATLien Future learned from the balancing act.

Miguel – Kaleidoscope DreamsMiguel has spoken about Usher’s influence in the past, and he even helped Usher write a couple songs before Miguel started getting big, but their biggest confluence is the suavity in their musical characters. They are utter ladies men who suffer over women, prize women, base their entire albums on women. Without women, it’s hard to tell if Confessions or Kaleidoscope Dreams would have even been conceived. Even as Usher looks to segue into EDM, Miguel will carry his torch in R&B.

Omarion – OThe crowning achievement of Omarion’s 2005 album O is the song by the same name, and sonically it sounds like a carbon copy of the music Usher was making on Confessions. Usher balanced older ’90s techniques with a modern twist, and that’s exactly what ‘O’ sounds like. It’s no surprise that the rest of Omarion’s album features some self-deprecation mixed into the love ballads, just like Confessions.

R. Kelly – TP.3 ReloadedWhen you think of R. Kelly, you think of an influential artist, not one who’s been influenced by contemporaries. Yet, even the greatest musicians across all genres have taken inspiration from their peers, and that’s what Kells did in 2005.

Confessions caused controversy when “Confessions II” was deemed as a credible story for why Usher and Chili broke up. The song details impregnating a mistress, and while R. Kelly didn’t allude to a similar situation on TP.3 Reloaded, he did incorporate a storyline structure for his massive hit, “Trapped In The Closet.” That song follows an arc of cheating and betrayal, and while he’s never outright said it, it’s not hard to trace the line from Usher’s vivid song to R. Kelly’s own tale of deceit.

Jason Derulo – Jason DeruloJason Derulo took the heavy pop sound of Confessions cuts like “Yeah!” and “Caught Up” and ran with it for his 2010 album, spawning hits like “Ridin’ Solo” and “Whatcha Say.” Derulo could be categorized as a pop artist even if he has R&B tracks on his resumé, but the vocalist, who has cited Confessions as a direct influence on his music, took specific strains of that album and translated them for updated pop hits.