"Lay You Down" is a song by American
R&B recording artist
Usher. It was written by himself,
Rico Love
Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wiscon ...
and Dwayne Nesmith, and produced by the latter two. It was released to
urban
Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to:
* Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas
* Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities
Urban may also refer to:
General
* Urban (name), a list of people ...
radio on September 28, 2010, in the United States, as the third and final single from Usher's
EP, ''
Versus EP'', which is an extension of his sixth studio album, ''
Raymond v. Raymond
''Raymond v. Raymond'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Usher (musician), Usher, released on March 26, 2010, by LaFace Records. Production for the album took place in 2009 and was handled by several producers, including Jermaine Dupri, ...
''. "Lay You Down" is an R&B song, that takes influence from pop musician
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
. The song entered the US
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
chart, and peaked at number fifty-six.
Background and composition
![Prince](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Prince.jpg)
"Lay You Down" was written by
Usher,
Rico Love
Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wiscon ...
and Dwayne Nesmith, and produced by the latter two.
Additional vocals were contributed by Love, and keyboard and programming was done by Nesmith.
The song was recorded by Ian Cross at Midnight Blue Studios in Miami, Florida, and mixed by Rob Marks at Circle House Studios.
"Lay You Down" is an
R&B song with a length of four minutes and three seconds. In an interview with music video website
Vevo
Vevo ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized as VEVO until 2013) is an American multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available as an app on selected smart TVs, ...
, Usher explained that the song is a "classic R&B baby maker".
Sara Anderson of
AOL wrote that it opens "with improvisational, high-pitched 'ooohs' and base-driven
synth
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
beats."
The song was released as the third and final single from ''
Versus'',
an
extended play
An extended play record, usually referred to as an EP, is a musical recording that contains more tracks than a single but fewer than an album or LP record. released as an extension of his sixth studio album, ''
Raymond v. Raymond
''Raymond v. Raymond'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Usher (musician), Usher, released on March 26, 2010, by LaFace Records. Production for the album took place in 2009 and was handled by several producers, including Jermaine Dupri, ...
'' (2010).
Reception
Describing "Lay You Down" as one of the more sensual songs on ''
Versus'', Mark Nero of
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...
wrote "the best of which might be the piano-laced 'Lay You Down,' on which Usher sings: 'This ain't bump 'n grind, I'll show you what love is if you let me lay you down.
[Nero, Mark Edward]
Review: ''Versus''
About.com
Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...
. The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company is an American mass media company that publishes ''The New York Times''. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, New York City.
History
The company was founded by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones in New York City. ...
. Retrieved on July 21, 2012 Sarah Rodman of ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' commended Usher's use of
falsetto, whilst writing that the song "is an urgent boudoir jam that draws a neat line"– she also commented on how it takes inspiration from both
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...
and
Marvin Gaye.
[Rodman, Sarah]
Review: ''Versus''
''The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
''. The New York Times Company. Retrieved on July 21, 2012 ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
s Jeff Weiss also pointed out the influence from pop musician Prince, and how Usher is "unctuously cooing about wanting to be the: one who keeps your body warm."
[Weiss, Jeff]
Review: ''Versus''
''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...
''. Tribune Company
Tribune Media Company, also known as Tribune Company, was an American multimedia conglomerate headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
Through Tribune Broadcasting, Tribune Media was one of the largest television broadcasting companies, owning 39 ...
. Retrieved on July 21, 2012 "Lay You Down" entered the
R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
chart on the week ending November 13, 2010, and peaked at number fifty-six, due to strong radio play.
Credits and personnel
;Recording locations
*Vocal recording – Midnight Blue Studios, Miami, FL.
*Mixing – Circle House Studios, Miami, FL.
;Personnel
*Songwriting – Rico Love, Usher Raymond, Dwayne Nesmith
*Production – Rico Love, Dwayne Nesmith
*Vocal recording – Ian Cross
*Mixing – Rob Marks
*Additional vocals – Rico Love
*Keyboard and programming – Dwayne Nesmith
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Versus''.
[Usher ''Versus'' Liner notes. ]LaFace Records
LaFace Records was an American record label based in Atlanta, Georgia, that operated as a unit of Sony Music Entertainment from 2008 to 2011 and was historically a part of Bertelsmann Music Group from 1989 to 2004. It was most active and achiev ...
(2010)
Charts
References
{{Good article
2010 singles
Songs written by Rico Love
Usher (musician) songs
Song recordings produced by Rico Love
Songs written by Usher (musician)
2010 songs
LaFace Records singles
Jive Records singles