"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

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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

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. 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

"Lay You Down" was written by Usher,

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

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, 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, ''

'' (2010).

Reception

Describing "Lay You Down" as one of the more sensual songs on '' Versus'', Mark Nero of

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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''

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. Retrieved on July 21, 2012 Sarah Rodman of ''

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'' 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

and Marvin Gaye.Rodman, Sarah
Review: ''Versus''
''

''. The New York Times Company. Retrieved on July 21, 2012 ''

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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''
''

''.

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