"U Remind Me" is a song by American singer Usher. It was written by Edmund "Eddie Hustle" Clement and Anita McCloud and produced by Clement for Usher's third studio album '' 8701'' (2001). A mid-tempo R&B track, the song is about a man who meets a woman who seems like a nice catch, but he decides not to enter a relationship with her because she looks too much like an ex-girlfriend with whom he had a bad

breakup A relationship breakup, breakup, or break-up is the termination of a relationship. The act is commonly termed "dumping omeone in slang when it is initiated by one partner. The term is less likely to be applied to a married couple, where a brea ...

. The song served as the lead American single from ''8701'' following the release of previous single "

Pop Ya Collar "Pop Ya Collar" is a single by American recording artist Usher, released to US radio on October 17, 2000. It was written by himself, Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, and Kandi Burruss. The song was produced for his cancelled third studio album ''Al ...

", which was only included in some editions of the album. "U Remind Me" topped the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on July 7, 2001, and also reached the top five in Australia, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The song won Usher his first

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for

Best Male R&B Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance was awarded between 1968 and 2011. The award has had several minor name changes: *In 1968 it was awarded as Best R&B Solo Vocal Performance, Male *From 1969 to 1994 it was awarded as Best R&B V ...

in 2002. Its accompanying

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

features

Chilli Chili or chilli may refer to: Food * Chili pepper, the spicy fruit of plants in the genus ''Capsicum''; sometimes spelled "chilli" in the UK and "chile" in the southwestern US * Chili powder, the dried, pulverized fruit of one or more varieties ...

TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...

as one of the female leads.

Composition

"U Remind Me" is a

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythm ...

song written in the key of

G major G major (or the key of G) is a major scale based on G, with the pitches G, A, B, C, D, E, and F. Its key signature has one sharp. Its relative minor is E minor and its parallel minor is G minor. The G major scale is: Notable compositi ...

, and is set in

common time The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

with a moderate

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

of 92 beats per minute. The song follows the

chord progression In a musical composition, a chord progression or harmonic progression (informally chord changes, used as a plural) is a succession of chords. Chord progressions are the foundation of harmony in Western musical tradition from the common practice ...

of Em₇-Am₇-Bm₇, and the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

ranges from the low note of E₂ to the high note of A₅, while Usher's vocal range stretches from B₂ to A₅. The song's lyrics are based on meeting a woman who reminds Usher of an ex-girlfriend, and therefore cannot date her.

Critical reception

James Poletti of

Yahoo! Music Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds of ...

noted the song as the best track on '' 8701'', dubbing it the 2001 version of

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single "Re-Rewind (The Crowd Say Bo Selecta), Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger (UK band), Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, ' ...

's "

Fill Me In "Fill Me In" is the debut solo single of British singer Craig David. It was released on 3 April 2000 as the lead single from his debut studio album, '' Born to Do It'' (2000). The song debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 9 April 200 ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's Stephen Thomas Erlewine also chose it as a highlight from the album. In 2010, Boonsri Dickinson of

AOL Radio AOL Radio powered by Slacker (formerly AOL Radio powered by CBS Radio, and prior AOL Radio featuring XM) was an online radio service available in the United States only. It had over 200 free internet radio stations. History Roots AOL Radio ...

ranked "U Remind Me" as Usher's ninth-best song. In 2016, ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

'' ranked the song number six on their list of the 25 greatest Usher songs, and in 2021, ''

American Songwriter ''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee. History The ''American Songwri ...

'' ranked the song number seven on their list of the 10 greatest Usher songs. "U Remind Me" gained Usher his first

, winning the category of

at the 44th annual ceremony. Other nominees for the award were Case's "Missing You",

Maxwell's Maxwell's, last known as Maxwell's Tavern, was a bar/restaurant and music club in Hoboken, New Jersey. Over several decades the venue attracted a wide variety of acts looking for a change from the New York City concert spaces across the river. Max ...

"Lifetime", Brian McKnight's "Love of My Life" and Musiq Soulchild's "

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

Music video

The accompanying

for the song was directed by Dave Meyers. The video features look-a-likes for singers

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), (stylized as Mýa), is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born into a musical family, she studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Initially, Mýa began her career as a VJ ...

Brandy Brandy is a liquor produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35–60% alcohol by volume (70–120 US proof) and is typically consumed as an after-dinner digestif. Some brandies are aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with ...

, and

Tamia Tamia Marilyn Washington Hill (born May 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and producer. Born and raised in Windsor, Ontario, Tamia performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a child. In 1994, after signing a development dea ...

, while featuring the real

at the end to show the theme of the women reminding him of his past relationships. The video was filmed in April 2001.

Track listings

US CD single # "U Remind Me" (radio edit) – 3:50 # "U Remind Me" (instrumental) – 4:26 # Snippets from ''8701'' US 12-inch single 1 :A1. "U Remind Me" (Illicit club mix) – 7:27 :A2. "U Remind Me" (Illicit acappella) – 4:44 :B1. "U Remind Me" (Pete & Vincent's club mix) – 6:44 :B2. "U Remind Me" (Pete & Vincent's dub mix) – 5:27 US 12-inch single 2 :A1. "U Remind Me" (remix featuring

Method Man Clifford Smith, Jr. (born March 2, 1971), better known by his stage name Method Man, is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is known as a member of the East Coast hip hop collective Wu-Tang Clan. He is also half of t ...

and

Blu Cantrell Blu Cantrell (born Tiffany Cobb; March 16, 1976) is an American R&B and soul singer-songwriter. Cantrell rose to fame in 2001, with the release of her debut single, " Hit 'Em Up Style (Oops!)", which peaked at number two on the US ''Billboa ...

—radio mix) – 3:56 :A2. "U Remind Me" (album version) – 4:27 :B1. "U Remind Me" (club mix) – 3:55 :B2. "U Remind Me" (instrumental) – 3:56 :B3. "U Remind Me" (club mix acappella) – 3:39 European CD single and UK cassette single # "U Remind Me" (radio edit) – 4:27 # "I Don't Know" (featuring

P. Diddy Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent directo ...

) – 4:27 UK CD single # "U Remind Me" (radio edit) – 4:27 # "I Don't Know" (featuring P. Diddy) – 4:27 # "TTP" – 3:38 # "U Remind Me" (video) UK 12-inch single # "U Remind Me" (radio edit) – 4:27 # "I Don't Know" (featuring P. Diddy) – 4:27 # "TTP" – 3:38 Australian CD single # "U Remind Me" (radio edit) – 4:27 # "U Remind Me" (istrumental) – 4:26 # "I Don't Know" (featuring P. Diddy) – 4:27 # "TTP" – 3:38

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the European CD single liner notes. Studio * Recorded at Tree Sound Studios (

Norcross, Georgia Norcross is a city in Gwinnett County, Georgia, United States. The population as of the 2010 census was 9,116, while in 2020 the population was 17,209. It is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta metropolitan statistical area. History ...

, US) Personnel * Anita McCloud – writing * Edmund "Eddie Hustle" Clement – writing (as Edmund Clement), production * Usher – vocals *

Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis James Samuel "Jimmy Jam" Harris III (born June 6, 1959) and Terry Steven Lewis (born November 24, 1956) are an American R&B/pop songwriting and record production team. They have enjoyed great success since the 1980s with various artists, most ...

– production * John Frye – recording * Mark Rains – recording,

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture (sound design, audio post-productio ...

* Warren Bletcher – recording assistant * Brad Todd – recording assistant * Kevin "KD" Davis – mixing * Steve Baughman – mixing assistant * Gravillis Inc. – art direction * DL Warfield – art direction * Courtney Walter – artwork design * Christian Lantry – photography * Eric Archibald – styling

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Decade-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2001 singles 2001 songs Arista Records singles Bertelsmann Music Group singles Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Music videos directed by Dave Meyers (director) Usher (musician) songs