''Usher'' is the debut

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by American singer Usher. It was released on August 30, 1994, by

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 achie ...

and

Arista Records Arista Records () is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously handled by BMG Entertainmen ...

. As

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights o ...

Sean "Puffy" Combs 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 direct ...

mostly handled production work on the album, as additional production were provided by

Chucky Thompson Carl Edward "Chucky" Thompson Jr. (July 12, 1968 – August 9, 2021) was an American hip hop and R&B record producer. Biography Thompson was born in Washington, D.C., in 1968. He was a member of Bad Boy Entertainment's "Hitmen" team of in-hous ...

DeVante Swing Donald Earle DeGrate Jr. (born September 29, 1969), better known by his stage name DeVanté Swing, is an American record producer, singer, rapper and songwriter. He is the older brother of fellow Jodeci member Dalvin DeGrate. Career In his ear ...

and

Al B. Sure! Albert Joseph Brown III (born June 4, 1968), known professionally as Al B. Sure!, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, radio host and former record executive. He was born in Boston and raised in Mount Vernon, New York. During the ...

, among others. Despite it underperforming on charts, debuting at number 167 on the US ''Billboard'' 200, the album did reach number 4 on the US Heatseekers Albums Chart. The release of the album was accompanied by the support of three

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

s: "

Can U Get wit It "Can U Get wit It" is the first single from American recording artist Usher's self-titled debut album, '' Usher'' (1994). Written and produced by DeVante Swing of Jodeci, the single peaked at number 59 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and numbe ...

", " Think of You" and " The Many Ways".

Critical reception

Billy Johnson Jr. 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 ...

called the debut album "an enjoyable ride." Anderson Jones of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' in a less-than-enthusiastic review of the album called the songs "sophomoric" and "remarkably dull."

Commercial performance

''Usher'' debuted at number 167 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart. The album has sold over 200,000 copies in the United States to date.

Track listing

Notes * denotes co-producer Sample credits * "I'll Make It Right" contains a sample from "

Top Billin' "Top Billin'" is a single for American hip-hop duo Audio Two, released as the B-side of the single "Make It Funky" from the album ''What More Can I Say?'' It was released before First Priority Music inked a distribution deal with Atlantic Record ...

" (1987) by

Audio Two Audio Two was the Brooklyn, New York hip hop duo of emcee Kirk "Milk Dee" Robinson and DJ Nat "Gizmo" Robinson, most famous for its first hit "Top Billin'". History The duo's debut single, "Make it Funky", was released in 1987, but it was ...

. * "Slow Love" contains a sample from "

The Show Show or The Show may refer to: Competition, event, or artistic production * Agricultural show, associated with agriculture and animal husbandry * Animal show, a judged event in the hobby of animal fancy ** Cat show ** Dog show ** Horse show ** Sp ...

" (1985) by

Doug E. Fresh Doug E. Fresh (born September 17, 1966) is a Barbados-born American rapper, record producer, and beatboxer, also known as the "Human Beat Box". The pioneer of 20th-century American beatboxing, Fresh is able to accurately imitate drum machines an ...

. * "I'll Show You Love" contains a sample from "Blind Man Can See It" (1973) by

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the honor ...

. * "Final Goodbye" contains a sample from "Nobody Beats the Biz" (1988) by

Biz Markie Marcel Theo Hall (April 8, 1964 – July 16, 2021), known professionally as Biz Markie, was an American rapper, singer, songwriter, DJ, and record producer. Markie was best known for his 1989 single "Just a Friend", which became a Top 40 hit in ...

Personnel

Information taken from

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 ...

. *Assistant engineering – Daniel Beroff *Drums – Alexander Richbourg *Engineering – Al B. Sure!, Charles "Prince Charles" Alexander, Bob Brockman, Larry Funk, Gerhard Joost,

Tony Maserati Tony Maserati is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in mixing. He was involved in the development of the New York R&B and hip-hop scene in the 1990s, working with Mary J. Blige, Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, and Queen ...

, Brian Alexander Morgan, Nasheim Myrick, Rob Paustian *Executive production – Sean "Puffy" Combs, L.A. Reid *Guitar – Darryl Pearson *Keyboards – Herb Middleton *Mixing – Charles "Prince Charles" Alexander, Bob Brockman, Sean "Puffy" Combs, David Dachinger, DeVante Swing, Rob Paustian, John Shrive *Multi-instruments – DeVante Swing, Brian Alexander Morgan,

Tim Mosley Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

, Darryl Pearson *Photography –

Michael Benabib Michael Benabib is an American portrait photographer, known for his portraits of David Bowie, Tupac Shakur, Sean Combs, and Keith Richards among others. Notable portrait photography of public figures include Bill Clinton, Alan Dershowitz and Loret ...

*Production – Al B. Sure!, Sean "Puffy" Combs, Ward Corbett, DeVante Swing, Edward "Eddie F" Ferrell, Kiyamma Griffin, Dave Hall, Isaiah Lee, Brian Alexander Morgan, Darryl Pearson, Alexander Richbourg *Songwriting – Ward Corbett *Vocals – Usher *Background vocals – Darren Benbow, Mary Brown,

Faith Evans Faith Renée Evans (born June 10, 1973) is an American singer and actress. Born in Lakeland, Florida, and raised in New Jersey, she relocated to Los Angeles in 1991 for a career in the music business. After working as a backing vocalist for Al B ...

Dave Hollister David Le Chaine Hollister (born August 17, 1968) is an American R&B singer who found fame during the 1990s as one quarter of the R&B quartet Blackstreet, before going on to have a solo career. Hollister is best known for his 2000 gold-certifie ...

, Crystal Johnson, Darryl Pearson, Laquentis Saxon, Usher, Levar "Lil' Tone" Wilson

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* *
Usher
' at

Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...

{{Authority control 1994 debut albums Albums produced by Sean Combs LaFace Records albums Usher (musician) albums