"U Remind Me" is a song by American singer

Usher Usher may refer to: Several jobs which originally involved directing people and ensuring people are in the correct place: * Usher (occupation) ** Church usher ** Wedding usher, one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony ** F ...

. It was written by Edmund "Eddie Hustle" Clement and Anita McCloud and produced by Clement for Usher's third studio album ''

8701 ''8701'' is the third studio album by American singer Usher, released in the United Kingdom on July 9, 2001, and in the United States on August 7, 2001, by Arista Records. Recording was handled by several producers including The Neptunes, Jerm ...

'' (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 ''All ...

", 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 pr ...

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 ...

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 promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

features Chilli of TLC 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 rhy ...

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 com ...

, 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 val ...

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 (ofte ...

of 92 beats per minute. The song follows the chord progression 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

'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

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noted the song as the best track on ''

'', dubbing it the 2001 version of Craig David's " Fill Me In".

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

's Stephen Thomas Erlewine also chose it as a highlight from the album. In 2010, Boonsri Dickinson of AOL Radio ranked "U Remind Me" as Usher's ninth-best song. In 2016, '' Complex'' 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 "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, while featuring the real Chilli of TLC 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 o ...

and Blu Cantrell—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, US) Personnel * Anita McCloud – writing * Edmund "Eddie Hustle" Clement – writing (as Edmund Clement), production * Usher – vocals * Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis – 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-produ ...

* 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