"Love in This Club Part II" is a song recorded by American R&B singer Usher, and features rapper

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. He is often regarded as one of the most influential hip hop artists of his generation, as well as one of the greatest rappers of all ...

and fellow singer

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and businesswoman. With a career spanning over three decades, she has established herself as one of the most Cultural impact of Beyoncé, ...

. "Love in This Club Part II" was released 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 achiev ...

on April 28, 2008, as the second single from Usher's fifth studio album, '' Here I Stand'' (2008). It is a sequel to the album's lead single " Love in This Club" which features

Young Jeezy Jay Wayne Jenkins (born September 28, 1977), known by his stage name Jeezy (or Young Jeezy), is an American rapper. He is credited, alongside fellow Georgia-based rappers T.I. and Gucci Mane, with pioneering the hip hop subgenre trap music fo ...

. Originally, vocalist

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

and rapper Plies were intended to feature on the record. Usher acclaimed the additions of Beyoncé and Wayne, and called it "a really special record". Produced by Soundz, the track samples the 1971 song " You Are Everything" by

the Stylistics The Stylistics are an American Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. All ...

. The song appeared on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, the

Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music industry record chart in Canada for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine. It was launched on the issue dated March 31, 2007 as the standard record chart in Canada; a new chart ...

and the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. "Love in This Club Part II" also reached the top ten on the

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 ...

, and its master tone received a

Gold certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

from the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA). On February 9, 2024, the RIAA also confirmed this collaboration had been certified Platinum.

Background and release

The original song, "Love in This Club", was sung by Usher, with guest vocals from rapper

also present. It was written by Usher,

Polow da Don Jamal Fincher Jones (born October 15, 1977 or 1978), known professionally as Polow da Don, is an American record producer from Atlanta, Georgia. He began his career as a recording artist in the late 1990s, leaving college to pursue a career with ...

, Lamar Taylor, Young Jeezy, Ryon Lovett, Keith Thomas, Keri Hilson and Darnell Dalton, with da Don producing the track. The remix features additional writing from

, with Soundz producing the track. Usher said in an interview with

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

of the song, "I wanted it to be something that would be a surprise, be a shock. Have shock value. That's what the remix is all about." On working with

, he said, "It's a treat for me. I've been wanting for years to do a record with Beyoncé. Even though it's a remix, it's a really special record for me". He also spoke highly of Wayne, dubbing him "one of the illest in the game". The song was originally intended to be sung by Usher with

and rapper Plies. While Plies had recorded two verses for the song, he and Carey did not appear on the final cut, with Beyoncé and Wayne featuring instead. Rumors also surfaced that R&B singer

Keri Hilson Keri Lynn Hilson (born December 5, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Decatur, Georgia, she began her musical career as a songwriter and backing vocalist for other artists under the wing of record producer Anthony De ...

would make an appearance on the tune, which she helped write. The song, one of the last additions to ''Here I Stand'', was recorded at Hitland Studios in

Alpharetta Alpharetta is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Alpharetta's population was 65,818; in 2010, the population had been 57,551. ...

and the

Record Plant The Record Plant was a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and last operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it produced highly influential albums, including the New York ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. "Love in This Club Part II" was added for

urban contemporary Urban contemporary music, also known as urban music, urban pop, or just simply urban, is a music radio format. The term was coined by New York radio DJ Frankie Crocker in the early to mid-1970s as a synonym for Black music. Urban contemporary r ...

radio airplay Airplay is how frequently a song is being played through broadcasting on radio stations. A song which is being played several times every day (spins) would have a significant amount of airplay. Music which became very popular on jukeboxes, in n ...

in the United States on the week of April 28, 2008. A version without Wayne's verse appeared as a

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

to the

CD single A CD single is a single (music), music single in the form of a compact disc (CD). Originally the ''CD single'' standard (as defined in the Rainbow Books, Red Book) was an 8 cm (3-inch) "mini CD" (''CD3''); later on the term referred to any si ...

of " Moving Mountains", released on July 22, 2008.

Composition

The

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian for 'time'; plural 'tempos', or from the Italian plural), measured in beats per minute, is the speed or pace of a given musical composition, composition, and is often also an indication of the composition ...

of "Love in This Club Part II" is much slower than that of the original song. Idolator compared the slowing-down to the remixing of R. Kelly's " Ignition" (2002). Usher has said that he likes Part II more than the original. The tune samples

' 1971 number " You Are Everything", written by

Thom Bell Thomas Randolph Bell (January 26, 1943 – December 22, 2022) was an American record producer, arranger, and songwriter known as one of the creators of Philadelphia soul in the 1970s. Hailed as one of the most prolific R&B songwriters and prod ...

and Linda Creed. The lyrics and theme of the song are similar to those of Part I, with Serena Kim of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' describing it as "mighty pressure coming from...male voices to persuade one woman to succumb to spontaneous sex", while Beyoncé portrays herself as a "hesitant but willing" voice of reason. Wayne's lyrics, modified through the use of a

vocoder A vocoder (, a portmanteau of ''vo''ice and en''coder'') is a category of speech coding that analyzes and synthesizes the human voice signal for audio data compression, multiplexing, voice encryption or voice transformation. The vocoder wa ...

to make him sound intoxicated, are wily

seduction In sexuality, seduction means enticing someone else into sexual intercourse or Human sexual activity, other sexual activity. Strategies of seduction include conversation and Sexual script theory, sexual scripts, paralanguage, paralingual featur ...

s to have his love interest have intercourse with him in the club's bathroom. During Wayne's verse, Usher sings breathy ad-libs. In the song, Usher refers to Beyoncé as "Queen B".

Critical reception

Shaheem Reid of

MTV News MTV News was the news production division of MTV. The service was available in the US with localized versions on MTV's global network and an online news team. In 2016, MTV refreshed the MTV News brand to compete with the likes of BuzzFeed and ...

praised Wayne's vocals as a repeat of his melodic success on " Lollipop". YoRapper.com also appreciated Wayne's effort, saying "aside from sounding like he's dying, he delivers an entertaining verse."

Stuff Stuff, stuffed, and stuffing may refer to: *Physical matter *General, unspecific things, or entities Arts, media, and entertainment Books *''Stuff'' (1997), a novel by Joseph Connolly *''Stuff'' (2005), a book by Jeremy Strong Fictional c ...

liked the way that his presence offered relief from the

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

s on ''Here I Stand''.

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly The Mining Company, About.com and Dotdash) 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, hom ...

's Mark Nero lauded the song as being "much better than the original version", noting Beyoncé's appearance as "regal", while Idolator also praised the collaboration with Beyoncé and Wayne as "much better" than that with Young Jeezy, who recorded on the original track. Steve Jones of ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' picked "Love in This Club Part II" as a standout track of ''Here I Stand''. However, Josh Eells of ''

Blender A blender (sometimes called a mixer (from Latin ''mixus, the PPP of miscere eng. to Mix)'' or liquidiser in British English) is a kitchen and laboratory appliance used to mix, crush, purée or emulsify food and other substances. A stationary ...

'' was not impressed, writing that the song "manages to make two of the most desirable people on the planet sher and Beyoncésound

chaste Chaste refers to practicing chastity. Chaste may also refer to: * Aymar Chaste (1514–1603), Catholic French admiral * Chaste (Marvel Comics), a fictional Marvel Comics martial arts enclave * Chaste (canton) - see List of townships in Quebec, Ca ...

", while

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

's Chad Grischow called the record "bland" and "lacking at best". Simon Vozick-Levinson from ''

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

'' criticized Usher's pick-up lines, describing them as more ridiculous than in the original song, as well as Wayne's reusing of lyrics from both "Lollipop" and his remix of " Crying Out for Me" (2007) by

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

. On the other hand, Vozick-Levinson commended Beyoncé's vocal performance on the track. Joey Guerra of the ''

Houston Chronicle The ''Houston Chronicle'' is the largest daily newspaper in Houston, Houston, Texas, United States. it is the third-largest newspaper by Sunday circulation in the United States, behind only ''The New York Times'' and the ''Los Angeles Times''. ...

'' said that Beyoncé's vocal was the clear standout on the song. The song was listed as 36 in the ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

s The 100 Best Song of 2008.

Chart performance

"Love in This Club Part II" debuted on the United States ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number seventy-nine on the issue dated May 10, 2008, due to high radio airplay and digital sales. It climbed the chart, reaching its peak position of number eighteen three weeks later. "Love in This Club Part II" slipped off the chart after twenty-two weeks. On the

, the song debuted at number fourteen the same week. It peaked on the chart at number seven on June 21, 2008, gaining the 'Digital Gainer' honor the same week. It gave Usher his thirteenth top ten song on the component chart and lasted thirty-four weeks on the chart. The song was among the

Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009. It ranked songs based on airplay on Mainstream Top 40 radio stations, singles ...

, where it peaked at number thirty-five. "Love in This Club Part II" was certified Gold by the

(RIAA) on October 8, 2008, for sales of over 500,000 master tones. As of October 3, 2010, it has sold 366,000 digital music downloads in the United States, according to

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...

. On May 31, 2008, the song debuted and peaked on the

at number sixty-nine, and fell off the chart four weeks later. In Australia, "Love in This Club Part II" debuted and peaked on the ARIA Singles Chart at number ninety-six on the chart dated June 9, 2008.

Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes. ;Recording * Hitland Studios –

Alpharetta, Georgia Alpharetta is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 U.S. census, Alpharetta's population was 65,818; in 2010, the population had been 57,551. History In the 1830s, ...

, US *

– Los Angeles, US ;Musicians * Usher – vocals, songwriter,

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

– vocals, songwriter *

– songwriter * Mark Pitts – executive producer * Karl Heibron – guitar * Ray Holten – guitar * Darnell Dolton – keyboards, songwriter * Lamar Taylor – keyboards * Jay "Jeezy" Jenkins – songwriter * Ryon Lovett *

– producer, songwriter * Keith Thomas - songwriter * Linda Creed – songwriter * Thomas Bell – songwriter * Soundz – producer ;Technicals * Jeremy Stevenson – recording engineer * Tony Terrebonne – recording engineer * Marcella Araica –

mixing engineer A mixing engineer (or simply mix engineer) is responsible for combining ("mixing") different sonic elements of an auditory piece into a complete rendition (also known as "final mix" or "mixdown"), whether in music, film, or any other content of a ...

* Karl Heibron – mixing engineer * Brian Springer – mixing engineer * Brian Stanley – mixing engineer * Ant Palazzole – assistant mixing engineer * Miguel Bustamante – assistant mixing engineer * Chris Athens –

mastering engineer Mastering is a form of audio post production which is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the Audio mixing (recorded music), final mix to a data storage device called a master recording, the source ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{authority control 2008 singles Beyoncé songs Lil Wayne songs Usher (musician) songs Songs written by Lil Wayne Songs written by Polow da Don Songs written by Thom Bell Songs written by Linda Creed Sequel songs Songs written by Usher (musician) Songs written by Keith Thomas (record producer) 2008 songs LaFace Records singles