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, Jermaine Dupri, Babyface, Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, Mike City, Bryan Michael Cox, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Although intended for an October 31, 2000, release under the title ''All About U'', the album was delayed numerous times, following the leak of several tracks onto the online music store Napster. Usher subsequently recorded new tracks and released the album under the new title, ''8701'', which is derived from Usher singing for the first time in his local church in 1987 and the album's US release date of August 7, 2001. The single "Can U Help Me" was supplied with Windows XP Service Pack 2 and later Windows versions to showcase Windows Media Player 11 and higher WMP versions.

''8701'' takes inspiration from multiple artists, including Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and Michael Jackson. It follows the theme of Usher's relationship experience, along with the emotions of love and heartache. Usher promoted the album by embarking on the supporting tour, Evolution 8701 Tour in 2002, to which it he performed in forty-four shows across North America. He also made appearances in television shows, including ''Live! with Regis and Kelly'' and ''Total Request Live''.

''8701'' produced two ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number one singles, "U Remind Me" and " U Got It Bad", along with the top five single "U Don't Have to Call". The album debuted at number four on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, with 210,000 copies sold in its first week. ''8701'' has since been certified 4x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and has sold eight million copies worldwide as of 2010. ''8701'' received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Usher's vocals and development as an artist, but were ambivalent towards some of the album's material. The album earned Usher numerous awards, including a BET Award, two Grammy Awards, and three ''Billboard'' Music Awards.

Background

Usher had initially planned to release the album entitled ''All About U'', as his third studio album on October 31, 2000. The album was to follow his successful ''My Way'' (1997) which to date, has sold over seven million copies. On March 13, 2000, multiple tracks from the album had leaked on to online music store Napster several months prior to its release, including "T.T.P.", "U R the One" and "Pop Ya Collar". Following the event, the album's release was delayed twice, on December 5, 2000, to July 17, 2001. During the taping of MTV Icon Janet Jackson special, Usher explained that he returned to the studios to record new songs, stating "I didn't want that to be the way my record was remembered or the way I would present that to my fans ..It turned out a lot better" while adding that tracks that were available for download on the site were not going to be included on the new album. With new tracks produced, Usher's publicist announced a new name for the album, under the title ''8701'', who claims that it is "practically a new album". The origin of its new name was initially unknown, with speculation that it subsides with its US release of August 7, 2001 (8/7/01), though Usher's publicist claimed that this was purely coincidental, and was not the reasoning for the title. Usher hinted that it was derived after something significant to him, and he would disclose it in the upcoming months. Eventually, his spokesperson revealed that the '87' segment of the title refers to the year 1987, when Usher sang in public for the first time at his church in Atlanta, with the '01' referring to the year 2001.

Recording

''8701'' was recorded in the United States, in the cities of Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis and Atlanta. The album's production was handled by several producers including The Neptunes, P. Diddy, Jermaine Dupri—who had produced the majority of Usher's previous album, ''My Way''—Babyface, Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs, Mike City, Bryan Michael Cox and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Both Jam and Lewis were asked by Usher's mother, and then manager, to contribute to ''8701s production, during the 2000 MTV Music Awards. According to Jam, his mother had said "Oh my God, Usher's got this track and we thought you guys would be perfect to produce it". Several months later, Jam and Lewis produced the song "Separated", along with multi-platinum producers Ric Atari & Daron Jones (who also wrote the record) to which the producers then turned in to L.A. Reid, who liked the track, and asked them to produce more. Following this, Usher asked both producers to create a song similar to their 1985 "Tender Love", performed by R&B vocal group Force MDs. Though he wanted it to be his own unique record, which contains a small similarity, to which Jam and Lewis created "Can U Help Me". Following the completion of ''8701'', Jam and Lewis were sent back to the studio by Reid to revamp the album's second single "U Remind Me", explaining "we already know he can dance, and he's got the style and that whole thing. But I want people to just go, he can sing.

Composition

In an interview with MTV, Usher commented that lyrically, ''8701'' represents his "soul", and elaborated by explaining that he was inspired by love and heartache; "I listen to a lot of Donny Hathaway's, Stevie Wonder's, Marvin Gaye's and Michael Jackson's earlier records, those Motown greats. There's a little bit of all of that in the album. I really appreciate what music was back then as well as in the early '90s when you had artists like Troop and Jodeci, and Michael Jackson was in his prime." Usher explained that the album's lyrics also reflect on what has been going on with his relationship; ''8701'' is predominantly an R&B album.Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Review: ''8701'' Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved on November 7, 2010. "Can U Help Me", is about a deep relationship to which Usher experienced. "U Don't Have to Call" is a hip hop song inspired by Jackson, while " U Got It Bad" is an R&B slow-jam. About "U Got It Bad", Kyle Anderson of MTV wrote that it makes use of the acoustic guitar and a "slow-burning bassline" throughout. The album's lead single "U Remind Me" is also an R&B track, and its lyrics is based on meeting a woman who reminds Usher of an ex-girlfriend, and therefore cannot date her.

Singles

"Pop Ya Collar" was released from Usher's previously intended third studio album ''All About U'' as the first single. Following the song's leak on online music store Napster, along with several other tracks, it was added to some editions of ''8701''. It entered and peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, but was less successful in the United States, peaking at number 60 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 25 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. ''8701'' first official single was "U Remind Me", released on May 22, 2001. The song sold nearly 100,000 copies in its opening week and received positive reviews from most critics, who cited it as a highlight from the album. The song topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, for four consecutive weeks. "U Remind Me" also reached the top five in several countries, including France, Belgium (Wallonia), New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Australia. It has been certified platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) and gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). "I Don't Know", featuring rapper-producer P. Diddy, was planned as the album's second single. It received radio play prior to the release of "U Remind Me", peaking at number 68 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and a video was to be produced in Los Angeles, directed by Diddy.

The album's second single was instead "U Got It Bad", released on August 21, 2001. Like its predecessor, the song topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It was number one for a single week, before being replaced by Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" for four weeks. The song then returned to the top, replacing the latter song for four more weeks. "U Got It Bad" also achieved chart success in other territories, reaching the top five in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. The song has been certified gold by both the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ). "U Don't Have to Call" was released as the third single on January 18, 2002. It impacted the Hot 100, peaking at number three, and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, at number two. It was released with P. Diddy's "I Need a Girl (Part One)" in the UK as a B-side single, and reached number four. "U-Turn" was released as the album's fourth single on March 11, 2002, as an international single. It reached the top ten in Belgium and Australia. "Can U Help Me" was released as the album's final single on August 20, 2002. It peaked at number 57 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 30 on the Rhythmic Top 40 chart.

Release and promotion

Usher initially planned to release his third studio album on October 31, 2000, under the title ''All About U'', but due to the leak of multiple tracks several months prior to the date, it was delayed. First to December 5, 2000, it was delayed again to June 17, 2001. In regards to this, Usher commented that "Pushing the record back was a risk, but I thought it would build anticipation". ''8701'' final release date was July 9, 2001 in the United Kingdom and August 7, 2001, on Arista Records, in the United States, Australia and Canada. On the day of release of the album in the United States, to which Arista labelled as "Usher day", Usher performed the album's lead single "U Remind Me" on the show ''Live! with Regis and Kelly''. He also performed the single during the 2001 BET Awards and the United We Stand: What More Can I Give concert at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C., which was held in tribute to the victims of the September 11, 2001 attacks. Usher appeared on ''Total Request Live'', attended an auto-graph signing session in a Virgin mega store, and a listening session for the album in the Planet Hollywood restaurant. Usher performed " U Got It Bad" at the 2001 American Music Awards, and again on June 16, 2002, at the Tweeter Center along with "U Don't Have to Call" during his concert.

Critical reception

''8701'' received generally positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 67, based on 11 reviews. '' NME'' Lucy O'Brien commended Usher for producing a more mature album, that "reflects his emotional experience" writing "Versatility is the key here: staccato beats with mellifluous melody, rich slow-jams and edgy harmonies – but woven through with Usher's own perspective. A winner."O' Brien, Lucy
Review: ''8701''
''NME''. IPC Media. Retrieved on November 7, 2010. BBC Online's Christian Hopwood also favoured the album, commenting on how Usher has developed "his producing, singing and song writing skills to a new level" noting his contribution to twelve of the seventeen tracks.Hopwood, Christian
Review: ''8701''
BBC Music. BBC
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