''Looking 4 Myself'' is the seventh studio album by American singer
Usher. Released on June 8, 2012, by
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
, it is his first album for RCA after the October 2011 merger of the
Jive Records
Jive Records (later stylized as JIVE Records) was a British-American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary of the Zomba Group of Companies, Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chic ...
group that also included his label,
Arista Records
Arista Records ( ) is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of the Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was previously a division of Bertelsmann Music G ...
; which resulted in both labels being consolidated into the RCA label group. Many producers worked on the songs, and the album features appearances from
Luke Steele and
ASAP Rocky
Rakim Athelaston Mayers (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky ( ; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper. Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a member of the hip hop music, hip hop coll ...
. Inspired by the
electronic duo
Empire of the Sun and listening to music originating from several locations, Usher intended the album to contain a more experimental sound, that remained relevant to the music of its time. Defined as "revolutionary pop" by the singer, critics noted that ''Looking 4 Myself'' is a
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...
and R&B album that incorporates the genres pop,
hip hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...
, electronic,
Europop
Europop (also spelled Euro pop) is a style of pop music that originated in Europe during the mid-to-late 1960s and developed to today's form throughout the late 1970s. Europop topped the charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with revivals and ...
, and
dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken ...
. Critic Barry Walters has noted how elements of some of its R&B songs were inspired by the emerging
alternative R&B
Alternative R&B (also referred to as alt-R&B, indie R&B, and originally known as PBR&B, hipster R&B, emo R&B, or R-Neg-B) is a term used by music journalists to describe a stylistic alternative to contemporary R&B that began in the mid 2000s and ...
genre.
The album debuted atop the US
''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 128,000 copies in its first week, becoming Usher's fourth number one album in the country. As of October 2014, ''Looking 4 Myself'' has sold 504,000 copies 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 ...
.
Worldwide, it attained top-ten positions in over eight other countries including Australia, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom.
''Looking 4 Myself'' was supported by five singles: "
Climax
Climax may refer to:
Language arts
* Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work
* Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance
Biology
* Climax community, a biological community th ...
", "
Scream", "
Lemme See" featuring
Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...
, "
Numb", and "
Dive". "Climax" peaked in the top-twenty on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, and topped 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 ...
chart for eleven weeks. "Scream" peaked in the top-ten on the Hot 100 and several other countries. "Numb" obtained moderate international chart success and peaked at number 69 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. Usher promoted for the ''Looking 4 Myself'' by performing in several shows; including the off-broadway show Fuerza Bruta: Look Up, ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' and ''
Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
''.
Background
In 2010,
Usher released his sixth studio album ''
Raymond v. Raymond
''Raymond v. Raymond'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Usher (musician), Usher, released on March 26, 2010, by LaFace Records. Production for the album took place in 2009 and was handled by several producers, including Jermaine Dupri, ...
'', with a mixed critical response and commercial success; the project went on to earn two Grammy Awards at the 2011 ceremony.
His follow-up record was originally rumored to be titled ''The Shanetance'' and due for release on March 23, 2012, though Usher later refuted the speculation.
While on hiatus between the release of his first
EP ''
Versus'' and ''Looking 4 Myself'', Usher told
AOL Music
AOL (formerly a company known as AOL Inc. and originally known as America Online) is an American web portal and online service provider based in New York City, and a brand marketed by Yahoo! Inc.
The service traces its history to an online ...
that he mainly traveled to various locations to listen to music which he "felt was really significant in terms of energy."
Some of these locations included the
Coachella Music Festival
Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorad ...
,
Ibiza
Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...
, Germany,
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
, Miami and
Southern France
Southern France, also known as the south of France or colloquially in French as , is a geographical area consisting of the regions of France that border the Atlantic Ocean south of the Marais Poitevin,Louis Papy, ''Le midi atlantique'', Atlas e ...
. He described some of the music as a "little bit more electronic, some of it a little bit more dance. Some of it, a bit more world."
It was Australian
electronic music
Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...
duo
Empire of the Sun that inspired Usher to produce the album's title track, with producer
Rico Love
Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, singer, songwriter, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wisco ...
, which led to the singer collaborating with producers he normally would not work with or admired, such as
Diplo
Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...
.
Usher's intention for the album was one "that was not genre-specific but just experimental".
During an episode of
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
's ''
The Voice'', Usher called the album "by far one of my most risky records ... I wanted to challenge myself". ''Looking 4 Myself'' was chosen as the album's title as it described Usher's 'musical journey'.
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...
CEO Peter Edge spoke to ''Billboard'' on which two specific groups they want the album to appeal to, "By the time the album is available, Usher's collective audience will have had a chance to really sample a number of songs from the album
..the end result will be an Usher album that appeals to his earliest fans, and people who may have never listened to or owned an Usher album before."
Prior to the album's release, Usher was put under the management of Grace Miguel—whom he is in a relationship with—replacing Randy Phillips, who managed Usher for a short period after he split with his mother, Jonnetta Patton for a second time, in 2008.
The cover art and track listing for both the standard and deluxe edition of the album were revealed on May 3, 2012.
On June 4, 2012, 30-second snippets of each track were leaked on the internet.
Production

Diplo, Rico Love,
Jim Jonsin
James Gregory Scheffer (born June 8, 1970), known professionally as Jim Jonsin, is an American record producer and songwriter from South Florida. He has produced for numerous musical artists, including Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Usher, Lil Wayn ...
,
Salaam Remi
Salaam Remi Gibbs (born May 14, 1972) is an American record producer. He is most known for producing material for close associates Nas, Amy Winehouse, and Jazmine Sullivan, but has also produced for other mainstream acts including Alicia Key ...
and
were the first producers confirmed for ''Looking 4 Myself'' in March 2012.
After Usher had attended the Coachella Music Festival, he worked with electronic music duo Empire of the Sun to produce the album's title track; he described the band's music as an "incredible sound".
The collaboration and the band's music inspired Usher to produce more experimental music, and to produce records with producers he normally would not work with or admired.
DJ and producer Diplo was one of them, and so both collaborated on the album's lead single, "
Climax
Climax may refer to:
Language arts
* Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work
* Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance
Biology
* Climax community, a biological community th ...
". They discussed the concept throughout the song's development and how it relates to Usher's life, as Diplo "tried to help realise these lyrics and feelings."
After conceiving some melody lines, they wrote the song in about an hour.
Usher and Diplo worked on the song's production for two months, recording in studios in Los Angeles, New York, and Atlanta.
Usher wanted to work with Swedish electronic dance music trio
Swedish House Mafia
Swedish House Mafia (SHM) are a Swedish house music, house Supergroup (music), supergroup consisting of Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. The group officially formed in late 2008, were placed at number ten on the ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 D ...
since their joint performance at the
American Music Awards
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...
in 2011.
The group later agreed to work with the singer, where they intended to travel to Atlanta to work on track production, writing, and to "move the ball forward."
Steve Angello, a member of Swedish House Mafia, told
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 ...
that the group hung out with Usher in Ibiza after the awards ceremony; they worked with him in Atlanta for five days. They produced the final tracks "Numb", "Euphoria" and "Way to Count", with the latter not making the final cut.
Usher contacted several producers and musicians who he endeavoured to, but ended up not collaborating with, including
Skrillex
Sonny John Moore (born January 15, 1988), known professionally as Skrillex, is an American DJ, record producer, musician, singer. Raised in Northeast Los Angeles and Northern California, he began his career in 2004 as the lead vocalist of the ...
,
Calvin Harris
Adam Richard Wiles (born 17 January 1984), known professionally as Calvin Harris (and sometimes under the stage name Love Regenerator), is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. His debut studio album, ''I Created Disco'' (2007 ...
,
Afrojack
Nick Leonardus van de Wall (; born 9 September 1987), known professionally as Afrojack (stylized in all caps), is a Dutch DJ, record producer and remixer. In 2007, he founded the record label Wall Recordings; his debut album ''Forget the World ( ...
,
Kaskade
Ryan Gary Raddon (born February 25, 1971), better known by his stage name Kaskade, is an American DJ, music producer and remixer. ''DJ Times'' voted Kaskade as "America's Best DJ" in 2011 and 2013. ''DJ Magazine, DJ Mag'' named Kaskade fifty-fi ...
,
Little Dragon, and
David Guetta
Pierre David Guetta (; born 7 November 1967) is a French DJ and record producer. He has sold over 10 million albums and 65 million singles globally, with more than 30 billion streams on Spotify. Guetta was voted the number one DJ in the DJ Mag ...
. The latter had revealed to ''
The Hollywood Reporter
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...
'' in May 2012 that he and Usher had worked on a "crazy" record,
though it did not appear on the album due to a scheduling conflict; rapper
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, spoken as "ludicrous" in American English), is an American rapper and songwriter. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludacris moved to Atlanta, Georgia, at age ...
was involved in the song's production.
English singer-songwriter
Labrinth
Timothy Lee McKenzie (born 4 January 1989), better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer, songwriter, rapper, and record producer. Labrinth signed as a recording artist with Simon Cowell's record label Syco Music in 2010, ini ...
spent two studio sessions with Usher in April 2012 working on ''Looking 4 Myself''.
Composition
Influence and sound
Usher told ''
Sylelist'' in November 2011 that he is working on a new genre of music, which he depicted as "revolutionary pop".
He explained that it "combines several other music genres to form a new sound".
In a later interview, Usher clarified that his latter quote was misinterpreted, in that it is not a specific type of sound, but rather what he found as inspiration behind where he was and what he was working on "was revolutionary". The album incorporates pop styles, which Usher described as being "relevant" to its time and "what
eople arelistening to". Randall Roberts of ''
Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' summed up the production of the album, writing that it "draws on a world of styles permeating pop culture in 2012", by implementing the genres
electronic dance
Electronic dance music (EDM), also referred to as dance music or club music, is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres originally made for nightclubs, raves, and List of electronic dance music festivals, festivals. It is generally ...
,
dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken ...
, pop and
Hip-Hop
Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
to create a hybrid pop.
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 Mus ...
's Andy Kellman described revolutionary pop as "contemporary pop-oriented R&B, or
european dance-pop, or some combination of the two", and that the album is "weighted more heavily toward dance-pop" compared to his previous efforts.
Songs and lyrics
''Looking 4 Myself'' opens with club track "
Can't Stop Won't Stop", which contains the melody of
Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
's 1983 "
Uptown Girl";
it contains a
synth
A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...
heavy hook and incorporates elements of dubstep.
"
Scream" is another club oriented track, with heavily sexual lyrics.
The song makes heavy use of
bass
Bass or Basses may refer to:
Fish
* Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species
Wood
* Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree
Music
* Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...
—particularly in the chorus—and is noted to be reminiscent of Usher's "
DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" (2010).
[ The third track, "Climax", is a ]quiet storm
Quiet storm is a radio format and genre of R&B, performed in a smooth, romantic, jazz-influenced style. It was named after the title song on Smokey Robinson's 1975 album '' A Quiet Storm''.
The radio format was pioneered in 1976 by Melvin Li ...
-style slow jam
A slow jam is music with rhythm and blues and soul influences. Slow jams are commonly R&B ballads or downtempo songs, and are mostly soft-sounding with heavily emotional or romantic lyrical content. The earliest known use of the term is from a ...
, built around a haunting riff
A riff is a short, repeated motif or figure in the melody or accompaniment of a musical composition. Riffs are most often found in rock music, punk, heavy metal music, Latin, funk, and jazz, although classical music is also sometimes based ...
, complemented by sparse drum machine
A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...
and some musical accompaniment. Its lyrics focuses on Usher's anguish over a failed relationship, with its title referring to the turning point of a relationship. Follow-up track "I Care for U" is a mid-tempo R&B song, which fuses 90's R&B and hip-hop with dubstep, produced by American record producer Danja. "Show Me", another Danja produced record, is described by Randall Roberts of ''Los Angeles Times'' to feature "driving house synth-claps with a propellant techno rhythm bubbling beneath it." A mid-tempo track, " Lemme See" contains a synth-heavy production with contributed vocals from American rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...
Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...
. "Twisted", which was produced by and features record producer-rapper "Pharrell
Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...
", is the seventh track. It is a 60's retro-soul track, with heavy use of percussions and bass throughout. Usher described the track as "nostalgic", and explained that his intent was to also "modernize it", similar to records produced by Cee Lo, Bruno Mars
Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is known for his three-octave tenor vocal range, live performances, R ...
and Andre 3000.
"Dive" discusses a commitment to a relationship, while containing a triple-entendre, according to Matt Cibula of PopMatters
''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...
, initially singing about diving or oral sex, to discussing a commitment to a relationship. The ninth track is "What Happened to U"; it is a downtempo
Downtempo (or downbeat) is a broad label for electronic music that features an atmospheric sound and slower beats than would typically be found in dance music. Closely related to ambient music but with greater emphasis on rhythm, the style may ...
song, sung by Usher primarily using falsetto
Falsetto ( , ; Italian language, Italian diminutive of , "false") is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave.
It is produced by the vibration of the ...
. It samples the late The Notorious B.I.G.'s " One More Chance". The album's title track features Empire of the Sun member Luke Steele, and is both new wave and soft rock
Soft rock (also known as light rock or mellow rock) is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in the United States and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, mel ...
. The title refers to Usher's "musical journey", and the song was inspired by his travelling and the latter band. The first of the two Swedish House Mafia tracks is " Numb", a euro disco
Eurodisco (also spelled as Euro disco) is a genre of electronic dance music that evolved from disco in the middle 1970s, incorporating elements of pop and rock into a disco-like continuous dance atmosphere. Many Eurodisco compositions featur ...
and electronic dance track, its lyrics message was described by Erika Ramirez of ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' to simply be "Forget your troubles and fist-pump!". The next track is "Lessons for the Lover", a slow-tempo track with heavy production, produced by long-time collaborator Rico Love. Ramirez compared the track to songs from Usher's '' Confessions'' era. " Sins of my Father" is a soul
The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...
song with prominent blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
, dub, Motown and reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...
influences; it is about being a "tortured soul" in a "volatile" relationship. ''Looking 4 Myself'' closes with "Euphoria", the second Swedish House Mafia produced track on the album. It is described as more "tense" and "powerful" compared to "Numb".
Singles
The album's lead single "Climax" was leaked on February 14, 2012, and digitally released on February 22. "Climax" debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart at number eighty-one with 31,000 digital units sold on the week of March 10, 2012 and has since peaked at number 17.[Gary Trust and Keith Caulfield (March 1, 201]
"Usher's 'Climax' Arrives, Young the Giant's 'Glee' Gain, Maroon 5's 'Hands' Hits 1 Million"
. ''Billboard''. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved on March 3, 2012. The song topped 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 ...
chart marking Usher's twelfth number one single on the chart, and overtaking R. Kelly as the ninth artist with the most number one's. "Climax" sustained the number one position for eleven weeks, tying with his 1997 " You Make Me Wanna..." as his longest running number one single on the chart. The accompanying music video was released on March 9, 2012, and was directed by Sam Pilling and filmed in Atlanta. The video shows Usher sitting in his car, contemplating on how to approach his ex-girlfriend inside her home, with numerous scenarios shown being thought out by Usher. The video was nominated for Best Male Video at the 2012 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2012 MTV Video Music Awards, hosted by Kevin Hart, took place on Thursday, September 6, 2012, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. The awards were broadcast from the Staples Center arena at L.A. Live in Downtown Los Angeles ...
, losing to Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...
's " Turn Up the Music".
"Scream", the album's second single, premièred on SoundCloud
SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...
on April 26, 2012. The song was produced by Savan Kotecha and Max Martin, the same duo who produced "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" (2010). "Scream" was made available for purchase as a digital download on April 27, 2012. It officially impacted the Top 40/Mainstream and rhythmic radio
Rhythmic contemporary, also known as Rhythmic Top 20, Rhythmic Top 30, Rhythmic Top 40, Rhythmic CHR or rhythmic crossover, is a primarily American music-radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and upbeat R&B hits ...
on May 1, 2012. The song peaked in the top ten in several charts, including the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, 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 ...
, Japan Hot 100
The ''Billboard Japan'' Hot 100 is a record chart in Japan for songs. It has been compiled by ''Billboard Japan'' and Hanshin Contents Link since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at Billboard-japan.com ( JST) and every Thursday ...
, Scottish Singles Chart
The Scottish Albums Chart is a chart compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) which is based on how physical and digital sales towards the UK Albums Chart fare in Scotland. The official singles chart for Scotland, the Scottish Singles Chart, ...
and UK Singles Chart. An accompanying music video uses footage from Usher's performance in Fuerza Bruta in New York City. In the video, Usher gets intimate with his love interest; his dancing and choreography was compared to Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
's. The third single, "Lemme See" features rapper Rick Ross, and was made available for purchase as a digital download on May 4, 2012. The song was released to urban radio
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 rad ...
on May 8, 2012, and reached number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Internationally, "Lemme See" peaked at number ninety in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, and number eighty-eight in France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. The official music video for the song was released on June 14, 2012, and was directed by Philip Andelman.
"Numb" is the album's fourth single, and was released to contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio (CHR, also known as contemporary hits, hit list, current hits, hit music, top 40, or pop radio) is a radio format common in many countries that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top ...
on August 28, 2012. It was produced by Swedish House Mafia, who also co-wrote the song with Usher. The song received generally positive acclaim from contemporary music critics with many of them praising its club-oriented production, labeling it as a potential success as a single. "Numb" was a moderate worldwide success, reaching the top-forty in five countries including Belgium, Germany and Australia. Usher released " Dive" as the fifth single, releasing the song to urban radio on August 28, 2012. The song was well received by critics, who lauded Usher's falsetto and overall vocals. Directed by Chris Applebaum, its music video shows Usher getting intimate with Victoria's Secret Angel
Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing and beauty products, beauty retailer. Founded in 1977 by a Stanford graduate student and his wife, Roy Raymond, Roy and Gaye Raymond, the company's five lingerie stores were sold to Les Wexner i ...
model Chanel Iman, who plays as his love interest. "Dive" peaked on the South Korea Gaon International Chart at number fifty, and the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart at number 34.
Promotion
Usher held multiple private listening sessions for ''Looking 4 Myself''. On April 27, 2012, he debuted the album in the off-broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
show Fuerza Bruta: Look Up, in Daryl Roth Theater in New York City. When speaking to 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 ...
, he explained his reasoning for performing in the show "It's not often that you're able to give somewhat of a visual or an emotional kind of basis of what your songs mean ..I felt like, yeah, it would be a physical challenge, yeah it would be a lot for me, but want toat least try it, there are many times I'd seen the show and I'd only hoped that I would make it happen". Steven Horowitz of ''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 ...
'' commented that Usher "theatrically sequenced the entirety of the project to strobing lights and choreographed moves". Horowitz also praised the singer's performance, concluding that "the veteran entertainer reasserts himself as a master of rapturous dance fodder, capable of turning a room into a thumping rave with ease". Usher appeared on ''Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
''—hosted by Will Ferrell
John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...
—where he performed the singles "Scream" and "Climax". He performed both singles again, in the 2012 ''Today'' summer concert, being the opening act of the series. Usher performed "Scream" in the 2012 ''Billboard'' Music Awards; during the performance he wore a black suit, bowler hat and bow tie while dancing with a masked female, who later disappeared behind a cape and was replaced by a male dancer who mirrored Usher's dance routines.
On June 9, 2012, Usher performed in the UK, appearing in the Capital FM Summer Time Ball, his second appearance in his career. He entered the stage doing the moonwalk and then performed his 2010 single " OMG". Backed-up by female dancers while doing choreographed routines, he then performed several singles from his previous work and ''Looking 4 Myself'', including " Yeah!", "Without You", "Climax" and "Scream". The singer again performed "Scream" in the 2012 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles during Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
's conference. He performed the dance routines presented in the video game Dance Central 3
''Dance Central 3'' is a 2012 rhythm game developed by Harmonix and Backbone Entertainment and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360 Kinect. It is the sequel to ''Dance Central 2'' (2011) and the third installment in the ''Dance Centra ...
, via the Kinect
Kinect is a discontinued line of motion sensing input devices produced by Microsoft and first released in 2010. The devices generally contain RGB color model, RGB cameras, and Thermographic camera, infrared projectors and detectors that map dep ...
to the latter song. Usher promoted the album on its release date in the UK—June 11—by performing in a one-off concert in the Hammersmith Apollo
The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly and still commonly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Pa ...
in London. The performance was directed by Hamish Hamilton
Hamish Hamilton Limited is a publishing imprint and originally a British publishing house, founded in 1931 eponymously by the half- Scot half- American Jamie Hamilton (''Hamish'' is the vocative form of the Gaelic Seumas eaning James ''Jame ...
, and was streamed to Usher's VEVO
Vevo LLC ( , an abbreviation for "Video Evolution", stylized in all caps until 2013) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational video hosting service, best known for providing music videos to YouTube. The service is also available ...
channel on YouTube. The same week, he appeared on BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge, where he covered the song " Pumped Up Kicks" by Foster the People
Foster the People is an American indie pop band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2009. Its members include founder and frontman Mark Foster (musician), Mark Foster and keyboardist Isom Innis.
Foster founded the band in 2009 after spending ...
, and performed "Scream". The singer appeared on ''Good Morning America
''Good Morning America'', often abbreviated as ''GMA'', is an American breakfast television, morning television program that is broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends wit ...
'', where he spoke about ''Looking 4 Myself'', and discussed his legal battle with ex-wife Tameka Foster. He performed "Climax" in the 2012 BET Awards; Kelly Carter of 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 ...
described the performance as "fairly muted", due to Usher's appearance and dancing being minimalistic. He opened the 2012 iTunes Festival, performing songs from his previous studio album efforts and tracks from ''Looking 4 Myself'' which he performed for the first time, including " Can't Stop Won't Stop", " Lemme See", "Twisted", " Dive" and " Numb".
Tour
On September 18, 2012, Usher announced that he would embark on a concert tour, the Euphoria Tour, to further promote ''Looking 4 Myself''. Usher planned to perform in countries including France, Germany, Belgium, Norway, Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. In partnership with Live Nation Global Touring, the tour was to commence on January 18, 2013, in Amsterdam, Netherlands and would conclude on March 14 in Nice, France. For the tour leg in the United Kingdom, British singer Rita Ora
Rita Sahatçiu Ora (; born Rita Sahatçiu; 26 November 1990) is a British singer-songwriter, television personality, and actress. Born in Pristina, modern-day Kosovo, she rose to prominence when she featured on DJ Fresh's 2012 single, "Hot Rig ...
was scheduled to be an opening act. On September 25, 2012, Live Nation Global Touring announced that the tour will be postponed until the fall of 2013, due to Usher's participation in the reality talent show '' The Voice'', where along with singer Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977) is a Colombian singer-songwriter. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Latin Music", she has had a Cultural impact of Shakira, significant impact on the ...
, he was a judge in the show's fourth season. The tour, however, was not rescheduled.
Critical reception
At Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has received an average
In colloquial, ordinary language, an average is a single number or value that best represents a set of data. The type of average taken as most typically representative of a list of numbers is the arithmetic mean the sum of the numbers divided by ...
score of 75, based on 19 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Alex Macpherson of ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' complimented Usher's vocals, saying that they "are in fine fettle", and found the album "most interesting" when it "goes in directions that don't cleave to obvious aesthetics". 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 Mus ...
's Andy Kellman felt that, despite Usher's shift to dance music, "he's more of a creative force when he's working with slower, soul-rooted material".[Kellman, Andy. "Usher – Looking 4 Myself" ]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 Mus ...
. Rovi Corporation
TiVo Corporation, formerly known as the Rovi Corporation and Macrovision Solutions Corporation, was an American technology company headquartered in San Jose, California. Now operating as Xperi, the company is primarily involved in licensing ...
. Retrieved on June 10, 2012. Randall Roberts of the ''Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' described the album as not genre defying, but instead uses the music styles of the urrentera– it's "more pop than it is revolutionary". Evan Rytlewski of ''The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...
'' said that "not all of it works, but none of it is unpleasant, either", and commended Usher for branching out and taking risks. Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music magazine founded in 1996 by Ryan Schreiber in Minneapolis. It originally covered Alternative rock, alternative and independent music, and expanded to cover genres includin ...
's Carrie Battan felt that his strength "lies in R&B, and he's adjusted well to shifting ground", although "not everything on ''Looking 4 Myself'' hits the mark". At ''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 ...
'', Steve Jones stated that on the release Usher has "chosen to keep growing and moving ahead" on which he "confidently steps out of his sonic comfort zone."
In a mixed review, ''Now'' writer Kevin Ritchie said that "Climax
Climax may refer to:
Language arts
* Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work
* Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance
Biology
* Climax community, a biological community th ...
" is one of the only few stand-out tracks. Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yor ...
Eric Henderson felt that the album lacks structure and found it "unavoidably uneven". Sarah Rodman of ''The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'' criticized Usher's use of Auto-Tune
Auto-Tune is audio processor software released on September 19, 1997, by the American company Antares Audio Technologies. It uses a proprietary device to measure and Pitch correction, correct pitch in music. It operates on different principles ...
: "the unnecessary deployment of Auto-tune on a singer who can actually hold his own vocally". ''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.
In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...
'' Killian Fox wrote that "for every hit—' Lemme See' is another—there are a couple of misses: 'Can't Stop Won't Stop', the Euro-dance opener produced by will.i.am
William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...
, is horribly overblown".
On October 9, 2012, ''Looking 4 Myself'' earned Usher three nominations at the 2012 American Music Awards for Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Album. On November 18, 2012, Usher won the award for Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist for the third consecutive year. At the 55th Annual Grammy Awards
The 55th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 10, 2013, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012. The show was broadcast on CBS at 8 p.m. ...
, "Climax
Climax may refer to:
Language arts
* Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work
* Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance
Biology
* Climax community, a biological community th ...
" earned Usher his eighth Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for Best R&B Performance. ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' ranked Usher twentieth and sixty-second on their Hot 100
The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...
and ''Billboard'' 200 year-end charts, respectively.
Commercial performance
''Looking 4 Myself'' debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart on the week ending June 17, 2012, selling 128,000 copies in its first week. The album marks Usher's fourth consecutive number one album. In its second week, the album dropped to number six on the chart, selling an additional 48,000 copies. In its third week, the album dropped to number nine on the chart, selling 36,000 more units. In its fourth week, the album dropped to number fifteen, and in its fifth week rose to number fourteen, selling 20,178 copies. As of October 2014, the album has sold 504,000 copies in the United States.
In the United Kingdom, the album debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart
The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
, selling 27,000 units, giving Usher his fifth consecutive top-three album in the country. It sold sixteen units less than Amy MacDonald
Amy Elizabeth Macdonald (born 25 August 1987) is a Scottish singer-songwriter. In 2007, she released her debut studio album, ''This Is the Life (Amy Macdonald album), This Is the Life'', which produced the singles "Mr. Rock & Roll" and "This ...
's third studio album ''Life in a Beautiful Light
''Life in a Beautiful Light'' is the third album by Scottish singer-songwriter Amy Macdonald, released on 11 June 2012. The lead single, " Slow It Down" was released on 20 April 2012. Macdonald's official website confirmed the album for release ...
'' which debuted one place ahead at number 2. On August 21, 2015, the album was certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry
BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...
(BPI), for sales of 100,000 copies.
In Australia, the album debuted at number three on the ARIA Albums Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
, giving Usher his fifth consecutive top-five album in the country. The album debuted at number fifteen on the Japanese Albums Chart, selling 6,727 copies, on the week ending June 17, 2012. It debuted at number four on the Dutch Albums Chart
The Dutch Album Top 100 or Album Top 100 is a weekly hit list of music albums, compiled by Dutch Charts. It shows the 100 best-selling music albums of the moment in the Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, i ...
, and number five on the Swiss Albums Chart
The Swiss Hitparade () is Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.
The Swiss charts include:
* Singles Top 75 (released since 1968)
* Singles T ...
. In New Zealand, the album peaked at number eleven on the New Zealand Albums Chart, while only remaining on the chart for five weeks. In Canada, the album also debuted and peaked at number seven on the Canadian Albums Chart
The ''Billboard'' Canadian Albums is the official record chart
A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given ...
and Taiwan at number seven, in Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
at number eight and South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
at number ten.
Aftermath
''Looking 4 Myself'' debuted with the smallest first-week figures since Usher's second studio album ''My Way
"My Way" is Paul Anka's English-language lyrical adaptation of the French song " Comme d'habitude", released by Frank Sinatra in 1969. The original song was written by Jacques Revaux, Gilles Thibaut, and Claude François, and was first recor ...
'' (1997), which opened with 67,000 copies. The album's debut was a significant decrease relative to his previous effort ''Raymond v. Raymond
''Raymond v. Raymond'' is the sixth studio album by American singer Usher (musician), Usher, released on March 26, 2010, by LaFace Records. Production for the album took place in 2009 and was handled by several producers, including Jermaine Dupri, ...
'' (2010), which opened with 329,000 units. Gail Mitchell of ''Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' contemplated on whether this was due to the pop material present on the album. Derrick Corbett, operator of urban based radio stations under Clear Channel Communications
iHeartMedia, Inc., or CC Media Holdings, Inc., is an American mass media corporation headquartered in San Antonio, Texas. It is the holding company of iHeartCommunications, Inc., formerly Clear Channel Communications, Inc., a company founded by ...
, credited its underwhelming sales to the "alienation" of Usher's core
Core or cores may refer to:
Science and technology
* Core (anatomy), everything except the appendages
* Core (laboratory), a highly specialized shared research resource
* Core (manufacturing), used in casting and molding
* Core (optical fiber ...
audience
An audience is a group of people who participate in a show or encounter a work of art, literature (in which they are called "readers"), theatre, music (in which they are called "listeners"), video games (in which they are called "players"), or ...
. Neke Howse of WKYS
WKYS (93.9 FM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Washington, D.C., United States. The station is owned by Urban One through licensee Radio One Licenses, LLC, and broadcasts an urban contemporary radio format. It is co-owned with W ...
believes it is because of the music industry evolving, saying that both Usher and label mate Chris Brown
Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...
—who also experienced lower first week sales with his fifth studio album ''Fortune
Fortune may refer to:
General
* Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck
* Luck
* Wealth
* Fate
* Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling
* Fortune, in a fortune cookie
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Fortune'' (19 ...
''—will "be fine, and their albums will do OK".
On August 2, 2012, Japanese multinational conglomerate Sony Group Corporation (which owns its American branch's music division and Usher's label, RCA Records) revealed their Q1 earnings for the year, with ''Looking 4 Myself'' largely contributing to the company's $92 million in revenue for the music sector. In an interview with singer-songwriter Eric Bellinger by ''Rap-Up
''Rap-Up'' is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the ...
'', the former explained that he, along with Jermaine Dupri
Jermaine Dupri Mauldin (born September 23, 1972) is an American rapper and record producer. Raised in Atlanta, Georgia as the son of Columbia Records executive Michael Mauldin, he began his career in music at the age of nine. He discovered th ...
, Bryan-Michael Cox
Bryan-Michael Paul Cox (born December 1, 1977) is an American record producer and songwriter, known for his work with artists such as Usher, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, and Toni Braxton. His most notable productions are " Be Without You" fo ...
, and Brian Alexander Morgan, were working on Usher's next album. Bellinger compared the album's music to Usher's '' Confessions'' (2004), saying that it is "more R&B, more urban" than Usher's ''Looking 4 Myself''. The latter declared that his next album would show that he is "still Usher". The singer's follow-up non-album single—" Good Kisser"—was released on May 5, 2014, through digital download.
Track listing
Notes
* signifies a vocal record producer.
* signifies a co-record producer.
* "Can't Stop Won't Stop" contains a portion of the composition " Uptown Girl" written by Billy Joel
William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Piano Man" after his Signature song, signature 1973 song Piano Man (song), of the same name, Joel has ha ...
.
* "What Happened to U" contains a sample from " One More Chance/Stay with Me Remix" written by Sean Combs
Sean John Combs (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, New York, Mount Ve ...
, Reginald Ellis, Norman Glover, Carl Thompson and Christopher Wallace, as performed by The Notorious B.I.G.
Personnel
Credits for ''Looking 4 Myself'' adapted from 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 Mus ...
.[ Credits: ''Looking 4 Myself'' Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved on June 10, 2012.]
Managerial
*Usher Raymond IV – executive producer
*Mark Pitts – executive producer, A&R
*Mr. Morgan – management
*Kory Aaron – assistant
*Diego Avendaño – assistant
*Liz Bauer – assistant
*Delbert Bowers – assistant
*Nathan Burgess – assistant
*Thomas Cullison – assistant
*Jacob Dennis – assistant
*Alex Fremin – assistant
*Chris Galland – assistant
*Phil Joly – assistant
*Jaime Martinez – assistant
*Dana Richard – assistant
*Ramon Rivas – assistant
*Ed Sanders – assistant
*Max Unruh – assistant
*Jorge Velasco – assistant
*Randy Warnken – assistant
*Eric Weaver – assistant
*Matt Huber – assistant
Performance credits
*Usher Raymond IV – primary artist
*Rick Ross
William Leonard Roberts II (born January 28, 1976), known professionally as Rick Ross, is an American rapper. An influential figure in modern Hip-hop, hip hop music, Rick Ross has become known for his "Wiktionary:booming, booming" vocal perfor ...
– featured artist
* Luke Steele – featured artist
*Rico Love
Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, singer, songwriter, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wisco ...
– vocals
*Mashanda Huskey – vocals
* – vocals
Visuals and imagery
*Francesco Carrozzini – photography
*Curtis Smith – groomer
*Ron Croudy – art direction
*Frank Zuber – art direction
*David Royer – stylist
*Nicole Patterson – make-up
Instruments
*Andre Bowman – bass
*Jim Jonsin
James Gregory Scheffer (born June 8, 1970), known professionally as Jim Jonsin, is an American record producer and songwriter from South Florida. He has produced for numerous musical artists, including Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Usher, Lil Wayn ...
– keyboards
*Stephen Coleman – string arrangements
*Czech Film Orchestra – strings
*Vincent Henry – saxophone
*Pierre Medor – keyboards
*Daniel Morris – keyboards
*Nico Muhly – piano, string arrangements, strings
* Ariel Rechtshaid – keyboards
* Shellback – keyboards
*Salaam Remi
Salaam Remi Gibbs (born May 14, 1972) is an American record producer. He is most known for producing material for close associates Nas, Amy Winehouse, and Jazmine Sullivan, but has also produced for other mainstream acts including Alicia Key ...
– bass, drums, guitar, keyboards
* Frank Romano – guitar
*Aaron Spears – drums, percussion
Technical and production
*Klas Åhlund – instrumentation, record producer
* Axel Hedfors – instrumentation, producer
*Steve Angello
Steven Patrik Josefsson Fragogiannis (; born 22 November 1982), known professionally as Steve Angello, is a Greek–Swedish DJ, record producer, remixer and record label owner. He is a member of Swedish House Mafia, together with Axwell and Seba ...
– instrumentation, producer
* Keith Harris – instrumentation, producer
*Sebastian Ingrosso
Sebastian Carmine Ingrosso (born 20 April 1983) is a Swedish DJ and record producer. He is a member of Swedish House Mafia, together with Axwell and Steve Angello.
Career 1999–2007: Career beginnings
Sebastian Ingrosso entered the music indu ...
– instrumentation, producer
* Alessandro Lindblad – instrumentation, producer
*will.i.am
William James Adams Jr. (born March 15, 1975), known professionally as will.i.am (pronounced "will I am"), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer and actor. He is the frontman of the musical group Black Eyed Peas, which he ...
– instrumentation, producer
*Marcella "Ms. Lago" Araica – mixing
* Kevin Cossom – vocal producer
*Shellback – producer, programming
*Eric Goudy II – drum programming
*Earl Hood – drum programming
*Frank Romano – producer
*Rico Love
Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, singer, songwriter, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wisco ...
– producer
*Max Martin – producer
*Pierre Medor – producer
*Nickolas Marzouca – engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...
, mixing
*Daniel Morris – programming
*Usher Raymond IV – liner notes
*Ariel Rechtshaid – synthesizer
*Andrew Coleman – arranger, digital editing, engineer
*Tom Coyne – mastering
*Diplo
Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...
– producer
*Swedish House Mafia
Swedish House Mafia (SHM) are a Swedish house music, house Supergroup (music), supergroup consisting of Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. The group officially formed in late 2008, were placed at number ten on the ''DJ Mag'' Top 100 D ...
– producer
*Jim Jonsin – producer, programming
*Gleyder "Gee" Disla – engineer
*Mark "Exit" Goodchild – engineer
*John Hanes – engineer
*Matt Huber – engineer
*Sam Holland Såklart – engineer
*Phil Seaford – assistant engineer
*Dylan Dresdow – mixing
*Serban Ghenea – mixing
*Robert Marks – mixing
*Manny Marroquin – mixing
*Noel "Gadget" Campbell – mixing
*Salaam Remi – arranger, producer
*Noah Shebib – arranger, instrumentation, producer
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Release history
See also
* List of number-one albums of 2012 (U.S.)
* List of number-one R&B albums of 2012 (U.S.)
* List of UK R&B Chart number-one albums of 2012
* PBR&B
References
External links
*
Looking 4 Myself
' 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. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...
(list of releases)
{{Authority control
2012 albums
Usher (musician) albums
Albums produced by 40 (record producer)
Albums produced by Danja (record producer)
Albums produced by Diplo
Albums produced by Jim Jonsin
Albums produced by Klas Åhlund
Albums produced by Max Martin
Albums produced by Pharrell Williams
Albums produced by Rico Love
Albums produced by Salaam Remi
Albums produced by Shellback (record producer)
Albums produced by will.i.am
RCA Records albums
Dance-pop albums by American artists