Long before Usher decided to jump on the Dance-Pop bandwagon, he was the undisputed Prince of R&B. Churning out hit after hit from the mid-90’s through the mid-00’s, Mr Raymond could do no wrong.
This week’s From The Vault comes in the form of one of his most underrated gems, the danceable, yet inspirational ‘Pop Ya Collar’.
Originally slated to be the first single from the crooner’s shelved LP, ‘All About U’ in the 2001, ‘Collar’ was a moderate hit in the U.S., yet was very successful in the UK where it peaked at #2 on the Official Singles Chart.
An up-tempo with an uplifting message urging people to be themselves, and do what’s best for them no matter what others might say, the sizzling track was the entertainer’s first time serving up a more Pop-oriented sound, a pattern he would most definitely repeat during the latter years of his career.
With the ‘Yeah!’ singer on the cusp of having one of his biggest hits in the form of David Guetta’s ‘Without You’ (on which he is featured), and with his Rev-Pop project on the way, it’s rather refreshing to journey back to a time when he didn’t have to sacrifice the essence of his sound in order to score high on the charts.
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Good song!
NEVER LIKED THIS SONG.. MY FAV IS MY WAY..
whoever posted this is delusional.Songs like there goes my baby from the last album are gems too…RICO LOVE must be pissed that TGJ is ignoring his work with Usher after all the interviews that he gave to this site.Ungrateful much for hits…
And what if Usher doesn’t want be just an r&b singer anymore?It’s his choice he doesn’t force anybody to listen to his pop 40 hits. Maybe you should just pay attention to his urban release since you hate so much pop dance. music
I thought this album (to which this would have been the lead single) simply got REWORKED into what became 8701, because so many of the songs had gotten leaked. . .
Either way, Didn’t re-listen but from what I remember of this song, his singles before (from the album ‘My Way’) as well as after (singles from ‘8701’) were WAYYYY better than this gem you speak about!
number1k9.b*******.com/
I don’t even remember this song. it’s okay i guess.
I use to luv this song so much and still do. I wished he had put it on 87/01. Usher was definitely untouchable back then! I hope he bring it with this next record because Trey has the s** appeal and Chris has the dancing skills.
I remember Usher being called the king of Rnb after his My Way album came out not Prince of RnB
Damn! I so remember this! LMAO! This is definitely from the vault! This is when he was still fine. He looked so cute with those glasses on!
Watching this makes me so glad he decided to go the r&b route. This song may have been catchy with a positive message but I don’t think it really showcased his talent. Even though his vocals sounded good but the lyrics are corny as hell. I just think his voice is better suited for r&b.
I am interested in hearing this new ‘revolutionary pop’ sound he is supposed to be coming up with though. I still haven’t heard his song with David Guetta yet. When does it come out?
He looks so cute in this!! He is much more suited to R&B. I love Nice & Slow and nearly everything he released before RaymondVRaymond.
The song isn’t that bad…it’s the video that really isn’t good…and the styling direction they were going for was so corny.
But yeah, All About U was re-worked into 8701 when Pop Ya Collar didn’t catch on in the US the way they expected it to…and thank God cuz You Remind Me is a much better song and first single. Pop Ya Collar sounds like just an album filler, good message and all.
Ironically, it also sounds like a kinda homage to Bobby Brown’s, My Perogative…especially since Bobby was one of Usher’s main influences in addition to the obvious MJ and James Brown influences.
Don’t come for him! He’s still the King of R&B. Mr.Entertainment! An artists has to grow and his fans should grow with him. If one doesn’t, then they weren’t really here for him in the first place. If he was still making R&B tracks like this, then the media would say he makes the same stuff, he doesn’t grow, he doesnt change, blah, blah, blah. Leave him be.
Good message but terrible director lol
OMG! I forgot all about this song! I actually liked it when it came out though!
this clip is just showing everyone what a great artist he is, he is KING, he has grown and he wants to try different things, can you people allow artists to grow and experience other type of music without calling them sell-out, where is it written that he had to stick to r&b, if you don’t like his new stuff go list to boring r kelly, Usher is KING of POP and R&B, people love to complain about something when really there’s nothing to complain about, thanks for the article
F*** a MJ Usher is the NEW KING OF POP and you will deal
The ornoy of this post.
First off, there was no shelved album. It’s [i]8701[/i]. This was to be the lead single off of it but they decided against it because (here’s the irony) it was to ‘Pop’ for him.
Usher has always adapted and owned whatever sound was current. That’s why he’s still churning out hits when other R&B acts at that time (Monica, Brandy etc) fizzled out over the years.
He IS a King and who doesn’t like it will deal.
this song sucked..and thats why the All about U album was scrapped…
Like this one, particularly in distinctive colours. Top quality of retros becomes greater.