@Number12k9 (sorry if I got that wrong)

Really? I didn't like that song at all. You're right, it reminded me of songs that we've already heard him do. And the continuation of Burn is nearly 6 years too late. Raymond vs Raymond is about a C as far as content goes. There are extremely bright spots, and then there's extremely low spots -- very rarely is there anything in between. Usher is never going to get to the status that he wants because he is an artist who doesn't really seem to know how to evolve. He sings about the same themes -- cheating has been revisited by him multiple times ever since the Confessions era. At some point, you need to move on from that dilemma. Or perhaps go deeper to uncover more depth... perhaps explore the WHY. I think his best work to date has been all of the songs that he has recorded with Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. The duo really knows how to make timeless R&B music for him as we've seen with U Remind Me - 8701; Bad Girl among others w/ Confessions (lol I didn't really get into that album due to the overhype so I can't remember all of the credits); and the amazing tracks they did for RvsR.. Mars Vs Venus, Monstar, Pro Lover, Lingerie and Lay You Down (the last two which were not included).

Monstar was my favorite from the two, as it was very revealing and creative. It also offered the careful listener insight into how a person in the entertainment industry must react. Key note is to see it's monSTAR not 'ster'. The lyrics seem to be a reaction to the public demanding to know more of the star's personal life and the obsession that we have over them with the blog coverage and so forth. And then when the artist gives too much -- as he did during the Here I Stand era, they get annoyed and turn the back on the artist.

"Look at what you made me do babe, said you know me. Say you want all of me; now you got the other side." & from the chorus: 'Tell me how deep you want me to go (I'm back celebrate life), " This is the resurgence of the illusion of what people think he is; the 'star' and the conceptions that people lament on these entertainers. It's a really great song. The creepy intro from the lady is a foreshadowing of its content: 'You are. What we. Say. You are: MonSTAR." IE... We label these artists and brand them or attempt to fit them in a box; and then when they deviate from our labels, we shun them.

The problem with Here I Stand is that it was too big of a jump forward from Confessions. The problem with Raymond Vs Raymond is that is too big of a step backwards from Here I Stand. Hopefully this next album he will be able to find that medium in between, and if he can successfully do that without sacrificing his content (as he did on RvsR), then he will have finally cemented himself where someone his age in the business needs to be.