To me, when I think of what has made Usher such a great artist, it has always been his ability to tell a good story. That is his strength; he is a storyteller and the lyrics were always conversational, almost as if you were hearing a musical enacted on stage or your best friend was speaking with you. Take the megahit 'Yeah.' It is a huge dance/pop record, however, it worked because even in those lyrics there was a small story unfolding (the fact that he was attempting to refuse a woman who kept pressuring him to say ‘yeah’) which aided into the overall CONCEPT of Confessions… that is, the act of cheating and the repercussions it caused with his girlfriend. It was expertly given because the whole body of Confessions was cohesive, and it felt as if we really were getting an insider’s look of Usher’s diary. The same can be said for Here I Stand, the only difference was that due to the overexposure of his personal life, we already knew the story before it began and 18 tracks of hearing how he is a changed man was redundant. Had he taken out a few songs and had the media blitz surrounding this album not have overshadowed it, it too would have been a great work. As we know, perception of your persona often influences the public’s judgment of the product you are selling. And so Usher and his team alike, I say to you, he simply needs a new concept. Since 2005, his songs – released or otherwise – have all been about cheating and additionally some discourse he has been experiencing with the woman he has cheated on. Quite frankly, it’s redundant and we are tired of you telling us how you fudged up. Sure, there have been some high marks (Revolver still stands to be one of my favorite tracks from him, as not only is the metaphor great but the tone he used was refreshing!), and some rather low marks which unfortunately are too many to list. We get it, you are a cheater. But let’s move on. Perhaps go deeper; explain WHY you cheat. We want to know your insecurities. You need to bare yourself. Explore yourself deeper. You’ve had many major life changes ongoing; it’s time to address them. I’m sure you have witnessed others’ who have major issues. Talk about them. Turn to the great legends you say you are inspired by, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Nina Simone… these people sung of love, but they also sung of the situations around them within the community. They made inspirational music we could connect to, and I think you are missing that and have been for some time. Even MJ, he was socially conscious… and even your peers, Kanye at his best (All Falls Down) also spoke of these same things. It’s time for you to grow. As for packaging, firstly you need an image consultant. I understand you are in a different stratosphere, but you are 33. PLEASE CUT YOUR HAIR. A lot of people have felt he has lost his “sex appeal” with that Mohawk. At the very least, change it for the new album. Hire a better stylist. His style looks sloppy all the time. Usher you are like 5’7” at most – your pants do not need to be all baggy; it makes him look like a dwarf. Get clean cut. His ex-wife may have her issues, but she knew how to dress him well regardless. Also, the music videos he has released lately have likewise been uninspired. I’m not sure if it is budgeting or not, but I’ve seen better videos shot by my peers in college. Little Freak could have been such an amazing video, but it fell short when all the girl did was walk around an abandoned basement. The dancing was lame, and the visuals grew tired after the first 30 seconds. Go back to telling your stories, and FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT SHOOT A VIDEO IN A CLUB. I don’t care if it is a club song – NO MORE CLUB VIDEOS THOSE ARE LAME. Also, DO NOT WAIT until the week before the release of the music to build up interest and promotion. Fans want to feel as if they have an intimate connection to the artist and the music. Here are some things you can do: - Live stream of album creation process. It does not have to be a lot, just a little bit: song editing; the first few minutes of laying down a verse. Look to Rihanna’s promo team, they are ALWAYS finding ways to promote her. - YouTube video log of getting prepared. If you are practicing choreography, show a few minutes of the practice session. You can do a video diary every two weeks or so, enough to not over saturate yourself but also keep people interested. - Do video chats with your fans; offer contests… this is something that used to be done with the fanclub. Perhaps if you reach x amount of followers or something, you will allow a fan to sit in on a recording session or to interview you. - Get a peer to star in your video and ACTUALLY interact with her. Keri in LITC was good, but we barely saw you two on screen. - Again I say, NO MORE CLUB VIDEOS!!! - Work with the Neptunes. Pharrell and you really had a chemistry, and he understands your voice and craft. - Work with Kanye and Drake.. both are incredible producers with an ability to craft music that transcends genres.