Call it a Comeback? Usher’s “Coming Home”

Singer, songwriter, dancer, and now halftime performer Usher releases ninth studio album, “Coming Home.”

The cover of this new release features Usher’s back, a cross chain and a peach. This album is anything but Christ-like, and the peach is giving a particular Timothy Chalamet scene in “Call Me By Your Name.”

The title track is first on the tracklist. Home according to this song is the inside of a woman, or at least that is the only place that Usher refers to.

“Coming Home” features Burna Boy and is a good upbeat start to the album. The song starts off the album in a familiar way to the rest of Usher’s discography.

Following this is “Good Good.” This song has already been streamed a significant amount compared to some of the other songs.

This song is super relatable and talks about a relationship with an ex-significant other where the relationship is good but not “Good Good,” meaning things are not as they once were. A hard concept to put to words, but Usher managed to even put it to song.

21 Savage and Summer Walker are featured on the track.

One of 21 Savage’s most notable bars is "We enjoy the five-star meals, but you was with me for the Zaxby’s.”

One of the best songs on the 20-song album.

“A Town Girl” is an interesting song, to say the least. It is an Usher rendition of Billy Joel’s “Uptown Girl.”

It was an interesting choice to make his own version of such a classic song. To say the least, he did not do any kind of justice to Joel’s 1983 banger, but he tried, sort of.

It really is just not doing what Usher thought he was doing. The track features rapper Latto.

Later comes “Kissing Strangers.” This song is very catchy and talks about a couple going “from strangers kissing to kissing strangers.” Very heartbreaking concept, but is on the queue for the next break up.

At this point in the album, the only thing distinguishing songs are the lyrics and themes, but musically each song follows a similar R&B style.

The album features “Rick It All” from “The Color Purple”, a slower number included halfway on the album.

This song is a popular and important part of his more recent discography, however, it does not match the style or vibe of this office

Four songs from the end listeners are finally blessed with a classic Usher chant and whisper. Softly at the beginning of “I Love U” listeners hear “Usher, Usher, Usher.”

This song doesn’t make Usher seem super mature. The main message is that if he is being an avoidant or clueless boyfriend that means he loves you. Maybe this explains why his first two marriages ended.

There seems to be hope for marriage number three to Jennifer Goicoechea. The two were wed during Super Bowl weekend 2024.

Hopefully she listens to this album so she knows that the reason he might run away is because he loves her so much. Not confusing at all.

Usher ventures into actually rapping on “Luckiest Man.” This is one of only nine explicit songs on the album.

This song is perfect for the Thanksgiving season because Usher just goes on about how he must be, you guessed it, the luckiest man in the world because his girl is so great. Prediction is that this song becomes the new go to for men to post their girlfriends on their Instagram stories.

“Margiela” is a modern gold digger anthem. If you are after a man with money this song is a gift from Usher to you.

The big finale of the album is “Standing Next To You - Usher Remix.” This song already stands at over 300 million streams on Spotify.

The song, originally by Jung Kook from BTS, was released on November 3, 2023, with the Usher remix coming out on December 1, 2023.

In multiple countries, the original release entered the top ten on music charts. This was a good choice for Usher to end the album on.

This was definitely one of the more upbeat songs on the album, which is a result of it being more Jung Kook’s K-Pop style than Usher’s R&B style.

A collaboration with a big name, like Jung Kook, along with being the halftime show for Super Bowl LIV, has brought Usher, the 2000s icon, back into relevancy. It is up to the singer now to continue fanning this popularity.

Rating: 6/10

Reviewer's favorite song: “Kissing Strangers”

Reviewer's least favorite song: “A-Town Girl”

Savannah Swartz is a third-year majoring in communications. To contact her, email sms9072@psu.edu.