Caught Up (Usher song)

Background and release

Although Usher "didn't look too far" when starting working on his fourth studio album Confessions and decided to "continue building" with previous producers, he branched out with several musical collaborators. Usher enlisted Philadelphia producers Andre "Dre" Harris and Vidal Davis of Dre & Vidal, along with other musical collaborators. During the sessions, Usher asked them to create a "real up-tempo beat". When they worked on the track, they partied the whole time which Dre considered a "partly record". He recalled, "We had some women, some drinks, some music." After Dre created the beat, they decided to "make sure the mood was inspiring during recording." They went to club to take a break, and played the song in Usher's truck while on the way. Usher felt the collaboration was pleasing, seeing other people responded positively to the song.

"Caught Up" was the fifth and final single from Confessions. It was released in the United States on November 30, 2004 as a 12" single. It was also released in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom on February 21, 2005 and on March 8 in Germany. The Germany release contains the album version of the song, three of its remixes and the single's music video. The song impacted US contemporary hit radio on January 11, 2005, alongside a remix featuring rapper, Fabolous.

Reception

"Caught Up" received positive reviews from contemporary critics. Andrew McGregor of BBC called the song "meaty" and "hip-grinding". Jon Caramanica of Blender magazine referred to the song like a "Southern marching band performing late-'80s R&B". He characterized Usher's voice playing like a rhythm instruments. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine complimented Dre and Vidal for producing an old-sounding music without sampling records, calling it "super-tight" alongside "Follow Me", another song from the album. Andy Kellman of Allmusic complimented the song as one of Usher's best moments in the album, together with "Burn". Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times called it a "thunderous song" from the album, adding that it gave Usher "a chance to do two of the things he does best: strut and pander".

Chart performance

"Caught Up" did not live up to the chart-topping performances of Confessions' previous four releases. In the United States, the single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number seventy-six. It peaked at number eight for two non-consecutive weeks, fifteen weeks after its release. "Caught Up" was the only single to not top the Hot 100 compared to the album's four previous releases. The single stayed on the Hot 100 for twenty-seven weeks.

Outside the United States, responses from music markets were relatively similar. "Caught Up" debuted and peaked at number nine on the United Kingdom, remaining on the chart for also nine weeks. It reached number ten in the Netherlands, and under top ten on the rest of European countries; much lesser in Finland where it only stayed for one week compared to other charts, remaining for several weeks. In Australia and New Zealand, the single reached number fifteen and twelve respectively.

Music video

The music video for "Caught Up" was directed by Mr. X, who was behind the laser light treatment of Usher's 2004 video "Yeah!". The video shows Usher and friends riding a car while heading to his live performance. On the way, they fist fight after Usher saves a woman from an antagonist. Usher realizes he is supposed to perform, and finally goes to the venue. The video ends with Usher performing the song in front of a large crowd. The music video debuted on MTV's Total Request Live on January 10, 2005 at number ten. The video remained on the countdown for thirty-four days.

Track listing

1. "Caught Up" (Album version) – 3:48
2. "Caught Up" (Official Remix) (featuring Fabolous) – 4:39
3. "Caught Up" (Bimbo Jones Remix) – 3:33
4. "Caught Up" (Delinquent "Whistle Crew" Re-Fix) – 7:55
5. "Caught Up" (Music Video) – 3:49