Hard II Love

Background

In an interview with Rap-Up, singer and songwriter Eric Bellinger explained that himself, along with Jermaine Dupri, Bryan-Michael Cox and Brian Alexander Morgan, were working on Usher's next album. Bellinger compared the album's music to Usher's Confessions, saying that it is "more urban" than Looking 4 Myself. The latter declared that his next album would show that he is "still Usher". In an interview with Billboard, Bellinger explained that Usher created music for his previous albums based on what people wanted to hear. For his follow-up project, he chose to do music based on "what he wants to do in his heart", placing R&B as the album's main focus.

On January 6, 2014, RCA Records CEO Peter Edge described Usher's album as "one of his best records," and stated that new music from the record would be released in conjunction with his return on the sixth season of The Voice, on February 24. The album would feature several guest appearances and contributions from Nicki Minaj, Pop & Oak, Steve Mostyn of Public School, Pharrell Williams, Jermaine Dupri, Diplo, Ed Sheeran, Skrillex, Drake and Chris Brown. Usher teamed up with Honey Nut Cheerios in a conjoint promotional effort, where the singer is shown dancing to the album's second single "She Came to Give It to You" with the Honey Nut Cheerios bee. During the outset of the commercial, the album's title was rumored to be UR, the singer's initials.

On September 8, 2014, Usher told Billboard, that the album would be indefinitely delayed, though wouldn't divulge further details due to the album not being finished; it was to be originally released in September 2014. On January 14, 2016, after continual delays of his eighth album, Usher announced via Instagram that the official title of the album would be titled Flawed. On August 2016, an iTunes New Zealand link popped up with a new Usher album, with the title of the album being called Hard II Love. He then confirmed the title on the late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live!.

The album's cover art is a portrait sculpture of Usher that was done by Daniel Arsham. The cracks and erosions in the sculpture represent flaws and that things and people are not always as perfect or beautiful as they appear on the outside, relating to some of the themes in the album.

Promotion

On August 26, 2016, Usher released the instant-grats from these tracks "Missin U" and "Champions" with the latter to be featuring in the upcoming boxing film Hands of Stone, where Usher portrays Sugar Ray Leonard. On September 2, 2016 he appeared on BBC Radio 1, Live Lounge, where he performed "No Limit" and "Crash" as well as singles from his previous albums. Usher performed "Crash" on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and The Ellen Show. Usher held multiple private listening sessions for Hard II Love. On September 13, 2016 he had an exclusive playback listening session put on by Tidal held at the Ace Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Radio host Big Boy led the intimate session, where Usher talked about the new album track-by-track. On September 16, 2016 the evening of his album release, Usher hosted and performed songs from the album at his private listening party hosted by iHeartRadio and AT&T Live at Pier 15 in New York City.

Singles

On June 9, 2016, Usher released the album's first single from the music streaming platform Tidal, titled "No Limit". The track features guest verse from an American rapper Young Thug, with the production that was provided by B. A. M. and Rock City. Usher performed it at the BET Experience and first live televised performance of the song at 2016's BET Awards, which took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California on June 26, 2016. The track peaked at number 32 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number nine on the US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number four on the rhythmic charts.

On June 10, 2016, the album's second single, titled "Crash" was released for all digital platforms and it's music video was uploaded to Vevo on June 16, 2016. The track was produced by f a l l e n and Carlos St. John.

On August 26, "Missin U" was released for online streaming and digital download, along with "Champions". The former was produced by Andrew Wansel and Autoro Whitfield.

On August 30, 2016, Usher released "Rivals" and its accompanying music video on Tidal. The track features guest verse from Atlanta-native and American hip hop recording artist Future, with the production that was provided by K-Major and Murphy Kid.

On September 13, 2016, both "Missin U" and "Rivals" impacted US urban adult contemporary radio as the album's third and fourth singles.

Critical reception

Hard II Love received generally positive reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 74, based on 8 reviews. Maura Johnston of Rolling Stone expresses that Hard II Love, "stretches the boundaries of R&B while winding toward the brooding atmospherics that have enveloped much of pop over the past 12 months." Chris DeVille of Stereogum wore that the album "suggests Usher will continue to make hits, headline arenas, and be one of the world's most beloved musical superstars. The guy's natural singing prowess and effortless ability to jump across genre make him a national treasure. In just about every context, he sounds like a pro."

The New York Times John Pareles commented "he has all the gifts and skills he needs, starting with a genuinely expressive voice that encompasses an ardent croon, a melting falsetto and quick, singsong declamation that puts him at the border of rapping. Told Wright from Vulture wrote "the album is a true return to form for the R&B artist, complete with falsetto crooning and sexy bed-thumping beats". Ira Madison III from MTV wrote that "sexy bangers like 'Bump,' 'Tell Me,' and 'Make U a Believer', helps Usher meets his goals and then some on Hard II Love after seeing few years 'experimenting' with music, he told us, now he's ready to release a classic R&B album again". John Reyes of Idolator wrote Hard II Love is impressive because it shows an R&B vet who's been around for two decades and has sold 43 million albums worldwide. Clover Hope of Jezebel complimented Usher's vocals, saying that "his seamless melodies and fluid vocal strokes remain leaps and bounds ahead of his peers". AllMusic's Andy Kellman felt that Hard II Love " is the most pleasing Usher album in over a decade. In terms of ability, agility, and creativity, Usher's vocals still crush the commercial competition."

Commercial performance

In his home country of United States, Hard II Love debuted at number five on the Billboard 200, with 38,000 album-equivalent units. It sold 28,000 copies in its first week. The album was also streamed 10.7 million times on Tidal in the first week. It marked the Usher's eighth top five album on the chart.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for Hard II Love adapted from AllMusic.

Managerial

Visuals and imagery

Performance credits

Production