Love in This Club

Background

Atlanta-based music producer Polow da Don was inspired to create a beat during his weekend stay in Las Vegas for the MTV Video Music Awards. He said of the song, "If you listen to the beat, the synths and everything has a [Las] Vegas feel to it. Making love in the club, people in [Las] Vegas are kinda wild." He also noted its Euro influences. When he finished working on the material, da Don felt it fit for Usher, hoping that it would keep female listeners interested in Usher's music, as his popularity had declined among women since his marriage to stylist Tameka Foster in July 2007. Da Don and Usher wrote the track with rapper Young Jeezy, Darnell Dalton, Ryon Lovett, Lamar Taylor and Keith Thomas, and it was recorded at Zac Recording, Atlanta and Hitland Studios, Alpharetta.

It was not originally planned for Young Jeezy to appear on the track. After hearing "Love in This Club", he wanted to contribute to it. Da Don was skeptical, but recorded Young Jeezy's verse. He played the new version to Usher who, enjoying the new version, allowed the verse to stay. Usher has since called Young Jeezy "one of the greatest rappers of our generation". According to Alabama rapper Gucci Mane, it was initially intended that he feature on the track, rather than Young Jeezy.

Composition

"Love in This Club" is a mid-tempo R&B slow jam, with a brass bassline, and shuddering synth-driven beats that have been called "space age" and "sex-drenched" by critics. It contains hip-hop influences. Rap-Up likened the song to Lil Jon's song, "Lovers and Friends", on which Usher appeared, while Fraser McAlpine of BBC Radio 1 wrote that it features vague similarities to "No Woman, No Cry" by Bob Marley. According to the sheet music published by Hal Leonard Corporation at Musicnotes.com, the song is written in common time with a tempo of 70 beats per minute and follows the chord progression of C major–E minor–A minor–F major.

About.com's Mark Edward Nero wrote that "on the song, Usher talks about a lust so immediate, so powerful, that it makes him want to get down [and have sex] right then and there". The song's chorus consists of the hook, "I wanna make love in this club". Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly called the lyrics of the song "libidinous".

Release and critical reception

Early in 2008, several songs for Usher's fifth studio album leaked into the Internet, including "Love in This Club". Usher called the incident an "internal conspiracy" because it was unofficially released beyond his awareness. This also happened to the lead single "Yeah!" off his 2004 album Confessions, which was intentionally leaked by its producer, Lil Jon, in 2003. Polow da Don later told that he had leaked "Love in This Club", echoing Lil John's actions. He felt the song would be a hit, but that "it was so much back-and-forth between Usher and his record label" and he was tired of waiting on "label politics". The song was released for sale on February 22, 2008.

The production of "Love in This Club" was praised by the Los Angeles Times, as was Usher's vocal effort. Andy Kellman of Allmusic and Jonathan Tjarks of Austin360.com noted the song as a standout from Here I Stand. Blender rated the song two-and-a-half out of five stars, calling it too safe and lethargic. Digital Spy's Nick Levine enjoyed the song, but noted its lack of originality. Jim Farber from Daily News was not impressed, writing "'Love in This Club' doesn't sound like a club anthem at all. It's too slow and quiet, and...its smeary synth hook sounds like a planed-down version of a Justin Timberlake hit."

Young Jeezy's addition received clashing responses from reviewers. Billboard's Sophie Baratta was not impressed with the verse, but called the song "a catchy tune". Bill Lamb of About.com praised the rapper's effort, but expected better from Usher after a four-year break since Confessions, writing that he is "retread[ing] territory familiar to fans of Akon and T-Pain", awarding the song two-and-a-half out of five stars. BBC Radio 1's Fraser McAlpine rated the song four stars out of five, but called Young Jeezy's rap "growling" and "wheezy".

This single ranked at number one on the "10 Best Singles of 2008" list by American magazine Entertainment Weekly, while Time's Josh Tyrangiel placed it at number eight on its 2008 "Songs of Summer" list. MTV News listed the song as the fifth-best R&B tune of the year, and it won the Ozone Award for Best Rap/R&B Collaboration. On "The 50 Sexiest Songs of All Time", compiled by Billboard in 2010, "Love in Thus Club" placed at number twenty-seven.

Chart performance

"Love in This Club" debuted at number eighty-three on the Billboard Hot 100, on the issue dated March 1, 2008. The next week it moved to number fifty-one, due to high airplay. The song continued to receive many spins, and in its third week it reached the top of the Hot 100, gaining the 'Airplay Gainer' honor the same week. Replacing "Low" by Flo Rida and T-Pain, "Love in This Club" also sold 198,000 downloads in that week. On April 5, 2008, the song was again named the 'Airplay Gainer', however it was shifted from the number-one spot by Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love", having spent three weeks atop the chart. It fell off on June 7, having spent twelve weeks on the chart. On the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, the song first appeared on February 23, 2008 at number fifty-one making it the highest debut of the week. On April 12 it replaced Keyshia Cole's "I Remember" at number one. After four weeks "Love in This Club" was moved from the top spot by Lil Wayne's "Lollipop". The song also reached number four on the Pop 100, and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). On the year-end charts for 2008, it was ranked number eight on the Hot 100, number fifteen on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and number thirteen on the Pop 100. It was also ranked number eighty-five on the 2000s' Hot 100 list, and number ninety-nine on the decade-end Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. As of August 1, 2010, "Love in This Club" has sold 2,453,000 units, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

Internationally, the song reached the top ten of numerous singles charts. It reached number six on the Canadian Hot 100, number four on the UK Singles Chart, number eight on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, number three on the Irish Singles Chart, and number five on the Japan Hot 100, and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Having been certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand, it also topped the New Zealand Singles Chart, replacing "No Air" by Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown on May 5, 2008. After one week it was removed by Brown's "Forever", and was certified platinum on June 1, 2008. The single also found chart success in Europe, reaching number three on the European Hot 100 Singles. In individual countries, "Love in This Club" attained top-ten places in Flanders, France, Germany, Norway, Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland. It also appeared on the singles charts of Austria, Wallonia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, and the Netherlands. In 2008, "Love in This Club" sold 5.6 million digital downloads worldwide.

Music video

In February 2008 Usher said that the song's music video would be shot "very soon". Directed by the Brothers Strause, it features cameo appearances from Keri Hilson, Kanye West, Diddy, Nelly, Rick Ross and Robin Thicke. Hilson plays Usher's love interest in the video. Usher's then-wife, Tameka Foster, worked as the stylist on the video set. It was alleged that Foster was upset with Hilson playing the love interest in the video, and, according to a person on the set, "Tameka dressed Keri very badly – she looked like an extra." However, Usher's manager, Benny Medina, reported that "Keri could not have been happier with Tameka's choices in the styling".

The music video starts with Usher waking up inside an empty nightclub. He calls out to see if anyone is there and sees Hilson, whom he follows into a room full of people dancing as a disc jockey starts playing music. Usher chases Hilson around the club, who at times mysteriously vanishes. The two dance intimately throughout the video at the club's bar, dance floor and lounge. Its choreography was likened to Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation" routine. The video concludes with the club burning down and Usher waking up in a valley. The storyline is continued in the "Moving Mountains" clip. During the video Usher is shown using a Sony Ericsson W350i Walkman, as part of Usher's endorsement of the company.

The music video premiered on MTV on April 7, 2008, and was the fourteenth-most streamed video on MTV.com in 2008, and was nominated as the Best Male Video at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. However, it lost to Chris Brown's "With You" video.

Live performances

Usher sang "Love in This Club" with Young Jeezy at reality television show The Hills' third season finale on May 12, and again, by himself, at the finale of the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars on May 20, 2008. On June 23, 2008, at the opening of the 2008 BET Awards, Usher performed the song. Usher also appeared on television shows The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Good Morning America, where he performed the song.

Remix

A remix, "Love in This Club Part II", was released as the second single from Here I Stand in April 2008. Featuring vocals from R&B singer Beyoncé and rapper Lil Wayne, the sequel samples The Stylistics' "You Are Everything", and has a slower tempo than the original. It appeared on the Billboard Hot 100, the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, the Canadian Hot 100 and the ARIA Singles Chart.

Credits

Cover versions