The album sold 1.1 million copies in the first week making him the first R&B artist to sell over 1 million copies in the first week and 16 years later he is still the only one to do so. In 2004 Usher spent 28 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100 with a record 4 #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 (Yeah!, Confessions part II, Burn, and My Boo) and the fifth single, Caught Up, was also a top ten single.That album is certified diamond by the RIAA for sales of over 10 million in the US and over 20 million copies worldwide. Confessions was also the second best selling album of the 2000s decade and is still in the top 5 best selling albums of the millenium. He is not only the last male artist to have a diamond album, but the last black artist as well.

He did things even top dogs like Beyonce, Rihanna, Drake, Britney Spears, really no one did after him and I'm starting to wonder, will we ever see an era this phenomenal in the near future? Ever again? (I hope so cuz it would be very exciting to say the least.)

[Edited 6/14/20 14:32pm]

alphastreet said:

Hard to know, but I think that era was so overrated

Why? It was one of the biggest eras for any music star ever.

beast44 said:

alphastreet said:

beast44 said:

Why? It was one of the biggest eras for any music star ever.

I just preferred the music of his my way and 8701 albums. I liked yeah and caught up, he was definitely huge that time

Oh I see. I'm guessing you're one of the ones who just hates everything after Confessions too right? lol. Don't be afraid to admit it, everyone says that.

beast44 said:

How is 4 no 1's a record when MJ had 5 no's 1's from one album in the 80s?

You cannot equate era's period. Because there is such a overload of music out there good and bad, there are just so many channels and the way its consumed now diminishes it with its long term value. I know people DONT like to face it and the argument is "oh you just dont want to embrace streaming and the new ways" which is not true because I am older I have both, I have a streaming service but I still buy the artists that I want and try to support them by buying directly from them because streaming them makes them nothing. But also why its value now is diminished you can have this kick ass streaming collection classic stuff new stuff whatever, but you own nothing, there is that part of the equation that goes away. ALSO back in the day you had this GIANT ALBUM that you bought, big, artwork, notes, sometimes it was a gatefold, OK then that went away to this smaller, version of an album, the CD, they will last longer smaller take up less space and weight etc... And now, you shrink it all the way down to nothing, a little square on your screen, i cant touch it read it, know who played etc... and honestly i have stuff digitally I didnt know I even had, its almost non existent, so its forgettable. And as soon as you say this people lose their shit with the lame comeback of "accept the new times". I have accepted it but dont equate eras and artists over era's and sales because there is no comparisons, I cant equate someone streaming a million times to someone selling a Million albums or someone having twenty songs hit the top 10 in these times of streaming to the day when things actually had to physically bought, like you had to leave the house and buy the thing not click an arrow or presave it and its on your phone that day as if you actually invested something into this, thats A BS comparison it just is. So this comparison of the USHER era or MJ whatever will this ever happen again, answer NO nothing will ever happen again, because it already happened a different way. If all of a sudden you actually have to go to stores to buy an album or a disc and someone sells twenty million of a record and then also has six top tens from that album but those are physical singles being sold then yes I will say OH THAT HAPPENED AGAIN, but sorry eras come and go and there is no comparison.

beast44 said:

alphastreet said:

beast44 said:

Oh I see. I'm guessing you're one of the ones who just hates everything after Confessions too right? lol. Don't be afraid to admit it, everyone says that.

I really liked some of his singles after confessions. Even participated in a dance medley for an event that included DJ got us falling in love and omg

OMG and DJ got us fallin in love are huge. I think his album Here I Stand was his last true classic album. Afterwards, his albums were never terrible, but great; not amazing like they were before. He still had big singles like Climax, Good Kisser, There Goes My Baby, Without You w/ David Guetta, No Limit, I Don't Mind. His song with Summer Walker, Come Thru samples his own hit You Make Me Wanna and it's I think her second biggest hit. He was basically the reason Chris Brown got a top 40 hit on his Heartbreak On A Full Moon album with the song Party as it was the only top 40 hit from that album. Usher still has big hits, but his albums have goen from amazing to great. He's in a great place for a 41 year old who's been in the industry for over 25 years though. His song Don't Waste My Time just hit #1 on the Adult R&B Songs chart so he's still relevant and a few more hits isn't out of the question. New artists are also sampling him and getting big hits from it, too. He just finished working on his next album which Jermaine Dupri and Bryon Cox and a lot of R&B fans are excited since the last time Usher and JD did a full album together was Confessions.

nextedition said:

How is 4 no 1's a record when MJ had 5 no's 1's from one album in the 80s?

He tied with a few other artists for second place

lastdecember said:

You cannot equate era's period. Because there is such a overload of music out there good and bad, there are just so many channels and the way its consumed now diminishes it with its long term value. I know people DONT like to face it and the argument is "oh you just dont want to embrace streaming and the new ways" which is not true because I am older I have both, I have a streaming service but I still buy the artists that I want and try to support them by buying directly from them because streaming them makes them nothing. But also why its value now is diminished you can have this kick ass streaming collection classic stuff new stuff whatever, but you own nothing, there is that part of the equation that goes away. ALSO back in the day you had this GIANT ALBUM that you bought, big, artwork, notes, sometimes it was a gatefold, OK then that went away to this smaller, version of an album, the CD, they will last longer smaller take up less space and weight etc... And now, you shrink it all the way down to nothing, a little square on your screen, i cant touch it read it, know who played etc... and honestly i have stuff digitally I didnt know I even had, its almost non existent, so its forgettable. And as soon as you say this people lose their shit with the lame comeback of "accept the new times". I have accepted it but dont equate eras and artists over era's and sales because there is no comparisons, I cant equate someone streaming a million times to someone selling a Million albums or someone having twenty songs hit the top 10 in these times of streaming to the day when things actually had to physically bought, like you had to leave the house and buy the thing not click an arrow or presave it and its on your phone that day as if you actually invested something into this, thats A BS comparison it just is. So this comparison of the USHER era or MJ whatever will this ever happen again, answer NO nothing will ever happen again, because it already happened a different way. If all of a sudden you actually have to go to stores to buy an album or a disc and someone sells twenty million of a record and then also has six top tens from that album but those are physical singles being sold then yes I will say OH THAT HAPPENED AGAIN, but sorry eras come and go and there is no comparison.

Never thought of it this way. So what type of era would ou say has been a huge era? I think the last two eras Adele had with 21 and 25 were huge. Since streaming has overtaken the industry, I think Drake had a huge run with his Scorpion album. Hip hop fans haven't deemed the album anywhere close to a classic album, but the hits from that album were hugely popular. He had 3 #1s and spent 29 weeks atop the Hot 100. Lil Nas X also had a huge debut single with Old Town Road which spent 19 weeks atop the Hot 100 making it the longest running #1 hit ever, but I'd cal him a one or two hit wonder since he said he's releasing his album this year and no one has been excited for it lol

EDIT: And I don't mean in comparison to Confessions, just a huge era in general this past few years (2010s decade in general)

[Edited 6/15/20 17:20pm]

beast44 said:

beast44 said:

lastdecember said:

You cannot equate era's period. Because there is such a overload of music out there good and bad, there are just so many channels and the way its consumed now diminishes it with its long term value. I know people DONT like to face it and the argument is "oh you just dont want to embrace streaming and the new ways" which is not true because I am older I have both, I have a streaming service but I still buy the artists that I want and try to support them by buying directly from them because streaming them makes them nothing. But also why its value now is diminished you can have this kick ass streaming collection classic stuff new stuff whatever, but you own nothing, there is that part of the equation that goes away. ALSO back in the day you had this GIANT ALBUM that you bought, big, artwork, notes, sometimes it was a gatefold, OK then that went away to this smaller, version of an album, the CD, they will last longer smaller take up less space and weight etc... And now, you shrink it all the way down to nothing, a little square on your screen, i cant touch it read it, know who played etc... and honestly i have stuff digitally I didnt know I even had, its almost non existent, so its forgettable. And as soon as you say this people lose their shit with the lame comeback of "accept the new times". I have accepted it but dont equate eras and artists over era's and sales because there is no comparisons, I cant equate someone streaming a million times to someone selling a Million albums or someone having twenty songs hit the top 10 in these times of streaming to the day when things actually had to physically bought, like you had to leave the house and buy the thing not click an arrow or presave it and its on your phone that day as if you actually invested something into this, thats A BS comparison it just is. So this comparison of the USHER era or MJ whatever will this ever happen again, answer NO nothing will ever happen again, because it already happened a different way. If all of a sudden you actually have to go to stores to buy an album or a disc and someone sells twenty million of a record and then also has six top tens from that album but those are physical singles being sold then yes I will say OH THAT HAPPENED AGAIN, but sorry eras come and go and there is no comparison.

Never thought of it this way. So what type of era would ou say has been a huge era? I think the last two eras Adele had with 21 and 25 were huge. Since streaming has overtaken the industry, I think Drake had a huge run with his Scorpion album. Hip hop fans haven't deemed the album anywhere close to a classic album, but the hits from that album were hugely popular. He had 3 #1s and spent 29 weeks atop the Hot 100. Lil Nas X also had a huge debut single with Old Town Road which spent 19 weeks atop the Hot 100 making it the longest running #1 hit ever, but I'd cal him a one or two hit wonder since he said he's releasing his album this year and no one has been excited for it lol

EDIT: And I don't mean in comparison to Confessions, just a huge era in general this past few years (2010s decade in general)

[Edited 6/15/20 17:20pm]

I dont think huge really exists now anymore because of streaming and so much music out there. And i feel the absebce of a product, i mean digital is invisible even if you bought it and streaming forget it you dont even own it. The rule with streaming is that a song counts if you listen to thrity seconds and that is considered you listening to it so I never get into like the whole Nicki Minaj has more singles than so and so and Drake this and that, I mean they are big media stars that is a lot different than what other eras had. I mean we can argue that Michael Jackson or Prince or Madonna or Bruce Springsteen etc..in that 80's era were not only visual stars, they were media, they were touring, they were on every radio, every tv, people were buying the albums, the cds the singles etc... that I cant compare to someone streaming Camila Cabello Havana five million times, not to take anything from her or others getting streaming numbers but its not a comparison at all. And my comparison with the physical size of what you were getting went from Big to Medium to invisible, I was listening to an Interview recenlty with Ricahrd Marx and he was mentioning this and a friend of his made this comparison because Richard had mentioned I still buy music, I'll Pre-order it on Itunes and Friday it will appear in my library but its RARE that i go right away and listen even if its an artist hes a diehard fan of. So i cant really make a call on what is big now or was big, each decade has big artists but i think once you get to the last 15 years I really shrinks because of digital and just streaming its not even a comparison to Usher or Adele or in the 90's with Mariah or Celine or Pearl Jam and Nirvana or even the boy bands and Britney.

beast44 said:

Well, we have seen a few singles hold the top spot for months at a time, eg. "Despacito" and "Old Town Road".

So, compare Usher's Confessions to albums by those acts and perhaps you might have an appreciation for his era.

Usher went pop. We had Lady Gaga and Adele since then for big albums, but it would be great to have a soul artist to get behind on that level.

Cinny said:

Well, we have seen a few singles hold the top spot for months at a time, eg. "Despacito" and "Old Town Road".

So, compare Usher's Confessions to albums by those acts and perhaps you might have an appreciation for his era.

Usher went pop. We had Lady Gaga and Adele since then for big albums, but it would be great to have a soul artist to get behind on that level.

I still think its more than that. Those were big streaming hits HUGE difference like I mentioned there is no comparison in the music consumption I think the entire streaming era and its numbers needs to be looked at in a different light. I think the charts the way they are tabulated is so insane now, the fact that you play thirty seconds of a song and it counts towards chart positions is pretty ridiculous. So you can have what in todays standards is a big HIT but to compare it to an album selling a few million, actual purchasing an item, is just not applicable. I dont think you will ever have artists that are that big in music, its a new day, you have media stars now that dabble in music. With the surge of social media where i can see an artist 24/7 why should i care about your music? Its like Eddie Murphy said in the 80's "I dont do commercials on tv because i do films, if someone can see me on tv every five minutes why come see my movie" and that can be said even now of everyone because media is just over saturated, and there is no filter, no conscious effort to promote artists anymore its more about what is your brand and how can we sell it. Also the focus on doing one song now and not albums, you really will never have big artists again. Its like comparing someone doing "Instagram live shows" and somehow thinking that will replace LIVE shows in the future

lastdecember said:

Cinny said:

Well, we have seen a few singles hold the top spot for months at a time, eg. "Despacito" and "Old Town Road".

So, compare Usher's Confessions to albums by those acts and perhaps you might have an appreciation for his era.

Usher went pop. We had Lady Gaga and Adele since then for big albums, but it would be great to have a soul artist to get behind on that level.

I still think its more than that. Those were big streaming hits HUGE difference like I mentioned there is no comparison in the music consumption I think the entire streaming era and its numbers needs to be looked at in a different light. I think the charts the way they are tabulated is so insane now, the fact that you play thirty seconds of a song and it counts towards chart positions is pretty ridiculous. So you can have what in todays standards is a big HIT but to compare it to an album selling a few million, actual purchasing an item, is just not applicable. I dont think you will ever have artists that are that big in music, its a new day, you have media stars now that dabble in music. With the surge of social media where i can see an artist 24/7 why should i care about your music? Its like Eddie Murphy said in the 80's "I dont do commercials on tv because i do films, if someone can see me on tv every five minutes why come see my movie" and that can be said even now of everyone because media is just over saturated, and there is no filter, no conscious effort to promote artists anymore its more about what is your brand and how can we sell it. Also the focus on doing one song now and not albums, you really will never have big artists again. Its like comparing someone doing "Instagram live shows" and somehow thinking that will replace LIVE shows in the future

I agree and acknowledge that. Just imagine if you scraped away the streams on a bar graph, that the tallest bars would remain to be the hit songs we heard.

Cinny said:

I think Dreck has had more success, in a weird pseudo-soul lane.

Cinny said:

I thik D'angelo could pull it off if he had a work ethic........

Will anyone reach the heights of Usher's Confessions era anytime soon?

ANSWER: Not until a new artist comes along that can actually write a good hip-hop/r&b/soul song that tells a good story AND has meaning.

Graycap23 said:

I thik D'angelo could pull it off if he had a work ethic........

Yeah right. Prince STILL has a better work ethic than he does.

TonyVanDam said: