Usher tells a lady that she’s special (“Follow Me,” “Superstar”) and wants to fix a broken romance (“Throwback”). “Simple Things” advises men to spend time on a woman, not just money. The cautionary “Confessions Part II” eavesdrops on an unfaithful cad struggling to tell the girl he loves that his “chick on the side” is pregnant. However …
That track and others are peppered with mild profanities. The hit “Yeah!” (with Ludacris and Lil’ Jon) finds guys on the prowl at a nightclub. There’s talk of getting women naked and wanting “a lady in the street, but a freak in the bed.” Drinking at a bar is just an appetizer before casual sex with a “Bad Girl” (impatient, the singer says, “I wanna take one to the rest room”). Infidelity is the central theme of “Caught Up,” which mentions karma. Explicit sexual metaphors and graphic commentary are central to “Do It to Me” and “That’s What It’s Made For” (the latter ends with a breathless “g–d—”).
By selling nearly 1.1 million copies, Confessions set a new first-week record among male R&B singers. A few of its smooth, melodic cuts are worthy of that kind of attention. The rest are indecent. Show Usher the door.
