Fridae

The only thing that I have always expected from Usher is for him to strip to his boxers and douse his raging "fire" with a bottle of Evian every time he does a live show.

It's probably because of his similar tedious performances in his music throughout the years that made me jump a little in surprise at first listen to 8701. His last "live" CD was so annoying that it ended up as a mug coaster on my desk right after it mysteriously shot out of my stereo. Hey, at least it finally found a purpose for existence.

The common keyword here is maturity. Usher has grown from being a "wannabe" of his idols to an idol himself. He's discarded his tough-guy street image to put on a more sophisticated look that's typical of R&B/Soul artists like Brian McKnight and Maxwell. The poignant ballads Separated and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis-produced Can You Help Me (two of the best tracks in 8701) pronounce this new spirit of his.

The Malaysian version of the CD contains three additional tracks: the former-mentioned Separated, T.T.P, and Pop Ya Collar, which was earlier pushed out as a single from All About U that was supposed to be released earlier this year. That is, until Napster got a hold of a leaked copy of the CD and audiences booed it. Suffice to say, 8701 (referring to its release date) was proudly made with increased efforts.

If you're still looking for bad-boy lyrics that will make you wanna cheat on your lover (shame on you), you're in luck! Usher is still down and immorally dirty in tracks like If I Want To, which has him announcing "If I wanted I could take you from your man�with my eyes closed".

Yup, he sure can.