U Got It Bad

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"U Got It Bad"
Usher - U Got It Bad - CD cover.jpg
Single by Usher
from the album 8701
ReleasedAugust 21, 2001 (2001-08-21)
Recorded2000
StudioSouthside (Atlanta, Georgia)
GenreR&B
Length4:07
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Jermaine Dupri
  • Bryan-Michael Cox
Usher singles chronology
"U Remind Me"
(2001) 		"U Got It Bad"
(2001) 		"U Don't Have to Call"
(2002)

"U Got It Bad" is a song by American singer Usher, released through Arista Records as the second official single from his third studio album 8701 (2001). It was written by the singer, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox, and co-produced by the former two. It was released in the United States on August 21, 2001. "U Got It Bad" is an R&B ballad that, according to MTV, incorporates "digi-coustic" guitars, a "slow-burning bass line" and "sex funk" drums. The lyrics notably contain some quick direct allusions to other soul music ballads, mainly Maxwell's "Fortunate" and Prince's "Adore".

"U Got It Bad" topped the US Billboard Hot 100 for one week before being replaced for four weeks by Nickelback's "How You Remind Me". "U Got It Bad" then returned to number one, going on to stay atop for five consecutive weeks. With the song and previous single "U Remind Me", Usher was the only solo male act to have a number-one hit on the Hot 100 in 2001. The accompanying music video features TLC's Chilli as Usher's love interest.

Background and writing[]

"U Got It Bad" was written by Usher, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox. It was produced by the former and co-produced by the latter. Recording was done by Brian Frye and mixing by Dupri and Phil Tan, at Southside Studios, Atlanta, Georgia in 2000. John Horesco IV provided mixing assistance, William "Billy" Odum performed the Guitar and Usher provided all vocals.[1] The lyrics to the song were, according to Dupri, inspired by a true story. He and Usher were in the studio trying to record some music for the album, but Usher was continually distracted by a girl he had brought into the studio. Following an argument, the girl left. A while later, they started on talking on the phone, which prompted Dupri to kick Usher out of the studio telling him, “We’re going to do this [session] later on. You got it completely too bad right now. You got it bad.” This ignited the inspiration for the song, and once Usher had left, Dupri started writing its lyrics, with the notion that it was going to be a big hit. Once Usher had returned to the studio, Dupri shared the story of the song with him.[2] Talking to Complex, Dupri stated that "U Got It Bad" is another "Nice & Slow", saying that he produced the song as he wanted to re-produce a track similar to the latter in terms of success, for Usher's 8701 (2001).[3]

Composition and release[]

"U Got It Bad" is an R&B ballad.[4][5][6] According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, it is written in the key of B minor and has a metronome of 66 beats per minute.[6] Usher's vocal range spans from the low note of F#4 to the high note of A5.[6] The song is actually a semitone lower in the key of Bb minor, which would have the vocals span from F4 to Ab5. "U Got It Bad" is a slow jam, that makes use of "digi-coustic" guitars, a "slow-burning bass line" and "sex funk" drums.[7] Usher's vocals "floats and runs" between the song's melody's, before intensifying when entering the chorus.[7]

The Neptunes produced track, "I Don’t Know," was initially intended as the album's second single.[4] Rapper P. Diddy was to direct its music video in Los Angeles in July 2001.[4] The song was receiving radio play prior to the release of 8701's first single "U Remind Me".[8] However, Usher instead released "U Got It Bad" as the album's second single, as it presents his own unique sound, "If you wanna know what a Usher record is, then ["U Got It Bad" is] it," while using both Michael Jackson and Bobby Brown as examples of artists who "solidified" their music through their own unique music.[9] "U Got it Bad" was released as a CD Single in the US on December 18, 2001.[10]

Reception[]

"U Got It Bad" won the 2002 Teen Choice Love Song award.[11] In 2003, the song won an ASCAP Award for Publisher of the Year.[12]

Chart performance[]

"U Got It Bad" topped the US Billboard Hot 100 chart on the week of December 15, 2001, becoming Usher's third number-one song on the chart.[13] It was his second Hot 100 number one from 8701 after "U Remind Me", which reached the position in July of the same year.[13] "U Got It Bad" marked the first time he obtained two consecutive number one hits.[13] In December 2001, Usher became one of the few Arista acts to have more than one Hot 100 number one hit, with Whitney Houston having eleven, Barry Manilow and Milli Vanilli with three, and Monica and Juelz Santana with two.[13] "U Got It Bad" was also atop the Hot 100 Airplay chart that week, with an audience impression of 135 million.[13] The following week, the song was replaced by Nickelback's "How You Remind Me", moving it to number two.[14] Nickelback's single remained number one for four consecutive weeks, before being replaced by "U Got It Bad" on the week of January 8, 2002, which went on to top the Hot 100 for five weeks.[7] On the same week, the song broke the record for the highest audience impression on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, previously held by Alicia Keys, with 149,858,700 listeners.[15] The song's popularity helped 8701 rise from number twenty-three to eight on the US Billboard 200 on the week of October 11, 2001.[16]

Music video[]

TLC member Chilli co-starred as Usher's love interest in the video.

A music video for "U Got It Bad" was directed by Canadian filmmaker Little X.[17] Co-starring TLC member Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas as the female leaad, the video starts with Usher tossing and turning in bed, troubled by the thought of his ex-girlfriend (Thomas). After awakening, he turns on the TV, only to see his ex, a celebrity on her own, on every station. The video proceeds to introduce flashbacks of happier times between the two, suggesting that he still longs for his ex. In his desperation to find her, he braves the rain, bursting into her trailer to apologize to and reconcile with her. However, this is revealed to be his imagination, and instead of opening the door of the trailer, he walks away ashamed. Disgusted, he makes his way home and lies in his bed, alone.[17]

At the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, the video was nominated for Best Male Video and Best R&B Video.[18]

Track listing[]

CD single[10]

  1. "U Got It Bad" (Radio Mix)
  2. "U Got It Bad" (Tee's Latin Remix)
  3. "U Got It Bad" (Soulpower Remix)
  4. "U Got It Bad" (Tee's Inhouse Club Remix)
  5. "U Got It Bad" (Tee's Dub)
  6. "U Got It Bad" (CD-Rom Video)

Charts[]

Certifications and sales[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[48] 2× Platinum 140,000double-dagger
New Zealand (RMNZ)[49] Gold 5,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[50] Gold 400,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[51]
Mastertone 		Gold 500,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history[]

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States August 21, 2001 (2001-08-21)
[52]
United Kingdom October 8, 2001 (2001-10-08)
  • CD
  • cassette
 [53]
United States October 30, 2001 (2001-10-30) Contemporary hit radio [54]
Australia December 3, 2001 (2001-12-03) CD [55]
United States January 18, 2002 (2002-01-18) Hot adult contemporary radio [56]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ 8701 (CD liner). Usher. Arista Records. 2001. 74321 87471 2.CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  2. ^ Bronson, Fred; Clark, Dick (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (5th ed.). Billboard Books. p. 980. ISBN 0823076776. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  3. ^ Drake, David. "Usher "U Got It Bad" (2001)". Complex. Complex Mediaa. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b c Reid, Shaheem (July 11, 2001). "P. Diddy Directing Video For Usher's 'I Don't Know'". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved November 7, 2010.
  5. ^ "Top Ten Usher Songs". PopCrush. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Usher "U Got It Bad" Sheet Music". Musicnotes.com. Sony/ATV Music Publishing. Retrieved August 3, 2013.
  7. ^ Jump up to: a b c Anderson, Kyle (September 12, 2010). "Usher Makes The Top Of The Hot 100 Look 'Bad': Wake-Up Video". MTV News. Viacom. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  8. ^ Reid, Shaheem (April 18, 2001). "Usher Turns U Into 8701". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  9. ^ "Usher Rolls With 'U Got It Bad' As Next Single". Top40-Charts.com. August 10, 2001. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  10. ^ Jump up to: a b "U Got It Bad: Music". Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  11. ^ "2002 Teen Choice Award Winners". AllYourTV.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2007. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  12. ^ "Billboard". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 113 (50): 79. December 15, 2001. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Billboard". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 115 (25): 5. July 21, 2003. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  14. ^ "Billboard". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 113 (51): 8. December 22, 2001. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  15. ^ "Usher's 'U Got It Bad' Sets All-Time 1-Week Audience Chart Record With 149.85 Million Listeners, and Returns to #1". Arista Records through PR Newswire. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  16. ^ Reid, Shaheem (October 11, 2001). "Usher Lets Fans Title Upcoming Tour". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved August 12, 2013.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b "9 of Usher's most cinematic music videos". revolt.tv. June 27, 2020.
  18. ^ "2002 MTV Video Music Award nominees". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  19. ^ "Australian-charts.com – Usher – U Got It Bad". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  20. ^ "Ultratop.be – Usher – U Got It Bad" (in Dutch). Ultratip.
  21. ^ "Ultratop.be – Usher – U Got It Bad" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  22. ^ "Usher Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. June 10, 2018.
  23. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. October 27, 2001. p. 15. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  24. ^ "Lescharts.com – Usher – U Got It Bad" (in French). Les classement single.
  25. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Usher – U Got It Bad" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  26. ^ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Usher". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 25, 2020.
  27. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 44, 2001" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  28. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Usher – U Got It Bad" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  29. ^ "Charts.nz – Usher – U Got It Bad". Top 40 Singles.
  30. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  31. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Usher – U Got It Bad". Singles Top 100.
  32. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Usher – U Got It Bad". Swiss Singles Chart.
  33. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  34. ^ "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  35. ^ "Usher Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  36. ^ "Usher Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  37. ^ "Usher Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  38. ^ "Usher Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard.
  39. ^ "The Official UK Singles Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  40. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2001". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  41. ^ "ARIA Top 100 Singles for 2002". ARIA. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  42. ^ "Swiss Year-End Charts 2002" (in German). Retrieved December 2, 2018.
  43. ^ "Billboard Top 100 – 2002". Billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  44. ^ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2002". Billboard. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  45. ^ "2002 The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 114 no. 52. December 28, 2002. p. YE-97. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  46. ^ "The Decade in Music: Hot 100 Songs" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 121 no. 50. December 19, 2009. p. 158. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  47. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  48. ^ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2018 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  49. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Usher – U Got It Bad". Recorded Music NZ.
  50. ^ "British single certifications – Usher – U Got It Bad". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  51. ^ "American single certifications – Usher – U Got It Bad". Recording Industry Association of America.
  52. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1415. August 17, 2001. p. 56. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  53. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting October 8, 2001: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. October 6, 2001. p. 31. Retrieved August 16, 2021.
  54. ^ "CHR/Pop: Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1425. October 26, 2001. p. 39. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  55. ^ "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 3rd December 2001" (PDF). ARIA. December 3, 2001. p. 26. Retrieved June 5, 2021.
  56. ^ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1436. January 19, 2002. p. 31. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
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