Usher Feels ‘Confessions’ Brought Accountability To Infidelity

Earlier this week, Usher‘s Confessions landed at No. 95 on Apple Music‘s 100 Best Albums list.

As part of the campaign and in honor of the 20th anniversary of his magnum opus, he revealed some new insight behind his Diamond-certified album. The crooner first admitted that he believes Confessions brought a sense of accountability in relation to infidelity.

“It was a humanizing experience that made you say, ‘Oh, you go through the same things that I go through and experience the same feelings and vulnerability that I do.’ It was just the opportunity to be honest about it, and it was probably the most honest I had been,” he confessed.

Looking back at the real-life moments that inspired the album, he feels that being young didn’t justify his behavior; it boiled down to “the desire and the clearing of conscience.” He also revealed that it was Lauryn Hill’s Miseducation album helped him tap into that deep level of vulnerability.

“I listened to that album a lot and thought about the honesty that was in it, the vulnerability that was in that album, and being able to now have my shot at it because people know this much about me. They know I’m an entertainer. They know that I want to please them with entertainment, but they don’t know about me,” said the 45-year-old.

Not only did Usher believe Confessions allowed him to be more vulnerable, but it also opened the door for men to be honest about their emotions.

“Men don’t necessarily always have an outlet. We’re not really comfortable speaking to a therapist in that way, and if we’ve gotten to the place where we can be honest,” he explained. “We let it out in a barbershop. You know what I’m saying? We let it out in private quarters and there were not really a lot of spaces and things or moments where we could kind of make that connection in this way. Hell, yeah, there were cultural albums and things that were relevant to us that we would all share in saying, but that was some really, really unfortunate and dark truths that would unfold in this album.”

Usher was set to perform Confessions in its entirety for the first time at Lovers & Friends Fest, but the 1-day event was canceled. There’s no word on whether it will be rescheduled as its own stand-alone moment. For now, check out his full chat with Apple Music above.