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''Here I Stand'' is the fifth studio album by American R&B recording artist Usher, released on May 13, 2008 by LaFace Records. Inspired by love for his new wife—Tameka Foster—and son, Usher recorded many ballads for the album. Prior to the album's recording, Usher split with his mother, Jonnetta Patton, as manager and hired Benny Medina. Usher's estranged father died months before the release of ''Here I Stand''; this also influenced themes of the album. It was originally to be titled "Measure of a Man", but Usher named it ''Here I Stand'' to mark "a new chapter in () life".〔 Usher promoted ''Here I Stand'' by performing on several television shows including ''Total Request Live'', ''106 & Park'' and ''Good Morning America''. Among other concert appearances, he embarked on a One Night Stand: Ladies Only Tour, performing fifteen shows in November 2008. Six singles were released from ''Here I Stand'': "Love in This Club", "Love in This Club Part II", "Moving Mountains", "What's Your Name", "Here I Stand" and "Trading Places". "Love in This Club", which features rapper Young Jeezy, topped the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and New Zealand Singles Chart. ''Here I Stand'' received generally positive reviews from music critics, who viewed it as a sign of growth and maturity from Usher, although others were unimpressed by the change in style from his 2004 album ''Confessions''. It debuted atop the ''Billboard'' 200, and sold 433,000 copies in the US in its first week of release, and has since sold 1.3 million copies in that country. The album also reached number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, UK Albums Chart and Australian Albums Chart, and has sold five million units worldwide. Although it had sold two million copies by August 2008, ''Here I Stand'' was seen as a commercial failure relative to ''Confessions'', which had sold nineteen million copies.〔〔 Tyler Lewis of PopMatters put the album's limited success down to Usher's and Foster's marriage; he believed that Usher's fans disliked Foster. ==Background== In 2004, Usher's fourth studio album, ''Confessions'' was released, becoming the most-shipped album in the United States. Before the album's release, he broke up with his girlfriend Chilli. In December 2005, he became romantically involved with stylist Tameka Foster; the two wed on August 3, 2007, although Usher's mother and manager, Jonnetta Patton, did not attend.〔 Foster gave birth to Usher Raymond V later that year. In May 2007, Usher split with Patton as his manager. This prompted "gossip" that Usher had "fired" her because of his growing relationship with Foster. He denied the claims, saying, "I love my mother ... I decided not to fire, not get rid of, but to give (mother ) the ultimate compliment—to retire her to be a full-time grandmother."〔 He continued by stating that the split was a mutual decision. It was speculated that Patton's dismissal was due to his engagement with Foster; Usher dismissed these claims on ''Total Request Live (TRL)'' in May 2008. In what MTV News' Shawn Adler called an "angry tirade", Usher stated, "My wife had nothing to do with me firing my mother — nothing like that, that's trash. I hear y'all talking crazy out there. She's a beautiful black woman. Stop. Stop talking. And I love her. Stop it." The outbreak was compared to Mariah Carey's unannounced 2001 appearance on ''TRL'', when she handed out popsicles to the show's audience and performed a "striptease", while some fans noted Usher's speech as evidence that Foster was being controlling of Usher. Usher hired Benny Medina as his new manager; Medina said of Usher, "The thing that excited me most is the intense commitment to his art, his incredible professionalism and the fact that I feel as though he's just hitting a stride." In January 2008, Usher's father, Usher Raymond III, died. Both men regretted not spending more time in each other's lives.〔 "Prayer for You", the seventh track on ''Here I Stand'', is an interlude dedicated to Usher's son, reflective on his relationship with his own father; "No matter what happened, my father always prayed for me. The only difference is, I'm gonna be there to be the father that my dad wished he was to me."〔 The first album name that artists and repertoire representative Mark Pitts conceived was "Measure of a Man", but that title had already been used by Clay Aiken for his debut album, so Usher called it ''Here I Stand''. Pitts said, "It was perfect because becoming a man is about going though pain, sorrow, and happiness. Usher's done that! From the love songs to the party joints, it's exactly the story he wanted to tell."〔 Usher noted ''Here I Stand'' as beginning "a new chapter in my life"; the album's liner notes contain a verse from 1 Corinthians 13: "When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things."〔 ''Here I Stand'' marked Usher's growth from boyhood to manhood.〔 In March 2007, it was announced that work on the album had begun.〔 Usher outlined the album's concept: "A lot of what I plan to offer with this album is kinda standing in this spot ... The king's back. I ain't gonna say 'back,' I never left." The Rich Harrison-produced track, titled "Dat Girl Right There", was leaked on November 11, 2007. The song charted on the ''Billboard'' Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs at number 74, due to high airplay. Featuring Ludacris—with whom Usher collaborated on "Yeah!" in 2004—the song was originally thought to be the lead single from ''Here I Stand''; however it was not included on the record.〔 Other potential tracks cited before the album's release were "All the Time" (produced by T-Pain) and "The Realest" (produced by Jermaine Dupri), although neither was included on the album. ''Here I Stand'' contains eighteen tracks; James "JLack" Lackey, Polow da Don, Tricky Stewart, Jazze Pha, The-Dream, Los da Mystro, will.i.am, Dupri, Manuel Seal, LRoc, Dre & Vidal, Bryan-Michael Cox, Stargate, Ne-Yo, Danja, Soundz and J. R. Rotem all produced tunes on the album. On the iTunes Store deluxe edition, "Revolver" was included, which was produced by Alexander "Prettyboifresh" Parhm. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Here I Stand (Usher album)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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