In his immense music catalog, Usher has numerous songs that everyone loves. But “Yeah!” is a legendary song. While the song is Usher’s biggest hit to date, he wasn’t sold that the song would be a hit as the lead single for Confessions.
Sean Garrett, the acclaimed songwriter who penned the song, revealed that Usher was not sure about the song in an appearance on the “We In Miami” podcast.
“He hated it… Yeah, he didn’t like that,” Garrett recalled. “When I went out, flew out to L.A., Usher made me wait eight hours downstairs… so finally he came downstairs, and not only did he do it, but he put his foot in it.”
Although it became a smash out of the gate, Garrett shared that Usher still was not sure if “Yeah!” could be the first single of his Confessions album.
“When it came time to do the video, it was the number one record in the country. And Usher still wasn’t with it,” he said.
Lil Jon, who is featured on the song along with Ludacris, began promoting the track when Usher finished recording it to DJs. Eventually, it took like a rocket and would soon become an in-demand track in the clubs.
To say that the song was a success would be an understatement. Incorporating Usher’s R&B and Lil Jon’s “crunk” sound, was a recipe for an undeniable classic. “Yeah!” held down the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 12 consecutive weeks. It also was the longest-running number-one single in 2004. Ironically, “Yeah!” was moved out of the number one position by Usher’s second single “Burn.” To date, the song has sold over 13 million copies in the U.S.
Across the globe, “Yeah!’ was certified platinum in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Germany, and Norway.
Leave a Reply