Usher Goes “Numb” In Emotional New Music Video
Usher in The Music Video "Numb"
R&B/Pop superstar, Usher recently premiered his highly anticipated music video for his hit single, “Numb”, from his current album Looking 4 Myself. The video is by far one of his most emotionally gripping as he gives us all glimpse into his personal life unlike any of his videos of his before it. This video was released after a very public custody battle with his ex wife, Tameka Foster, over their two children Usher Raymond V and Naviyd Raymond. The music video makes visual references to many things from Usher’s life that were addressed in detail in a candid lengthy interview on OWN’s Oprah’s Next Chapter.
The video open’s with footage from his infamous concert at the O2 Arena Concert in Berlin Germany from January 2011. It was at that concert where Usher walked off the stage after only performing two songs for the crowd. Usher quickly sited a sinus infection for the reason behind the abrupt cancelation of various shows at that time. Later Usher revealed in his discussion with Oprah that his physical illness was actually part of his emotional breakdown in response to his failed marriage and the personal attacks that came during his very public divorce. Images of that concert was then a accompanied by a voice over that was very similar to his conversation with Oprah when discussing that day, then the music began and took us into a collage of personal images.. Some of those images include video of Usher with his two children, as well as scenes of Usher at man’s death bed who is meant to be his father. Usher and his father reunited after he was absent from his life for twenty years. This was also covered in Oprah’s interview, it was then when Usher explained how he had forgiven his father and was finally getting to know him before his passing. The video also shows Usher at a woman’s bed side in a hospital as well. That woman is presumed Tameka Foster from February of 2009 when she suffered a cardiac arrest prior to having cosmetic surgery, which was not performed. She was then induced into a coma to aid her recovery. Usher was forced to cancel his performance at Clive Davis’ Pre-Grammy party, which Davis said he had to bow out of due to a “serious injury in the family” These personal images of family and struggle are edited around a performance segment of the video which shows Usher dancing in what can be described as a glass box. As these personal images of his life begin to rhythmically be edited to climax with the tempo of the dance track, Usher is then seen breaking out of the box in his performance.
“Numb” was shot by directors Chris Applebaum and Grace Harry, and edited by Jacquelyn London , who all previously held the same positions for Usher’s video for “Dive”, a slow jam from Looking 4 Myself that has begun to break the Top 40 at R&B/Hip Hop chart formats. The team that was later behind “Numb” had their next video promoted first on October 9th. A video teaser was released on VEVO, while lyrics to the song were also tweeted by Usher to promote the video’s premiere Thursday evening.
Like Looking 4 Myself’s Pop cross over hit, “Scream”, the song “Numb” is another Electronica House based Dance track, this time produced by Swedish House Mafia, those guys also worked with Usher closely on another club hit from the album called “Euphoria.” Usher has become one of the best Urban R&B singers to have the ability to transition back and forth from the R&B/Hip Hop charts with slow songs, to the Pop charts with Dance tracks since Michael Jackson ins his heyday. Usher started dabbling in Dance inspired R&B on songs like “More” from Raymond V Raymond, as well as “DJ Got Us Falling In Love” on his Versus EP. That genre bending sound that Usher was working on hit its peak with his 2011 collaboration with David Guetta, “Without You”. That collaboration pushed Guetta’s popularity high enough to make him the most successful DJ in recorded music, as well as broadening Usher’s fan base all around the world. “Numb” continues in that tradition, as Usher continues to show the world that Dance music can be soulful when done right, Check out the new video for “Numb” below, its incredible.
Usher
“Numb”
From Looking 4 Myself
RCA Records
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