Usher's father, Usher Raymond III, died in January 2008. 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." Stop it." The outbreak was compared to Mariah Carey's unannounced 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. 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. 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. He denied the claims, saying, "I love my mother.I decided not to fire, not get rid of, but to give the ultimate compliment-to retire her to be a full-time grandmother." He continued by stating that the split was a mutual decision. This prompted "gossip" that Usher had "fired" her because of his growing relationship with Foster. In May 2007, Usher split with Patton as his manager. Foster gave birth to Usher Raymond V later that year. 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. Shortly before the album's release, he broke up with his girlfriend Chilli. Usher's fourth studio album, Confessions was released in 2004 and became the most-shipped album of the year.
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, whom he divorced in 2009. 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.Īlthough 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. Here I Stand debuted atop the Billboard 200, and sold 433,000 copies in the US in its first week of release, and has since sold 1.5 million copies in that country. Some music critics praised Usher's growth and maturity, while others were unimpressed by the change in style from Confessions (2004).
Here I Stand received mixed to positive reviews from music critics. "Love in This Club", which features rapper Young Jeezy, topped the Billboard Hot 100 and New Zealand Singles Chart. Five singles were released from Here I Stand: " Love in This Club", "Love in This Club Part II", " Moving Mountains", "What's Your Name" and " Trading Places". Among other concert appearances, he embarked on a One Night Stand: Ladies Only Tour, performing fifteen shows in November 2008. Usher promoted Here I Stand by performing on several television shows including Total Request Live, 106 & Park and Good Morning America. 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's estranged father died months before the release of Here I Stand this also influenced themes of the album. Prior to the album's recording, Usher split with his mother, Jonnetta Patton, as manager and hired Benny Medina. Inspired by love for his new wife-Tameka Foster-and son, Usher recorded many ballads for the album. Here I Stand is the fifth studio album by American R&B recording artist Usher, released on May 13, 2008 by LaFace Records. Usher Raymond (exec.), Mark Pitts (exec.), Polow da Don, Tricky Stewart, will.i.am, Jermaine Dupri, Dre & Vidal, Bryan-Michael Cox, Stargate, Danja, James "JLack" Lackey, The-Dream, Jazze Pha, L.O.S., Manuel Seal, Soundz, J.