Portal:R&B and Soul Music/Selected article/13
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"My Boo" is a duet between Usher and Alicia Keys, written by Jermaine Dupri, Keys, Usher, Manuel Seal and Adonis Shropshire. Set over a hip hop-style track, the song was produced by Dupri. It was included in the re-release of Usher's fourth album Confessions. The song received mixed reviews from critics, and garnered awards.
The song was released as the fourth single from the album in 2004. The single stayed on the top of Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks, but failed to equal the success of the album's first two releases, "Yeah!" and "Burn".
Usher and American R&B-soul singer Alicia Keys had previously collaborated with the remix of Keys' 2004 single "If I Ain't Got You", which was released in the United Kingdom. During the production of Usher's fourth studio album, Confessions, they thought for various female singers to pair him with the song. However, Jermaine Dupri, who co-wrote the song including Usher's number-one hits "Yeah!", "Burn" and "Confessions Part II", felt that he had established good relationship with Keys since she had worked with him and Usher.
Dupri based the concept of the song from the perspective of Keys and Usher had relationship in the past.For him, Usher and Keys "talk about how they used to be in love and how those feelings are still lingering despite the two not being involved anymore."[1] For Keys, "The song is talking about the first person you ever really had feelings for. I think we all know what that feels like. Even though you move on and meet new people, you always remember that first person."
"My Boo" is an R&B-hip hop song with a mid-tempo melody. It is composed in the key of F major, in common time. The lyrics are constructed in verse-chorus-chorus form. Usher starts the intro, and Keys followed her rap-intro, with background vocals from Usher. He proceeds to the first verse and chorus, leading to Keys singing another chorus, altering some of the lyrics of the original chorus to create a dialogue. Keys sings the second verse and Usher for the chorus, with background vocals from Keys. Keys repeats her version for the chorus. The song breaks with Usher and Keys singing "My oh, My oh, My oh, My oh, My Boo", one after the other. Usher repeats the chorus again, and they sing the intro of Keys.
