U Remind Me

"U Remind Me" is a song by American singer Usher. It was written by Edmund Clement and Anita McCloud and produced by Clement for Usher's third studio album 8701 (2001). A mid-tempo contemporary R&B track, the song is about a man who meets a woman who seems like a nice catch, but he decides not to enter a relationship with her because she looks too much like an ex-girlfriend with whom he had a bad breakup.

This article is about the song by Usher. For the song by Mary J. Blige, see You Remind Me. For the song by Nickelback, see How You Remind Me.

"U Remind Me"
Single by Usher
from the album 8701
ReleasedJune 19, 2001 (2001-06-19)[1]
Recorded2000–01
GenreR&B
Length4:27
LabelArista
Songwriter(s)
  • Anita McCloud
  • Edmund Clement
Producer(s)
Usher singles chronology
"Pop Ya Collar"
(2001)		 "U Remind Me"
(2001)		 "U Got It Bad"
(2001)
Music video
"U Remind Me" on YouTube
Audio sample
"U Remind Me"
  • file
  • help

The song served as the lead American single from 8701 following the release of previous single "Pop Ya Collar", which was only included in some editions of the album. "U Remind Me" topped the US Billboard Hot 100 on July 7, 2001, and also reached the top five in Australia, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The song won Usher his first Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 2002. Its accompanying music video features Chilli of TLC as one the female leads.

Composition

"U Remind Me" is a contemporary R&B song[2] written in the key of G♭ major, and is set in common time with a moderate tempo of 92 beats per minute. The song follows the chord progression of E♭m7-A♭m7-B♭m7, and the piano ranges from the low note of E♭2 to the high note of A♭5, while Usher's vocal range stretches from B♭2 to A♭5.[3]

The song's lyrics are based on meeting a woman who reminds Usher of an ex-girlfriend, and therefore cannot date her.[4][5]

Critical reception

James Poletti of Yahoo! Music noted the song as the best track on 8701, dubbing it the 2001 version of Craig David's "Fill Me In".[2] Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine also chose it as a highlight from the album.[6] In 2010, Boonsri Dickinson of AOL Radio ranked "U Remind Me" as Usher's ninth-best song.[5]

"U Remind Me" gained Usher his first Grammy Award, winning the category of Best Male R&B Vocal Performance at the 44th annual ceremony.[7] Other nominees for the award were Case's "Missing You", Maxwell's "Lifetime", Brian McKnight's "Love of My Life" and Musiq Soulchild's "Love".[8]

Music video

The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Dave Meyers.[9] The video features look-a-likes for singers Mýa, Brandy, and Tamia, while featuring the real Chilli of TLC at the end to show the theme of the women reminding him of his past relationships.[4] The video was filmed in April 2001.

Track listings

Charts

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[52] 2× Platinum 140,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)[53] Gold 5,000*
Sweden (GLF)[54] Gold 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[55] Platinum 600,000

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also
  • List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2001 (U.S.)
  • R&B number-one hits of 2001 (USA)

References
  1. Patel, Minal (July 7, 2001). "The Rhythm Section" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 113 no. 27. p. 27. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  2. Poletti, James (July 11, 2001). "Usher - 8701 Album Review". Yahoo! Music. Yahoo! UK & Ireland. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  3. "U Remind Me". Musicnotes.com. Windswept Holdings, LLC. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  4. "Usher : U Remind Me". NME. IPC Media. June 22, 2001. Archived from the original on November 29, 2010. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  5. Dickinson, Boonsri (2010). "Top 10 Usher Songs". AOL Radio. AOL. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  6. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "8701 - Usher". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  7. "Usher's Spring/Summer Tour Evolves". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  8. "Complete List Of Grammy Nominees". Los Angeles: CBS News. CBS Corporation. January 4, 2002. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  9. "Usher - U Remind Me". MTV. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  10. "U Remind Me [CASSETTE]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  11. "U Remind Me". Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  12. "Usher - U Remind Me". Matt's CD Singles. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  13. "Usher - U Remind Me". Matt's CD Singles. Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  14. "U Remind Me". Retrieved November 29, 2010.
  15. "Australian-charts.com – Usher – U Remind Me". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  16. "Ultratop.be – Usher – U Remind Me" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  17. "Ultratop.be – Usher – U Remind Me" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  18. "Usher Chart History (Canadian Digital Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  19. "Danishcharts.com – Usher – U Remind Me". Tracklisten.
  20. "Hits of the World". Billboard. September 22, 2001. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  21. "Lescharts.com – Usher – U Remind Me" (in French). Les classement single.
  22. "Offiziellecharts.de – Usher – U Remind Me". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  23. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – U Remind Me". Irish Singles Chart.
  24. "Italiancharts.com – Usher – U Remind Me". Top Digital Download.
  25. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 29, 2001" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
  26. "Dutchcharts.nl – Usher – U Remind Me" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  27. "Charts.nz – Usher – U Remind Me". Top 40 Singles.
  28. "Norwegiancharts.com – Usher – U Remind Me". VG-lista.
  29. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  30. "Swedishcharts.com – Usher – U Remind Me". Singles Top 100.
  31. "Swisscharts.com – Usher – U Remind Me". Swiss Singles Chart.
  32. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  33. "Official Dance Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  34. "Official R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company.
  35. "Usher Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  36. "Usher Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  37. "Usher Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  38. "Usher Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard.
  39. "2001 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  40. "Rapports annuels 2001" (in French). Ultratop. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  41. "Year in Focus – Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 2001" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 18 no. 52. December 22, 2001. p. 14. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  42. "Tops de L'année | Top Singles 2001" (in French). SNEP. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  43. "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2001". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  44. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2001" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  45. "End of Year Charts 2001". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
  46. "Årslista Singlar, 2001" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  47. "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2001". hitparade.ch (in German). Retrieved February 5, 2020.
  48. "The Official UK Singles Chart 2001" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
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  51. "The Decade in Music – Hot 100 Songs" (PDF). Billboard. Vol. 121 no. 50. December 19, 2009. p. 160. Retrieved August 16, 2020.
  52. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2018 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020.
  53. "New Zealand single certifications – Usher – U Remind Me". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  54. "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2002" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  55. "British single certifications – Usher – U Remind Me". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved October 6, 2020.
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