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'Confessions Part II' was one of Usher's biggest hits. But the song wasn't actually about him.

Sep 25, 2023, 22:59 IST
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Usher performs "Confessions Part II" at the MTV VMAs 2004.KMazur/Getty
  • "Confessions Part II" is one of Usher's biggest and most talked about hits.
  • On the track, Usher sings of cheating on his spouse and impregnating another woman.
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"Confessions Part II" is one of Usher's biggest hits, having topped the Billboard Hot 100 in 2004.

The song is also one of his most talked about.

On the track, released as the third single from his fourth studio album "Confessions," Usher sings of cheating on his spouse and impregnating another woman.

"Just when I thought I said all I can say / My chick on the side said she got one on the way," he croons on the song's chorus. "If I'm gonna tell it then I gotta tell it all / Damn near cried when I got that phone call."

If you've ever listened to it (and if you haven't, you can below), you'll no doubt have had plenty of questions, including: "Is the song based on a true story?"

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The answer: Yes, but apparently, it's not Usher's.

Given that shortly after its release, Usher and his girlfriend of two years, TLC's Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, parted ways, many speculated that "Confessions Part II" was autobiographical.

Not until almost a decade later, however, was that theory put to bed.

Speaking to Us Weekly in 2013, Chilli said that the song was not about her and Usher, but instead about its co-producer, Jermaine Dupri.

"We were together when he recorded that album," she said. "All of those songs on 'Confessions,' that was about Jermaine Dupri's situation. Usher was just singing it. But people kind of bought into it, it was just the timing of our breakup when the album came out."

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Chilli of TLC and Usher in 2002.Getty/James Devaney

The following year, Dupri, who produced much of "Confessions," confirmed that the album's content, specifically "Confessions Part II," was indeed inspired by events in his own life.

"'Part II' was supposed to be fantasy: Usher didn't have kids; none of these things were going on," Dupri, who dated Janet Jackson between 2002 and around 2009, told Complex in 2014. '"Part II' was all me, my whole life story, basically. I just had gone through 'Part II' in real life."

Dupri added in his interview with Complex that he wrote "Confessions" to "create a whirlwind around Usher" and make him "something to talk about."

"When we first started making this album, Usher was considered a clean artist," said Dupri. "He had hit records but he wasn't really in the media. The media only cares about those that are doing dirt, doing crazy shit."

"My whole thing was to create a ruckus," he continued. "Create what girls think happens when we go to the studio. Women think it's a party in there. They don't think we working. I wanted everybody to start wondering: Who's he talking about? What's going on? Where's this coming from? That was the goal."

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Jermaine Dupri.Getty/Mark Von Holden

"Confessions" remains Usher's most successful album to date and is widely regarded as one of the greatest R&B records of all time.

The project spawned four No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 – "Yeah!," "Burn," "Confessions Part II," and "My Boo" – and won Usher three Grammy Awards.

To date, the album has sold over 20 million copies.

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