Usher - Here I stand & What's your name (live @ Radio 1's Big weekend)

At Radio 1's big weekend Usher debuted 2 brand new songs exclusively from his upcoming album Here I stand. One of which was the album title track produced by Dre and Vidal (who produced "Caught up" from Usher's Confessions album) and the second being "What's your name" produced by Black eyed peas front man Will.i.am.

"Here I stand" is a hot mid tempo ballad which showcases Usher's vocals and that once again he has stepped his vocal game up. The dude does things with his voice on this song that he was not doing on any song on Confessions. It's a beautiful song and different to anything he put down on his last album. It channels the whole vibe of the ballad "Seperated" from 8701, but with a more soulful tone.

"What's your name?" feels quite throwaway, which is what you get with Will.i.am productions: throwaway nonsense about bullshit rubbish. But it's a hot song none the less. It has a nice funk and bounce about it that I dig. Had a n***a like Chris Brown, Omarion or any other male artist gotten this song, I probably wouldn't like it. But because it's Usher, I have time for it. As with "This ain't sex" it channels Michael Jackson quite heavily. For some reason it reminds me alot of "The way make me feel", but with a stronger urban overtone.

Already it's looking as though Here I stand will have more uptempo's than Confessions.

Me being the genrous person I am, I ripped the songs for your listening pleasure and uploaded them both. "Here I stand" is the full song, where as "What's ya name" is a shortened version of the original.

Download: Here I stand | Running time: 4:50 | File size: 4.43 MB
Download: What's your name? | Running time: 2:05 | File size: 1.91 MB
© 2008 LaFace, Zomba music group, Sony BMG entertainment

Be sure to check out the hot live performances of these songs if you haven't already. Particularly "What's your name?", because Usher's swagger on stage as he performs it is insane and makes the song more likeable.

Remember, Here I stand is in stores May 26 across the UK, May 27 across North America and May 28 across Japan. I'll definitely be copping day of release without fail. I like everything I've heard from the album so far and would buy it based on these songs alone. I know Usher's going to deliver.