"Love in This Club" is a song by American R&B singer
Usher nominated for 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. The song was
released as the first single from his 2008 album,
Here I Stand. It features rapper Young Jeezy, and was
produced by Atlanta-based producer Polow da Don. This was also
the opening performance for the 2008 Black Entertainment
Television (BET) Awards. A mixtape series was named after this
song. So far it has produced five volumes, including one
covered by T-Pain, Ciara, and Rihanna. The song was digitally
released on January 25, 2008 in the U.S., and peaked at number
one on the Hot 100.
Atlanta-based music producer Polow da Don was inspired to
create a beat during his weekend stay in Las Vegas, Nevada for
the MTV Video Music Awards, which later became "Love in This
Club". When he finished working on the material, da Don felt it
fit for Usher and played it for him.
Usher left the studio during one of his sessions for the
album. Young Jeezy went in after Usher had gone. He heard the
song and he wanted to contribute to it. Da Don was skeptical,
but allowed Young Jeezy to make his verse. He played the new
version to Usher, who loved the new version, allowing Young
Jeezy's verse to stay. Ironically, Jeezy's rival, rapper Gucci
Mane, recently confirmed in an interview that he was originally
supposed to be on the song.
"Love in This Club" is a mid-tempo song that contains loops
taking from (Euro Hero Synths) to Apple's GarageBand software,
however denied by Polow da Don. The song features guest vocals
from Young Jeezy. According to Polow da Don, the lyrics are not
about sex, they're about having the urge. Polow da Don wanted
to call the song "Lust at first sight". When the song was first
released, there was also controversy due to how similar the
song is to the Kill Paradise song, "Brake Your Bones," with
both using a similar bass progression, and stuttering intro, as
well as sharing a similar chorus.
Early in 2008, several songs for Usher's fifth studio album
leaked into the Internet, including "Love in This Club". Usher
called the incident an "internal conspiracy" because it was
unofficially released beyond his awareness. This also happened
to the lead single "Yeah!" off his 2004 album
Confessions, which was intentionally leaked by its
producer Lil Jon, to street DJs late in 2003. Polow da Don
confessed that he had leaked "Love in This Club", following
what Lil Jon did. He felt the song would be a hit, but that "it
was so much back-and-forth between Usher and his record label"
and he was tired of waiting on "label politics".
"Love in This Club" received mixed reviews from critics.
Sophia Baratta of
Billboardmagazine gave the track a positive review,
noting the "slow ballad tempo and smooth vocals transition to
an upbeat hip-hop twist." She called the song evident enough of
an "evolved sound", summing it up as "a catchy tune with enough
fuel to return Usher to the top of R&B." Bill Lamb of
About.com found that the vocals in the song sound like a "close
cousin" of Akon. Lamb, however, noted that it failed to equal
the "sheer beauty of Akon's best vocals or any particular
soulfulness." He complimented da Don for producing an
"atmospheric synth groove" and Young Jeezy's "reliably gritty"
rap, but Lamb expected more after a "four year wait."
Blendergave the track a lukewarm response, awarding it 2
and 1/2 out of 5 stars, saying it was reminiscent to one of
Usher's previous hits, "Lovers & Friends". They called the
track "too safe" and that it was "strictly PG". They felt that
one of the other leaked songs, "Dat Girl Right There", would
have made a more adventurous first single choice.
Digital Spyawarded the song three stars out of five,
contending that it was "hardly the most original of comeback
singles", but sounded "very, very now".
This single ranked at number 1 on the "10 Best Singles of
2008" list by American magazine
Entertainment Weekly.
"Love in This Club" began receiving airplay on urban and
rhythmic radio stations across the U.S. upon the song's leak
and debuted on the Hot 100 at number eighty-three on the issue
date of March 1, 2008. In the song's third week on the Hot 100
it jumped from number fifty-one to number one, becoming Usher's
eighth chart-topping single and the first for Young Jeezy. It
was at the time the sixth highest jump to number one in the
history of the Hot 100. It is Usher's fifteenth top ten hit on
the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, where it has reached
number one, also making it his ninth number one on the
chart.
Internationally, the single debuted at number twenty-seven
on the Sweden Singles Top 60, number eleven on the Canadian Hot
100, number seven on the New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart,
number forty-nine on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, number
19 on the UK Singles Chart and number thirty-six on the Swiss
Singles Top 100. So far, Love In This Club has peaked at number
8 on the Canadian Hot 100 and Sweden Top 60, number one in New
Zealand as of the week ending May 10, 2008. It debuted at
number 19 on the UK Singles Chart and in its fourth charting
week, it reached number six. After falling down to number
seven, it jumped back up the chart to number four upon its
physical release. On the week ending April 19, "Love In This
Club" moved back into the Top 10 on the Canadian Hot 100, by
making a 2-point jump from 12-10, and then the following week
reached a new peak position of number six. In Australia, it has
become a huge hit peaking at number eight, rising 13 spots from
number 21. To date, this is Young Jeezy's biggest hit (his
biggest hit as a solo artist would be Soul Survivor).
On December 28, 2008, the UK Singles Chart landed this at
#33 for the chart end show.
Usher was concerned with the premature public exposure of
the song because "everything has to be set up on their end." He
noted the necessity of its accompanying music video as soon as
it would have released properly. However, the song received
favorable responses from radio industries, similar to "Yeah!"'s
early reception. Eventually, the video was released on April 7,
2008. It features cameos by Keri Hilson (as Usher's love
interest), Diddy, Rick Ross, One Chance, Robin Thicke, Nelly
and Kanye West. It also has cameos from adult film stars Havana
Ginger and Savannah Stern. Polow da Don, the producer of the
track, also appears in the video as the DJ for the club. The
music video contains an extended dance sequence which is not
part of the album version of the song.
The music video starts with Usher waking up inside of an
empty club. He calls out to see if anyone is there and a girl
comes out. The music video is spent with Usher escaping the
temptation of women while trying to escape from the club at the
same time. At the end of the video, Usher finally escapes from
the club but it is seen all burned down. It is a cliffhanger
leading in to his next video, "Moving Mountains".
The video features a slightly remixed version of the song,
compared to the radio edit, with added sound effects.
Some music channels have cut out the beginning scene where
Usher first meets his love interest and the ending scene where
he finds the club is destroyed, namely on the music channel
Bubble Hits Ireland. The music video has received over 39
million views on YouTube.
Three official remixes have been released so far. The first
features T.I. in addition to Young Jeezy, and the second
features R. Kelly in addition to Young Jeezy.
The main official remix titled "Love in This Club, Part II"
features American singer Beyoncé Knowles and rapper Lil
Wayne,was serviced to urban stations. Due to strong airplay and
digital downloads, "Love in This Club, Part II" has peaked at
number 18 on the Hot 100 and number 10 on 's Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. It was released on iTunes as a
pre-order track.
MSTRKRFT also produced an official remix of the track and
have been using it in their live DJ sets.
Also, the song was mashed up with the popular internet meme
Keyboard Cat by The Hood Internet.