U-Turn (song)

This article is about the 2002 single by Usher. For other songs named U-Turn, see U-turn (disambiguation) § Music.

"U-Turn"
Single by Usher
from the album 8701
Released	March 11, 2002 (2002-03-11)
Length	3:09
Label	Arista
Songwriter(s)	Usher Raymond Jermaine Dupri Bryan-Michael Cox
Producer(s)	Jermaine Dupri
Usher singles chronology
"I Need a Girl (Part One)" (2002) "U-Turn" (2002) "Can U Help Me" (2002)
Music video
"U-Turn" on YouTube

"U-Turn" is a song by American singer Usher. It written by Usher, Jermaine Dupri, and Bryan-Michael Cox for his third studio album, 8701 (2001), while production was helmed by Dupri and Cox. The song also references Michael Jackson and Bobby Brown and also refers to the crunk style of rap making it one of the first mainstream R&B tracks to refer to that style.

The song was released as the album's fourth international single on March 11, 2002. "U-Turn" reached the top 10 in Australia, the top 20 in the UK and Switzerland and was a top 40 hit in the Netherlands. The single was not released in the US.

Background

"U-Turn" was written by Usher, Jermaine Dupri, and Bryan-Michael Cox, while production was helmed by Dupri and Cox. Originally written for what was supposed to be Usher's third album All About U, the song was among three candidates to be selected as the album's lead single before the album was partially re-recorded and retooled as 8701.^[1] With much of All About U inspired by 1980s music, Usher called "U-Turn" a "reflection of the dances people did then – remember "The Bird" by The Time?"^[2]

Music video

A music video for "U-Turn" was directed by Little X.^[3]

Track listing

European maxi-CD

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"U-Turn" (album version)	Usher Raymond Jermaine Dupri Bryan-Michael Cox	Dupri Cox^[A]	3:12
2.	"U-Turn" (The Almighty mix)	Raymond Dupri Cox	Dupri Cox^[A] Almighty Associates^[B]	7:22
3.	"U-Turn" (The Almighty dub)	Raymond Dupri Cox	Dupri Cox^[A] Almighty Associates^[B]	7:24
4.	"U R the One"	Raymond Carsten Schack Kenneth Karlin R.L. Huggar Kawan Prather	Soulshock & Karlin	3:56
5.	"U-Turn" (music video)			3:05

German maxi-CD single

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"U-Turn" (album version)	Usher Raymond Jermaine Dupri Bryan-Michael Cox	Dupri Cox^[A]	3:12
2.	"U-Turn" (The Almighty mix)	Raymond Dupri Cox	Dupri Cox^[A] Almighty Associates^[B]	7:22

UK CD single

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"U-Turn" (album version)	Usher Raymond Jermaine Dupri Bryan-Michael Cox	Dupri Cox^[A]	3:12
2.	"U-Turn" (The Almighty mix)	Raymond Dupri Cox	Dupri Cox^[A] Almighty Associates^[B]	7:22
3.	"U-Turn" (The Almighty dub)	Raymond Dupri Cox	Dupri Cox^[A] Almighty Associates^[B]	7:24
4.	"U-Turn" (music video / bonus footage)			4:15

Notes

• ^{^[A]} denotes co-producer
• ^{^[B]} denotes additional producer

Credits and personnel

Antranika Clack – mixing assistance Bryan-Michael Cox – co-producer, writer Jermaine Dupri – additional vocals, mixing, producer, writer Brian Frye – recording engineer

John Horesco IV – mixing assistance Usher Raymond – vocals, writer Phil Tan – mixing

Charts

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for "U-Turn" Chart (2002) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[4] 7 Australian Urban (ARIA)[5] 3 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[6] 6 Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Wallonia)[7] 3 Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)[8] 47 Germany (GfK)[9] 51 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[10] 36 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[11] 27 Scotland (OCC)[12] 31 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 51 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[14] 22 UK Singles (OCC)[15] 16 UK Hip Hop/R&B (OCC)[16] 3

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for "U-Turn" Chart (2002) Position UK Urban (Music Week)[17] 31

Release history

Release dates and formats for "U-Turn"

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
Europe	March 11, 2002	CD maxi-CD	Arista	[9]
Denmark	March 18, 2002	Maxi-CD		[18]
Sweden				[19]
United Kingdom	April 8, 2002	CD maxi-CD		[20]
Australia	May 13, 2002			[21]

References

1. Basham, David (August 1, 2000). "Usher Recuperates From Collapse, Talks "All About You"". MTV.com. Archived from the original on July 25, 2023. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
2. Lorez, Jeff (November 11, 2000). "Usher Pops Back With Third Album". Billboard. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
3. "Usher - U-Turn". MTV.com. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2023.
4. "Usher – U-Turn". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
5. "Issue 641" ARIA Top 40 Urban Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
6. "Usher – U-Turn" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
7. "Usher – U-Turn" (in French). Ultratip. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
8. "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 20, no. 18. April 27, 2002. p. 11. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
9. "Usher – U-Turn" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
10. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 20, 2002" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
11. "Usher – U-Turn" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
12. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
13. "Usher – U-Turn". Singles Top 100.
14. "Usher – U-Turn". Swiss Singles Chart.
15. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
16. "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
17. "Top 40 Urban Tracks of 2002" (PDF). Music Week. January 18, 2003. p. 32. Retrieved August 4, 2023.
18. "Usher: Single". click2music.dk (in Danish). Archived from the original on February 4, 2003. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
19. "Usher: U Turn". click2music.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on February 25, 2005. Retrieved November 30, 2023.
20. "Reviews – For Records Released on 8 April 2002" (PDF). Music Week. March 30, 2002. p. 11. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
21. "The ARIA Report: New Releases Singles – Week Commencing 13th May 2002" (PDF). ARIA. May 13, 2002. p. 24. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 14, 2002. Retrieved August 23, 2021.

External links

• NME U-Turn review
• Allmusic.com 8701 article