"Crash" is a song by American singer Usher, recorded for his eighth studio album, Hard II Love. It was released by RCA on June 10, 2016, available for digital download and online streaming. The audio for the song was also released on his Vevo and YouTube accounts the same day. "Crash" is the follow-up single to "No Limit", released the day before. Both singles are to appear on Usher's eighth studio album, Hard II Love. The song was written by Usher, Corey Latif, Lee Stashenko, Carlos St. John, while production was handled by St. John and f a l l e n.
Background and release
The song was released as a second single to "No Limit", from his upcoming album Flawed as the work succeeds his last set work from 2014, which consisted of "Good Kisser", "She Came to Give It to You" and "I Don't Mind" as singles from his then-titled album Flawed, rumored to be titled UR. Despite the world tour UR Experience culminating at the same time in support, the album was not released. Hard II Love arrives as his first release since 2012's Looking 4 Myself, which dates four years back. In October 2015 however, Raymond released "Chains", a song about social justice featuring the artist Nas and Bibi Bourelly. The singer released "Crash" on June 10, 2016 available for digital download on iTunes, Amazon and online streaming services, Tidal, Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube.
Composition
A writer from Jezebel wrote the song has a "sub-house BPM of 104, saying “Crash” sits at the humid intersection of Kygo-style tropical house and the futuristic adult contemporary tendencies that are creeping through R&B at the moment."
Live performances
Usher performed the song live for the first time as a part of his headlining set at the "BET Experience", Which he performed his other new single "No Limit" and other old hits including "Yeah!", "U Don't Have to Call", "Love in This Club", and "OMG". On July 28, 2016, Usher performed "Crash" for the first time on television on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. In September he will also perform the song as a part of his set at the iHeartRadio Music Festival 2016.
Critical reception
"Crash" received comparisons to his 2012 Grammy Award-winning single "Climax". Joe Lynch of Billboard called it "post-"Climax", saying "Ush, melding his masterful R&B vocal stylings with the kind of subdued, moody electronics taking over airwaves thanks to Diplo". Christina Lee from Idolator wrote that "Like with “Climax,” this R&B vet makes such vocal prowess — and vulnerability — seem easy." Dennis Edward from Young Herald described the song as a "pulsating banger that does exactly what Climax did hitting us with killer verses and then demure choruses." A writer from Jezebel wrote that in the song, "Spotlit is his gorgeous falsetto much as it was in “Climax,” with which “Crash” shares a sort of spot-the-hook sensibility—it seems to build from one pre-chorus to the next, teetering on the brink of a hook until you realize the whole damn thing is a hook." Sasha Geffen of MTV praised his vocal ability, saying it "soars to the very top of his vocal range, offering a beautiful falsetto chorus against lightweight, delicate production.
Music video
On June 17, 2016 Raymond uploaded the music video for "Crash" on his YouTube and Vevo account. The music video was directed by Christopher Sims. The video begins with Usher dressed all in black laying against a black background. In the video Usher performs an interpretive dance to the lyrics in both solo and in scenes accompanied by two male dancers. Through the video he is singing to a woman, portrayed by model Leslie Allen, in larger-than-life representation that is haunting his thoughts.
Cover art
The single cover art is a sculpture of Usher that was done by Daniel Arsham, which he had to stand still for 4 hours for him to complete. The photo was taken by James Law.
