U Remind Me

In Usher's 1997 hit "You Make Me Wanna," he tells the girl she makes him want to leave the one he's with and start a new relationship with her. In "U Remind Me," it's kind of the opposite: He tells the girl he can't get with her because she reminds him of his ex, whom he can't get over. Usher's songs often play out these love triangles and other "it's complicated" romantic scenarios.

This song was written by Eddie Clement and his sister, Anita McCloud. Clement, who sometimes uses the name Eddie Hustle, wanted the song for his group Hustle Child, but his manager sent the demo to LA Reid, head of Usher's label, LaFace. When Reid heard the song he knew it would be perfect for Usher and convinced Clement to give it up. Good move: It was a huge hit and earned big bucks for the writers - certainly more than a Hustle Child recording would have. Clement and McCloud also wrote "Girl Talk" for another LaFace artist, TLC.

Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis produced this track along with Clement. Usher's main producer at the time was Jermaine Dupri, but there was plenty of room for others, especially those on the level of Jam and Lewis, the team responsible for many of Janet Jackson's hits. It was Usher's mother - also his manager - who reached out to Jam and Lewis, who don't ordinarily produce songs they didn't write, but were looking for an in at LaFace, which had an impressive roster of artists.