"Caught Up"
Single by Usher
from the album Confessions
ReleasedJanuary 3, 2005 (2005-01-03)
Genre
Length3:44
LabelArista
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Dre & Vidal
Usher singles chronology
"Lovers and Friends"
(2004)		 "Caught Up"
(2005)		 "Same Girl"
(2007)
Music video
"Caught Up" on YouTube

"Caught Up" is a song by American singer Usher. It was written by Ryan Toby, Andre Harris, Vidal Davis and Jason Boyd, and produced by Dre & Vidal for Usher's 2004 album, Confessions. The song was released as the fifth and final single from the album on January 3, 2005. The single peaked at number eight in the United States, the only single released from Confessions without topping the Billboard Hot 100, and number nine on in the United Kingdom. "Caught Up" also reached the top 20 in Australia, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. It received positive reviews from contemporary critics.

Background and release

Although Usher "didn't look too far" when starting working on his fourth studio album Confessions and decided to "continue building" with previous producers, he branched out with several musical collaborators.[1] Usher enlisted Philadelphia producers Andre "Dre" Harris and Vidal Davis of Dre & Vidal, along with other musical collaborators. During the sessions, Usher asked them to create a "real up-tempo beat".[1] When they worked on the track, they partied the whole time which Dre considered a "partly record".[1] He recalled, "We had some women, some drinks, some music."[1] After Dre created the beat, they decided to "make sure the mood was inspiring during recording."[1] They went to club to take a break, and played the song in Usher's truck while on the way. Usher felt the collaboration was pleasing, seeing other people responded positively to the song.[1]

"Caught Up" was the fifth and final single from Confessions. The song impacted US rhythmic contemporary and urban radio on January 3, 2005,[2] and it was added to contemporary hit radio on January 11, 2005,[3] alongside a remix featuring rapper Fabolous.[4] It was also released in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom on February 21, 2005, and on March 8 in Germany.[5][6][7] The Germany release contains the album version of the song, three of its remixes and the single's music video.[7]

Reception

"Caught Up" received positive reviews from contemporary critics. Andrew McGregor of BBC called the song "meaty" and "hip-grinding".[8] Jon Caramanica of Blender magazine referred to the song like a "Southern marching band performing late-'80s R&B".[9] He characterized Usher's voice playing like a rhythm instruments.[9] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine complimented Dre and Vidal for producing an old-sounding music without sampling records, calling it "super-tight" alongside "Follow Me", another song from the album.[10] Andy Kellman of Allmusic complimented the song as one of Usher's best moments in the album, together with "Burn".[11] Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times called it a "thunderous song" from the album, adding that it gave Usher "a chance to do two of the things he does best: strut and pander".[12]

Chart performance

"Caught Up" did not live up to the chart-topping performances of Confessions' previous four releases. In the United States, the single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 76.[13] It peaked at number eight for two non-consecutive weeks, 15 weeks after its release. "Caught Up" was the only single to not top the Hot 100 compared to the album's four previous releases. The single stayed on the Hot 100 for 27 weeks.[13]

Outside the United States, responses from music markets were relatively similar. "Caught Up" debuted and peaked at number nine on the United Kingdom, remaining on the chart for also nine weeks.[13] It reached number 10 in the Netherlands and under top ten on the rest of European countries; much lesser in Finland where it only stayed for one week compared to other charts, remaining for several weeks.[13] In Australia and New Zealand, the single reached numbers 15 and 12, respectively.

Usher in the video, performing the song to a large crowd.

Music video

The music video for "Caught Up" was directed by Mr. X, who was behind the laser light treatment of Usher's 2004 video "Yeah!".[14] The video shows Usher and friends riding a car while heading to his live performance. On the way, they fist fight after Usher saves a woman from an antagonist. Usher realizes he is supposed to perform, and finally goes to the venue. The video ends with Usher performing the song in front of a large crowd. The music video debuted on MTV's Total Request Live on January 10, 2005, at number 10. The video remained on the countdown for thirty-four days.[15]

Track listing

Germany CD single[7]

  1. "Caught Up" (album version) – 3:48
  2. "Caught Up" (official remix) (featuring Fabolous) – 4:39
  3. "Caught Up" (Bimbo Jones remix) – 3:33
  4. "Caught Up" (Delinquent "Whistle Crew" re-fix) – 7:56
  5. "Caught Up" (music video) – 3:49

Charts

Certifications

Certifications and sales for "Caught Up"
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[46] Platinum 70,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[47] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Reid, Shaheem (February 7, 2005). "Road To The Grammys: The Making Of Usher's Confessions". MTV News. Viacom Media Networks. Retrieved February 29, 2008.
  2. ↑ "Going for Adds" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1587. December 31, 2004. p. 13. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  3. ↑ "R&R :: Going for Adds™ :: CHR/Top 40". gfa.radioandrecords.com. Archived from the original on December 31, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Available for Airplay". FMQB. Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
  5. ↑ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. February 19, 2005. p. 27.
  6. ↑ "Caught Up, Pt. 2 [Holland]". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  7. 1 2 3 "Caught Up, Pt. 1 [Germany CD]". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 14, 2012.
  8. ↑ McGregor, Andrew (November 20, 2002). "Usher: Confessions". BBC Music. BBC. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
  9. 1 2 Caramanica, Jon (April 2004). "Review: Confessions". Blender. Alpha Media Group: 132.
  10. ↑ Sal Cinquemani, Sal (2004). "Usher: Confessions". Slant Magazine. Archived from the original on March 16, 2008. Retrieved March 2, 2008.
  11. ↑ Kellman, Andy. "Confessions: Usher". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved March 3, 2008.
  12. ↑ Sanneh, Kelefah (August 23, 2004). "R&B REVIEW; Knowing When to Strut, When to Pander". The New York Times. Retrieved March 16, 2008.
  13. 1 2 3 4 ""Caught Up" Global Positions and Trajectories". αCharts. Retrieved March 3, 2008.
  14. ↑ Moss, Corey; Reid, Sway; Reid, Shaheem (February 10, 2005). "Usher To Release Music Videos, Concert Footage On DVD". MTV News. Viacom Media Networks. Retrieved November 28, 2010.
  15. ↑ "TRL Debuts". Popfusion. Archived from the original on March 7, 2008. Retrieved March 3, 2008.
  16. ↑ "Usher – Caught Up". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
  17. ↑ "Issue 801" ARIA Top 40 Urban Singles. National Library of Australia. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Usher – Caught Up" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  19. ↑ "Usher – Caught Up" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50.
  20. ↑ "Usher – Caught Up" (in French). Ultratop 50.
  21. ↑ "R&R Canada CHR/Pop Top 30" (PDF). Radio & Records. No. 1598. March 18, 2005. p. 28. Retrieved October 13, 2020.
  22. ↑ "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – RADIO – TOP 100 and insert 200603 into search.
  23. ↑ "Usher: Caught Up" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat.
  24. ↑ "Usher – Caught Up" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts.
  25. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Caught Up". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  26. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 10, 2005" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  27. ↑ "Usher – Caught Up" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  28. ↑ "Usher – Caught Up". Top 40 Singles.
  29. ↑ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 15, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Usher – Caught Up". Swiss Singles Chart.
  31. ↑ "Usher: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  32. ↑ "Official Hip Hop and R&B Singles Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  33. ↑ "Usher Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  34. ↑ "Usher Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard.
  35. ↑ "Usher Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard.
  36. ↑ "Usher Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  37. ↑ "ARIA End of Year Singles Chart 2005". Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  38. ↑ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 2005". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  39. ↑ "Romanian Top 100: Top of the Year 2005" (in Romanian). Romanian Top 100. Archived from the original on April 10, 2006. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  40. ↑ "The Official UK Singles Chart 2005" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  41. ↑ "2005 Urban Top 40" (PDF). Music Week. January 14, 2006. p. 22. Retrieved August 5, 2023.
  42. ↑ "Billboard Top 100 – 2005". billboardtop100of.com. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  43. ↑ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs: 2005". Billboard. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
  44. ↑ "2005 The Year in Charts: Top Mainstream Top 40 Songs". Billboard Radio Monitor. Vol. 13, no. 50. December 16, 2005. p. 26.
  45. ↑ "2005 The Year in Charts: Top Rhythmic Top 40 Songs". Billboard Radio Monitor. Vol. 13, no. 50. December 16, 2005. p. 34.
  46. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2018 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
  47. ↑ "British single certifications – Usher – Caught Up". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
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