U-Turn (song)

"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. 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?"