Prior to the album's recording, Usher split with his mother, Jonnetta Patton, as manager and hired Benny Medina.

[1] Usher promoted Here I Stand by performing on several television shows including Total Request Live, 106 & Park and Good Morning America.

"Love in This Club", which features rapper Young Jeezy, topped the Billboard Hot 100 and New Zealand Singles Chart.

Here I Stand received generally positive reviews from music critics, who viewed it as a sign of growth and maturity from Usher, although others were unimpressed by the change in style from his 2004 album Confessions.

In December 2005, he became romantically involved with stylist Tameka Foster; the two wed on August 3, 2007, although Usher's mother and manager, Jonnetta Patton, did not attend.

In what MTV News' Shawn Adler called an "angry tirade", Usher stated, "My wife had nothing to do with me firing my mother — nothing like that, that's trash.

[18] Here I Stand contains eighteen tracks; James "JLack" Lackey, Polow da Don, Tricky Stewart, Jazze Pha, The-Dream, Los da Mystro, will.i.am, Dupri, Manuel Seal, LRoc, Dre & Vidal, Bryan-Michael Cox, Stargate, Ne-Yo, Danja, Soundz and J. R. Rotem all produced tunes on the album.

[30] Usher outlines lifestyle changes since his wife's arrival and turns away from his days as "a hustler and a player" in "Before I Met You", which makes use of guitar and heavy drums.

[35] Here I Stand closes with "Will Work for Love", although it was placed as a hidden track on some copies; Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine called it "cute".

[46] Usher signed copies of Here I Stand for the military during Fleet Week in New York City, aboard USS Kearsarge on May 27, 2008.

[47] On the day of the album's release, Usher appeared on television shows TRL and 106 & Park, and performed on Good Morning America on May 30, 2008.

[48] Usher performed "Love in This Club" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, on June 4, 2008.

[51] On September 4, 2008, Usher performed "Here I Stand", "Trading Places" and "What's Your Name" at the 2008's National Football League Kickoff game at Columbus Circle, New York City.

[54] The tour's female-focused concept was inspired by other male recording artists who "did things special like this for their female fans", such as Teddy Pendergrass, Marvin Gaye and Prince.

[59] Among Usher's own songs, the setlist also included portions of Stevie Wonder's "Rocket Love", Gaye's "I Want You" and Prince's "Do Me, Baby".

[60] Sun Media's Jason MacNeil rated the Toronto show three-and-a-half stars out of five, praising Usher's connection with the female audience.

[63] Parimal M. Rohit from Buzzine stated in his positive review of the Los Angeles show that "everyone will be talking about the entertaining concert".

[70][71] A sequel was created, titled "Love in This Club Part II" with Beyoncé & Lil Wayne, and was sent to radio as the album's second single on April 28, 2008.

[79][80] "Here I Stand" was released to urban adult contemporary radio on August 18, 2008,[81] managing to peak at number 18 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

[90] Mark Edward Nero of About.com gave the album four out of five stars, and wrote that Usher's marriage had a positive effect on his music.

[86] Although she disliked the album's length and lyrics, Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt wrote that "a good portion of [Here I] Stand's tunes deserve a place in the dance-floor pantheon", and awarded it a B+ grade.

[31] Andy Kellman from Allmusic scored the record three-and-a-half stars out of five and stated that "the album leaves no doubt that the R&B male crown ... should not change hands", referring to Usher's King of R&B honorific nickname.

[20] Richard Cromelin of the Los Angeles Times did not appreciate the numerous ballads on the release, but compared it to Usher's previous work and declared, "it's a more accomplished version of Confessions, the hooks more effortless, the singing even better, the songwriting more consistent.

Music felt that the album lacked inspiration, and wrote, "nothing sticks, there's no guts, no depth and no matter how much he protests to the contrary, nothing to believe".

[32] Rolling Stone's Melissa Maerz perceived that Usher had put little effort into the record and stated that "now that he's got the American Dream, he sounds like he's stopped trying.

[26] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine scored Here I Stand two-and-a-half stars out of five, and considered the music "almost always just one notch above mediocrity.

[94] Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote that "tension, not bliss, creates the album's best songs", referring to "Moving Mountains", "His Mistakes", "Appetite" and "What's a Man To Do".

[99] As at May 2012 it had sold 1,308,000 copies in the United States,[100] and it has received a two-times platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

[110] It received a gold certification from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), denoting shipments of 35,000 copies in the country.

He pointed out that Here I Stand and "Love in This Club" reached number one on the US charts, and that the music industry had changed since the release of Confessions.