Released on October 17, 2008 as the fifth and final single from his fifth studio album Here I Stand, Usher wrote the song with The-Dream and Carlos "Los Da Mystro" McKinney.

[6] The theme of the song surrounds role reversal in a relationship,[7] predominantly in sexual situations, with its hook consisting of the lyrics, "I'm always on the top, tonight I'm on the bottom / 'cause we trading places".

[11] Digital Spy's David Balls gave "Trading Places" three out of five stars, and wrote that the song's lyrics "may be verging on the sickly, but Usher just about gets away with it.

Club wrote: "The guy's in love, so even on "Trading Places," when he talks about serving his woman a breakfast of toast with jelly and orange juice, it sounds sexy, not quotidian.

[17] The music video for "Trading Places" was shot on September 9, 2008 in Venice, Los Angeles, and was directed by Chris Robinson.

[20] In the video Usher and his love interest simulate sexual intercourse, with the woman maintaining dominance, echoing the song's theme.

[21] Usher performed "Trading Places" along with "Here I Stand" and "What's Your Name" at the warmup concert for the 2008 National Football League Kickoff game on September 4.

This resulted in a mishap during a December 2010 performance at the Madison Square Garden when a fan tried to swing her foot over Usher but accidentally kicked him in the head.

[26] At the Glendale, Arizona show, he called American Idol season six winner Jordin Sparks onto the stage to perform the number with him.