Versus (EP)

Several producers contributed to the production of the EP, including Polow da Don, Jim Jonsin, Rico Love, Drumma Boy, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, and Max Martin.

In 2009, in an interview with People Magazine, Usher, whose private life has been highly documented after filing for divorce from wife Tameka Foster, told that his sixth studio album will be, "racy, risky and edgy, and sometimes about personal experiences.

[11] Several producers from the latter album contributed to the production of the EP, including Polow da Don, Jim Jonsin, Rico Love, Drumma Boy, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Tha Cornaboyz and Max Martin.

[14][17] "There Goes My Baby" is a down-tempo R&B ballad, with elements of neo soul;[18] the song primarily uses Usher's falsetto range.

[13] In an interview with music video website Vevo, Usher explained that "Lay You Down" is a "classic R&B baby maker".

[25] As of February 2011, the song has sold over 3 million digital units, making it the second single to exceed the sales figure for both Usher and featured artist Pitbull.

[26] "Hot Tottie", featuring Jay-Z,[27] produced by Polow Da Don and written by Usher, Shawn Carter, and Ester Dean, is the second single.

[28] The song received very positive reviews from critics, who praised rapper Jay-Z's verse and Usher's vocals.

[44] In the summer of 2010, Usher competed in a dance battle against fellow R&B artist Chris Brown at the Reggae Sumfest.

[46] The then announced OMG Tour commenced on November 10, 2010 and concluded on June 1, 2011 with Usher performing in a total of 92 shows.

[48] Mikael Wood of Entertainment Weekly gave it an "A−" and said that "'Love 'Em All' describes an egalitarian sexual appetite, while 'Lingerie' offers prime faux-Prince boudoir funk.

The Max Martin-produced 'DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love' shows 'OMG' didn't satisfy Usher's dance-pop Jones, but he's hardly gone soft: 'Hot Tottie,' with Jay-Z, is nasty in all the right ways.

"[17] Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe complimented its "compact running time" and stated "Instead of ho-hum filler, 'Versus' offers the strongest arrows in Usher’s quiver".

"[14] Steve Jones of USA Today gave Versus three out of four stars and called it "an abbreviated batch of fresh songs that can stand alone or as part of a deluxe original".

[50] Billboard's Gail Mitchell commended the album's guest artists and wrote that it "alternately bumps and throbs as a reinvigorated Usher further paves his comeback path"[51] Jeff Weiss of the Los Angeles Times gave the EP two-and-a-half out of four stars and found "Hot Tottie" to be "intoxicating as its namesake", but disapproved of some of the generic points and pop efforts.

[13] The Washington Post's Sean Fennessey criticized its pop-oriented tracks, stating "Usher works best in emotional hailstorms, not candy rain", and viewed that it "finds him in Peter Pan mode, digging for remnants of a younger self that never existed".

[52] Andy Kellman of AllMusic gave it two out of five stars and said that it "mostly resembles a batch of leftovers from his weakest album, even though it functioned as a momentum maintainer".

[1] In a one-star review, Slant Magazine's Erich Henderson panned Versus as a "wretched collection of failed club-sex jams".

Usher and Chris Brown with Elephant Man at the 2010 Reggae Sumfest . The two dancing stimulating rumours of a joint tour.