Usher

At least on Usher’s last album, Confessions, he was being honest. He was essentially admitting to being a cheating scumbag, and that’s what made it interesting. But his followup, Here I Stand, finds him a married father, and he admits to little more than cyber-cruising. “I’m chatting, this ain’t cheating, just telling myself a lie,” he sings on “Appetite.” Rest assured, though, he will “bend them a bit, but never break the rules.” Elsewhere, he leaves the debauchery to will.i.am on “What’s Your Name,” and to Jeezy and Weezy on two versions of “Love in This Club,” a monster of a track. You could worry about Here I Stand‘s blatant disingenuousness — or simply let it whet your appetite for Confessions II.