Oh man, bad luck. No R&B singer wants to be placed in a position where he gets compared to Usher, unless it’s the reincarnation of Michael Jackson or the current incarnation of Prince or someone like that. Trey Songz has gotten his share–though considering he’s toured with Usher, we should note that they’re just comparisons and not bad blood–and now he’s about to get more, judging by new single “Dive In.”
Usher’s track, for those who’ve forgotten or haven’t delved (no pun allowed) deep into Looking 4 Myself, was called “Dive. And the two songs are a lot alike. Both are slow jams. Both are near-campily extended metaphors comparing the act of diving, swimming and/or gallivanting in the water to something you can figure out on your own. Both are things you will either very much approve of or react to roughly the same way you’d react to hearing the word “moist.” It’s not that either ripped the other off–the timing’s too close for that to have happened. It’s just that this was a metaphor begging to be splayed this far, and two people and their collaborators (Rico Love for Usher; Troy Taylor for Trey [a tongue-twister]) happened to do so within a month or so of each other. As we said: bad luck, Trey. At least you beat Ursh to the single release.
And the similarities go–ugh–deeper, too. Let’s examine.
SPOKEN-WORD INTRO
Usher: “I know you think I’m afraid, but take a chance. I’m going to the deep end. [Ursher, baby!] Turn the lights on.”
Trey: “I was thinking about taking a couple laps. I just want to dive in, dive in.”
SOUND EFFECTS:
Usher: None, unless you think those prickly sounds in the intro and outro are supposed to sound like raindrops
Trey: Trickling water, running water and splash effects.
WHAT EXACTLY IS THIS WATER? (YES, THIS IS NECESSARY)
Usher: Some kind of ocean, or body (har har) of water, that’s also being rained on
Trey: A swimming pool
DEDICATION TO THE METAPHOR:
Usher: Precipitation, rolling tides, life savers
Trey: Submersion, backstroke, doggy paddling
OVER-DEDICATION TO THE METAPHOR
Usher: “It’s raining inside your bed.”
Trey: “Girl, there ain’t no running around this pool.”
OVERSHARING (EVEN IN CONTEXT) ABOUT THE METAPHOR
Usher: “I see the walls are looking like they might precipitate.”
Trey: “Splash! Baby girl, that’s your waterfall.”
ANATOMICALLY IMPROBABLE LYRICS
Usher: “I’m in so deep, it’s up to my waist.”
Trey: “I can doggy paddle all kind of ways.”
FALSETTO AND MELISMA
Usher: Consistently throughout, but special note must be given to “you-u-u-r thi-i-i-ghs!”
Trey: Sporadically; since we mentioned this line, there’s some on “All kind of ways, ways!”
UNCOMFORTABLE RESEMBLANCE TO OTHER SONG
Usher: Jordin Sparks and Chris Brown’s “No Air.”
Trey: Give us a few days and we’re sure we’ll have something here.
The post It Is Probably A Coincidence That Usher And Trey Songz Both Have Sex Songs About Diving appeared first on Popdust.
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