• Artist: Usher
• Track: Scream
• Producer: Max Martin
• Album: Looking for Myself

The lead single off Usher‘s forthcoming seventh album sported something of a deceptive title; whereas most expected Climax to be about, well, climaxing, the record was more of a denouement, depicting the artist coming to terms with the fact that he and the woman he loved were drifting apart. By contrast, follow-up selection Scream, despite sounding much less like a bedroom burner, is actually about orgasms. Thematically, the record is a lot like Yeah! with an emphasis on the screaming rather than what’s being screamed (and sans guest features). The sound, however, is quite a bit different; in keeping with current audiences’ appetites for balls-to-the-wall club bangers, Max Martin goes for broke on the production tip, crafting a pounding, four-on-the-floor instrumental that builds to an explosive, synth-drenched chorus. Needless to say, Terry Raymond IV takes to the track like a fish to water, exhibiting characteristic confidence and sex appeal as he schemes about how to get an alluring female clubgoer into bed. Is Scream a worthy follow-up to the Booth-approved lead effort? Debate away—Looking for Myself is out now via RCA Records.