Usher's hit single, "Yeah!," almost never saw the light of day, if not for a bit of tough love from his label boss, L.A. Reid. Producer Rico Love revealed the behind-the-scenes story during a recent interview on Home Grown Radio. Love, who had written the song "Throwback" on Usher's chart-topping album "Confessions," recalled being present when Usher first heard the demo for "Yeah!," which was written by Sean Garrett. However, Usher was not impressed and outright refused to record the track. Love, too, found the song corny and burst out laughing at the opening lyrics. But Reid, the President of Arista Records, saw its potential and insisted Usher release it as the first single, ahead of the original choice, "Burn." When Usher resisted, Reid simply told him to "do the f***** song" and hung up. The tough love paid off, as "Yeah!" topped the charts for 12 weeks straight. Now, Usher is set to perform the hit during the Super Bowl, proving his label boss right all those years ago.
