Numb

Album: Looking 4 Myself (2012)
Charted: 69
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This feel-good collaboration with Scandinavian house trio Swedish House Mafia is one of several tracks that were inspired by Usher's attendance at the 2011 Coachella Music Festival, which is renowned for its cutting edge lineup.
  • The song finds Usher singing lyrics about forgetting your troubles on the dance floor. He told The Guardian that the cut, "is about having no fear."
  • During a conversation with The Boombox, Usher explained the song, "is what happens when you encounter that wit's end in life, like the only way to move forward is to allow yourself to go numb and go for what you feel."
  • The song's music video starts with footage of Usher at the O2 Arena in Berlin from January 2011. An illness caused him to cut his set short and leave the stage to a chorus of boos from disgruntled fans. We then see scenes of the singer at a hospital bedside juxtaposed with him dancing inside a glass box. Usher tweeted before a preview of the clip: "Sometimes we take for granted moments that allow us to make it thru, ability to just wakeup every morning&take a breath."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Shaun Morgan of Seether

Shaun Morgan of SeetherSongwriter Interviews

Shaun breaks down the Seether songs, including the one about his brother, the one about Ozzy, and the one that may or may not be about his ex-girlfriend Amy Lee.

Real or Spinal Tap

Real or Spinal TapMusic Quiz

They sang about pink torpedoes and rocking you tonight tonight, but some real lyrics are just as ridiculous. See if you can tell which lyrics are real and which are Spinal Tap in this lyrics quiz.

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

Ian Anderson of Jethro TullSongwriter Interviews

The flautist frontman talks about touring with Led Zeppelin, his contribution to "Hotel California", and how he may have done the first MTV Unplugged.

Stan Ridgway

Stan RidgwaySongwriter Interviews

Go beyond the Wall of Voodoo with this cinematic songwriter.

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.