Usher’s next album, the follow-up to his gazillion-selling 2004 disc Confessions, was set to drop later this year (you know, when every other artist in the history of recorded sound is set to release their new album in an attempt to cash in on the holiday-buying frenzy). However, word is that it’s been delayed till 2008. The official unofficial story is that Usher’s pregnant wife, Tameka Foster, has him whipped — she’s demanding that he cater to her and their coming child (due later this year) before he devotes himself to the necessary promotion of his album.

That a tidy tale that serves to further vilify Tameka (she’s already hated by fans), but what if the problem lies not in Tameka’s demands, but in Usher’s producer Jermaine Dupri?

Think about it. He’s handling Usher’s album — it’s delayed. He’s handling Mariah Carey’s next album, too. That disc is supposedly coming out in December, but with not even so much as an announced name for the first single, much less a leak, as each day goes by, it seems unlikely that she’ll meet her pre-2008 deadline (especially considering the promotional workhorse that Mariah has proved to be throughout her career). And then there’s Jermaine’s gf Janet Jackson. She, too, was supposed to release an album by the end of the year (Jermaine predicted an album-sales competition between Jan and Mariah), but like Mariah, there’s been nothing heard from her since early rumblings of the release.

While Jermaine is wisely keeping his hands off Janet’s album (his input certainly did no good for Janet’s 2006 flop 20 Y.O.), she’s undoubtedly touched by his presence (after all, they share a bed). It makes me wonder: is Jermaine Durpri like human tryptophan? Does mere association with him cause artists to become sleepy to the point where they miss their album release dates? He is, after all, a big turkey. [New York Post]

Related Content
Usher Artist Info
Photos
Music Videos


Tags: Janet Jackson Mariah Carey Usher Jermaine Dupri Music