20 Pieces of Art Made Better by Usher's "Confessions"

Edvard Munch's "Scream" and Usher have more in common than you might expect.

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Complex Original

Image via Complex Original

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It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since Usher released Confessions. Arguably the R&B singer's greatest work and certainly one of the best from the 2000s, Confessions had everyone singing along about being unfaithful and having another woman's baby. Fast forward a decade, and the music scene's changed quite a bit. For starters, to say that there's a revitalized interest in the arts would be a huge understatement.

With rappers like Jay Z performing at Pace Gallery with Marina AbramovicKanye West constantly name dropping artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, and Lady Gaga enlisting Jeff Koons' help in creating her latest album cover for ARTPOP, art history is now more relevant than ever before. 

To celebrate the 10th anniversary of Usher's Confessions, we took the liberty of revisiting the tracks and analyzing them from an art history point of view. Here's 20 Pieces of Art Made Better by Usher's Confessions.

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"Yeah!" meets The Singing Butler by Jack Vettriano (1992)

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Lyric: "She asked for one more dance, and I'm like 'yeah, how the hell am I supposed to leave?'"

This dude definitely can't dance as well as Usher.

"Confessions" meets Woman Before Aquarium by Henri Matisse (1921–23)

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Lyric: "So gone, so wrong acting like I didn't have you sittin' at home."

At least she had her fish for company.

"Confessions Part II" meets Hope II by Gustav Klimt (1907-08)

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Lyric: "My chick on the side said she got one on the way."

Though this painting is called Hope II, it portrays the exact opposite for a lot of dudes.

"Seduction" meets Venus of Willendorf (c. 28,000 - 25,000 B.C.E.)

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Lyric: "Sensual, sexy, erotic, how you workin' your body."

Hey, Venus of Willendorf was the standard of beauty back in the day.

"Red Light" meets Dream by Cai Guo-Qiang (2008)

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Lyric: "So, why am I sittin' here at the red light, drivin' round, lookin' out for her?"

Usher's talking about a different kind of red light, but there's something romantic and isolating about Cai Guo-Qiang's lanterns too.

"My Boo" meets I know that just a kiss will take me far away by Aya Takano (2006)

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Lyric: "Do you remember, girl, I was the one who gave you your first kiss?"

There's nothing like young love and first kisses.

"Follow Me" meets Wantee by Laure Prouvost (2013)

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Lyric: "When you look from outside, all you see is videos and shows."

It's hard being an international star.

"Take Your Hand" meets Hanging Heart (Gold/Magenta) by Jeff Koons (2007)

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Lyric: "Hey, I feel like I just blow on up everytime I feel your love."

So much love in the air.

"Do It To Me" meets The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo (1511-1512)

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Lyric: "I wanna feel you touch my body, baby ... body baby."

Usher was definitely singing about a different kind of touching.

"Can You Handle It?" meets When I hold you, I hold your heart by Tracey Emin (2012)

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Lyric: "Need you to know, if we make it through, our love will grow."

Usher's love songs are so sappy and loving, Tracey Emin's neon works seem like they were made for him.

"Bad Girl" meets A Bar at the Folies-Bergère by Edouard Manet (1882)

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Lyric: "Take a look at my dame (my dame). Fosho, she take that Hpnotiq or Alizé."

This stone-faced bartender looks like she could be one bad girl.

"Simple Things" meets 200 One Dollar Bills by Andy Warhol (1962)

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Lyric: "Those dollars don't make sense to me at all."

Money isn't everything, but it rules everything around us.

"Truth Hurts" meets Joseph and Potiphar's Wife by Orazio Gentileschi (between 1626 and 1630)

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Lyric: "Whatcha been doing, and who ya been doing it with?"

Looks like girl got caught with another man.

"Superstar" meets Figure 1 by Jasper Johns (1969)

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Lyric: "This is for you, you, my number one."

Usher's got millions of fans but only one number one girl.

"Caught Up" meets Le couple by Pablo Picasso (1969)

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Lyric: "This girl's got a hold... I'm so caught up."

Happily taken or whipped?

"Burn" meets The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons by J. M. W. Turner (1834-5)

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Lyric: "Let it burn."

The end of a relationship can feel a lot like your whole world in flames.

"Confessions Part II" meets At Eternity's Gate by Vincent van Gogh (1890)

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Lyric: "Damn near cried when I got that phone call."

If you get a girl who's not your girlfriend knocked up, you'll probably look a lot like this dude at some point.

"Confessions" meets M-Maybe by Roy Lichtenstein (1965)

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Lyric: "And I just wanna confess 'cause it's been going on so long."

It's never fun wondering where your significant other is every night, as this Roy Lichtenstein blondie has probably realized.

"Throwback" meets The Persistence of Memory by Salvador Dalí (1931)

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Lyric: "I'm goin' outta my mind, and I'm runnin' outta time."

Love can feel a lot like one of Dalí's dreamlike paintings.

"Yeah!" meets The Scream by Edvard Munch (1893)

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Lyric: "Next thing I knew she was all up on me screaming, 'Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!'"

We really hope the girl in the club didn't look like Edvard Munch's The Scream.

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