

That's kind of forcing the people to grow and elevate. He's growing, developing, moving, shaking, and being something that's new, cultural, and that's affecting people sonically. He wanted to make an album that expressed where he was going sonically and not just where he's been for the past 12 to 15 years. He stepped outside of what was safe and normal. What he wanted to do was explore himself musically. His follow-up record was originally rumored to be titled The Shanetance and due for release on March 23, 2012, though Usher later refuted the speculation. Raymond, with a mixed critical response and commercial success the project went on to earn two Grammy Awards at the 2011 ceremony.

In 2010, Usher released his sixth studio album Raymond v. The tour has further be promoting the album, however, it was cancelled due to the singer's obligation as a coach on The Voice. Usher promoted for the Looking 4 Myself by performing in several shows including the off-broadway show Fuerza Bruta: Look Up, Saturday Night Live and Good Morning America, among others. "Numb" obtained moderate international chart success and peaked at number 69 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Scream" peaked in the top-ten on the Hot 100 and several other countries. "Climax" peaked in the top-twenty on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for eleven weeks. Looking 4 Myself was supported by five singles: " Climax", " Scream", " Lemme See" featuring Rick Ross, " Numb", and " Dive". Worldwide, it attained top-ten positions in over eight other countries including Australia, Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom. As of October 2014, Looking 4 Myself has sold 504,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The album debuted atop the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 128,000 copies in its first week, becoming Usher's fourth number one album in the country. Critic Barry Walters has noted how elements of some of its R&B songs were inspired by the emerging alternative R&B genre. Defined as "revolutionary pop" by the singer, critics noted that Looking 4 Myself is a dance-pop and R&B album that incorporates the genres pop, hip hop, electronic, Europop, and dubstep. Inspired by the electronic duo Empire of the Sun and listening to music originating from several locations, Usher intended the album to contain a more experimental sound, that remained relevant to the music of its time.

Many producers worked on the songs, and the album features appearances from Luke Steele and ASAP Rocky. Released on Jby RCA Records, it is his first album for RCA after the October 2011 merger of the Jive Records group which also included his label, Arista Records, that resulted in both labels being consolidated into the RCA label group. Looking 4 Myself is the seventh studio album by American singer Usher.
