My Boo (Usher and Alicia Keys Song) - Release and Reception

Release and Reception

"My Boo" was among the songs that were not included in the final track listing of Confessions, including "Red Light" and songs recorded Usher recorded with P. Diddy and The Neptunes. "My Boo" and "Red Light" were leaked to the internet, along with other records that were not included during the first release. The song was included in the expanded version of Confessions, alongside "Red Light" and "Sweet Lies" which were only released in the UK version of the album. Dupri thought of releasing "My Boo" as the fourth single from Confessions once "Confessions Part II" would be leaving the charts. The single was released in the United States as a 12" single on September 21, 2004. It was a double–A side with "Confessions Part II" when it was released in the United Kingdom on December 28, 2004. "My Boo" was re-released in the United Kingdom on January 18, 2005.

The song received mixed reviews from critics. Azeem Ahmad of OMH Media proposed to ban "My Boo" because he felt that the collaboration was a competition among Usher and Alicia Keys "over the hip-pop like beat". Jon Caramanica of Rolling Stone found the duet sentimental.

At the 2005 Grammy Awards, it was nominated for Best R&B Song and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals; to which it won the latter and the former was awarded to Alicia Keys' song, "You Don't Know My Name". Usher and Keys won for Best R&B/Soul Single by a Duo or Group during the 2005 Soul Train Music Awards. In 2008, Billboard ranked the song seventh on a special The 40 Biggest Duets of All Time listing.