Peak
1
Weeks
47
Score
11,206
Chart Year
2004
The video begins with Usher entering a club, and in another scene dancing in front of blue lasers; the video alternates between both the club and laser scenes throughout. In the former setting, Usher is sat down when a woman—portrayed by Destiny, video producer Mr. X's friend—approaches him and attempts to seduce him. The woman stands up and walks to the dance-floor, telling Usher to "come get me" and "baby let's go", in sync with the song. Usher goes and dances with her during the chorus. In the beginning of the second verse, the laser scene with Usher dancing now shows both blue and green lasers. Usher and the woman are still dancing, with the woman further attempting to seduce him. In the second chorus, Usher performs choreography in the club, backed up by several male dancers. Female dancers then come in, performing choreography along with Usher and the male dancers. After Lil Jon sprays champagne towards the camera in the laser scene, Ludacris performs his verse. He is dancing in both the club and laser scene, with the camera also alternating to female's dancing in sync in the club. In the final chorus, Usher again performs choreography in the club, with another scene in the latter setting this time showing a different seductress, portrayed by model Melyssa Ford, walking away telling him to follow her. While following her, he is in a hallway, with the women then pulling Usher in a room, where they begin to romance. While Ludacris says his final verse, rapper Chingy and P. Diddy's former assistant, Fonzworth Bentley, both make appearances with Bentley holding a violin. Lil Jon says his final verse, not present in the track version of "Yeah!", where he repeats numerous dance moves including the Rockaway and Thunderclap, with Usher performing them. The video ends with Lil Jon repeating "rock away" and then "cut".[3] At the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards, Usher won his first 2 awards with Best Dance Video and Best Male Video.[75] At the 2005 Soul Train Music Awards, the video was nominated for the Michael Jackson Award for Best R&B/Soul or Rap Music Video
Like many club bangers, this one is set in the club, where Usher is spending some time with his homies. He has a girlfriend, but she's not there, so a lady steps in to seduce him. Throughout the song, Usher is trying to decide just how far to let this go. Every time he tries to take the moral high ground and behave himself, he's overruled by a much louder voice that says "yeah!" We're not sure how the night ends, but we know they get hot and heavy on the dancefloor. Usher may have some confessions for later. This was produced by Lil Jon, who also added the "yeah!" vocals. Most of his productions, including this one, feature a crunk sound with lots of heavy beats. Thanks to Dave Chappelle, that "yeah!" became forever linked to Lil Jon. In various Chappelle's Show bits, Dave portrays the producer all blinged-out, having conversations where he'll inevitably yell out, "yeah!" Ludacris did the rap. The Atlanta MC was piping hot at this time, with a number of solo hits and also a spate of successful features. He also appeared on Missy Elliott's "Gossip Folks" and Chingy's "Holidae In." "Yeah!" was the biggest hit of 2004. It went to #1 in the US on February 28, 2004 and stayed there for 12 weeks, bowing out on May 22 when it was replaced by Usher's next single, "Burn," which held the top spot another eight weeks. This was the first time a song with a four-letter title replaced another at #1. The song was used in the 2005 movie Hitch when Will Smith tries to teach Kevin James how to dance. It also appears in The Interview (2014), Joyful Noise (2012) and The Hangover (2009). Sean Garrett, a songwriter and producer who has had a hand in many hit songs, including Chris Brown's "Run It!," Destiny's Child's "Soldier" and Ciara's "Goodies," helped write the lyrics and turn the song into a story. Garrett worked for LA Reid's publishing company, which is how he ended up on the track - Reid was also in charge of Usher's label, Arista Records. Said Garrett: "I knew that Usher was almost finished with his album. LA Reid called me and said, 'We need a first single.' We spoke a little bit about it, and I went to the studio. Since all the other songs on the album were very hot and R&B-ish, I wanted to give him something out-of-the-box that was more creative and dynamic. So we went in and cut a demo and took it to LA, and we sat and talked about it for quite a while. He thought it was very interesting, but he asked me a lot of questions in reference to how it worked for Usher and said he wanted a change or two. So I went in, and the rest is history - and the beginning of this beautiful run." "Yeah!" hit #1 in the US three weeks before the Confessions album was even released. The album sold over a million copies the first week and eventually went Diamond for sales of over 10 million in America. The first week of June 2004, Usher placed three singles in the Top 10 ("Yeah!," "Burn," and "Confessions, Pt. 2"), making him only the third artist, after The Beatles and Bee Gees, to do this. Usher was only 25 but had been in the industry half his life. Raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, he was 12 when he moved to Atlanta and 14 when he released his first single, "Call Me A Mack," in 1993. He spent time in New York City under the tutelage of Puff Daddy, who helped out with his first album, released in 1994 when Usher was 15. His next two albums, My Way in 1997 and 8701 in 2001, were monsters, but Confessions was even bigger. Usher was rivaled only by Beyoncé and Eminem in popularity at this time. This song almost didn't make the Confessions album. Usher explained to MTV News that once he and Lil Jon "finished the record, we did a little research on the record only to find out that 'Freek-A-Leek' by Petey Pablo had the same beat. At times I wonder if it would have made a difference if the beat was never changed. Nobody knew it was going to be that huge of a record." Director X transformed an empty Los Angeles art gallery into a nightclub for the music video, which features cameos from rappers Lil Jon and Ludacris, dancer Destiny Lightsy, and Canadian model Melyssa Ford. Hundreds of rotating blue and green lasers accompany Usher on the dance floor, an idea X had from the first moment he heard the song: "I just felt real strongly about the laser beams when I heard it," he told MTV. The budget didn't provide much in the way of food for the dancers. So how did they sustain themselves into the wee hours of the morning? Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a side of CRUNK!!!, an energy drink created by Lil Jon. "Yeah!" won the Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration at the 2005 ceremony. Confessions also took the award for Best Contemporary R&B Album, but lost Album Of The Year to the far less popular Genius Loves Company by Ray Charles. According to an Amazon commercial that aired during the 2020 Super Bowl, this is Ellen DeGeneres' favorite song. In the spot, Ellen and her partner, Portia De Rossi, wonder what people did before Alexa. We go back in time to see real people charged with tasks like "tell me a joke" and "lower the temperature one degree" before returning to present day, where Ellen asks Alexa to play her favorite song. The digital assistant complies by playing "Yeah!"
Peace up, A-Town down Yeah, yeah! Okay, okay! (Usher, Usher, Usher, Usher) Lil' Jon Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah (What it do shawty?) Let's go! Up in the club with my homies, trying to get a lil' V-I Keep it down on the low-key (low-key) You should know how it feels (hey!) I saw this shorty, she was checking up on me From the game she was spitting in my ear You would think that she know me (know me) I decided to chill (okay!) Conversation got heavy (hey) She had me feeling like she's ready to blow (watch out) Oh (watch out) She's saying "come get me" (come get me) So I got up and followed her to the floor She said, "baby, let's go" When I told her (let's go) I said (Yeah!) Yeah! Shorty got down low and said "come and get me" (Yeah!) Yeah! I got so caught up, I forgot she told me (Yeah!) Yeah! Her and my girl, used to be the best of homies (Yeah!) Yeah! Next thing I knew, she was all up on me screaming Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah So she's all up in my head now Got me thinking that it might be a good idea to take her with me 'Cause she's ready to leave (ready to leave now) (Let's go) And I gotta keep it real now 'Cause on a one to ten, she's a certified twenty But that just ain't me, hey 'Cause I don't know, if I take that chance Just where's it gonna lead But what I do know is the way she dance Makes shorty alright with me (hey, hey, hey) The way she get low I'm like "yeah", just work that out for me She asks for one more dance, and I'm like "yeah" How the hell am I supposed to leave? (Let's go, bring the beat back!) And I say (Yeah!) Yeah! Shorty got down low and said "come and get me" (Yeah!) Yeah! I got so caught up, I forgot she told me (Yeah!) Yeah! Her and my girl, used to be the best of homies (Yeah!) Yeah! Next thing I knew, she was all up on me screaming Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah (hey, hey, Luda!) Watch out, my outfit's ridiculous In the club looking so conspicuous And rraww, these women all on the prowl If you hold the head steady, I'ma milk the cow (yeah!) And forget about game, I'ma spit the truth (what?) I won't stop 'til I get 'em in they birthday suit (yeah!) So gimme the rhythm and it'll be off with their clothes Then bend over to the front and touch your toes I left the Jag and I took the Rolls If they ain't cutting, then I put 'em on foot patrol (let's go) How you like me now? When my pinky's valued over three hundred thousand Let's drink, you the one to please (yeah) Ludacris fill cups like double D's (yeah!) Me and Ursh' once more, and we leaves 'em dead (hey) We want a lady in the street but a freak in the bed that say (Yeah!) Yeah! Shorty got down low and said "come and get me" (Yeah!) Yeah! I got so caught up, I forgot she told me (Yeah!) Yeah! Her and my girl, used to be the best of homies (Yeah!) Yeah! Next thing I knew, she was all up on me screaming Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Take that and rewind it back Lil Jon got the beat that make your booty go Take that, rewind it back Usher got the voice to make your booty go Take that, rewind it back Ludacris got the flow to make your booty go Take that, rewind it back Lil Jon got the beat that make your booty go
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan 10, 2004 | 53 | 73 |
| 2 | Jan 17, 2004 | 40 | 86 |
| 3 | Jan 24, 2004 | 14 | 112 |
| 4 | Jan 31, 2004 | 7 | 119 |
| 5 | Feb 7, 2004 | 6 | 120 |
| 6 | Feb 14, 2004 | 4 | 122 |
| 7 | Feb 21, 2004 | 2 | 124 |
| 8 | Feb 28, 2004 | 1 | 125 |
| 9 | Mar 6, 2004 | 1 | 125 |
| 10 | Mar 13, 2004 | 1 | 125 |
| 11 | Mar 20, 2004 | 1 | 125 |
| 12 | Mar 27, 2004 | 1 | 125 |
| 13 | Apr 3, 2004 | 1 | 125 |
| 14 | Apr 10, 2004 | 1 | 125 |
| 15 | Apr 17, 2004 | 1 | 125 |
| 16 | Apr 24, 2004 | 1 | 125 |
| 17 | May 1, 2004 | 1 | 125 |
| 18 | May 8, 2004 | 1 | 125 |
| 19 | May 15, 2004 | 1 | 125 |
| 20 | May 22, 2004 | 3 | 123 |