U Don't Have to Call

"U Don't Have to Call" was written by Neptunes member Pharrell Williams and produced by Williams along with Chad Hugo.{{cite AV media notes|title=8701|others=Usher|year=2001|publisher=Arista Records |type=booklet}} The song was initially given to Michael Jackson for his tenth and final studio album Invincible (2001), along with several other songs by the Neptunes.{{cite web|first=Rashad D.|last=Grove|title=11 Usher songs that changed the game forever|website=revolt.tv|url=https://www.revolt.tv/article/2018-10-15/98901/11-usher-songs-that-changed-the-game-forever/|date=October 15, 2018|access-date=April 15, 2013}} Jackson did not want any of the tracks, and so all the material was passed on to different artists, including Usher and Justin Timberlake.{{cite magazine|title=20 Hit Songs Meant For Other Singers|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|magazine=Billboard|date=February 28, 2013|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/pop-shop/1550426/20-hit-songs-meant-for-other-singers|access-date=July 25, 2023}} Lyrically, the song tells the story of a man who is tired of worrying about his woman and decides to go live it up with the friends.

Usher's intro on "U Don't Have to Call" was inspired by The Notorious B.I.G.'s "One More Chance" (1995) in which the rapper says: "Don't leave your girl around me / True player for real, ask Puff Daddy."{{cite magazine|first=Craig |last=Jenkins|title=Usher on His Most Enduring and Misunderstood Music|publisher=Prometheus Global Media|magazine=Vulture|date=July 27, 2022|url=https://www.vulture.com/2022/07/usher-best-worst-superlatives.html|access-date=July 25, 2023}} In 2022, Usher commented on the intro: "I go into the studio with Pharrell, who did the song. I'm being authentic to the original, and me and JD were working on the entire 8701 album. So I go in the booth, and I'm like, "Don't leave your girl round me. True player for real, ask my nigga JD." And Pharrell was like, "Yo, man." So I'm like, "Oh, my bad." I flipped it to "Don't leave your girl around me / True playa for real, ask my nigga Pharrell."

"U Don't Have to Call" earned largely positive reviews from critics. In a retrospective review, Fact magazine wrote: "Muffled drums and star guitar – it’s no secret that The [Neptunes] were knocking beats like this out in their sleep in 2001, and without Usher's presence there's three or four songs on N.E.R.D. album In Search of… that you could easily confuse this with. Of course, none of that matters when Usher is present, and "U Don't Have to Call" is the peak moment of one of the Neps' most rewarding relationships."{{cite web|first1=Chal|last1=Ravens| first2=Chris|last2=Kelly|first3=John|last3=Twells|first4=Joseph|last4=Morpurgo|first5=Tom|last5=Leao |url=https://www.factmag.com/2014/03/06/the-50-best-pharrell-tracks/|title=The 50 greatest Pharrell tracks so far|website=Fact|date=March 6, 2014 |access-date=July 25, 2023}} Lauren Nostro from Complex found the song to be "flawlessly written [...] and produced." She further called the song "the sweetest song about losing every fuck you give once you walk into the club."{{cite web|first=Lauren |last=Nostro |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/ross-scarano/best-usher-songs|title=The 25 Best Usher Songs|website=Complex|date=October 14, 2016|access-date=July 25, 2023}} Nostro's colleague Craig Jenkins noted: "You can hear the Neptunes' A game on full display on "U Don't Have to Call," which features half a dozen fragmented, interlocking synth hooks colluding to create the melodic bed for Usher's vocal about a man taking his mind off a break up on a night out with friends. The multitracked weirdness abates for the song's jazzy middle eight, which, if it wasn't created explicitly for [Michael Jackson], was certainly inspired by [Jackson]."{{cite web|first=Craig |last=Jenkins |url=https://www.complex.com/music/a/craig-jenkins/the-50-best-neptunes-beats|title=The 50 Best Neptunes Beats|website=Complex|date=March 5, 2013|access-date=July 25, 2023}}

Image:Westin Bonaventure Hotel (6801556011).jpg in Los Angeles.]]

A music video for "U Don't Have to Call" was directed by Little X.{{cite web|url=http://www.mtv.com/videos/usher/14780/u-dont-have-to-call.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211085750/http://www.mtv.com/videos/usher/14780/u-dont-have-to-call.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 11, 2008|title=Usher – U Don't Have to Call |website=MTV.com|access-date=July 25, 2023}} A continuation from the visuals for previous single "U Got It Bad," also directed by Little X, it was filmed back-to-back with the video for "I Need a Girl (Part One)" in February 2002,{{cite web|first=Shaheem|last=Reid|url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1a21gg/p-diddy-usher-shoot-clip-for-the-not-about-jlo-song|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326083402/https://www.mtv.com/news/1a21gg/p-diddy-usher-shoot-clip-for-the-not-about-jlo-song|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 26, 2023|title=P. Diddy, Usher Shoot Clip For 'The-Not-About-J.Lo' Song|website=MTV.com|date=February 6, 2002|access-date=July 25, 2023}} with the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles serving as one of the shooting locations.{{cite web|first=Fiona Alison |last=Duncan|url=https://archive.pinupmagazine.org/articles/bonaventure-adventure-hotel-los-angeles-fiona-alison-duncan-torso|title=History of Downtown L.A. through the Eyes of a Mirrored Hotel Complex|magazine=Pin-Up|date=2020|access-date=July 25, 2023}} P. Diddy makes occasional appearances in the video. TLC member Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas who previously co-starred in "U Got It Bad" as the female lead, has a cameo in the video.

Picking up where the clip left off on "U Got It Bad," the video captures Usher who is "still sobbing" over the separation from his celebrity girlfriend, receiving an uplifting video call from Diddy, who prompts him to come to the club while flanked by his friends.{{cite web|first=Preezy |last=Brown|url=https://www.revolt.tv/article/2019-08-30/86894/9-of-ushers-most-cinematic-music-videos/|title=9 of Usher's most cinematic music videos|website=revolt.tv|date=August 30, 2019|access-date=July 25, 2023}} In 2022, Mya Abraham from Vibe ranked the video among Usher's ten best visuals, writing: "As the singer dances like James Brown, half-naked in a bathrobe across his apartment floor and gets ready for a night out, this Director X-led video is signature early 2000s. Plus, if there's one thing Usher is gonna do, it's give us a dance break."{{cite web|first=Mya|last=Abraham|url=https://www.mtv.com/news/1a21gg/p-diddy-usher-shoot-clip-for-the-not-about-jlo-song|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326083402/https://www.mtv.com/news/1a21gg/p-diddy-usher-shoot-clip-for-the-not-about-jlo-song|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 26, 2023|title=For The Love Of U: Usher's 10 Best Music Videos, Ranked|website=Vibe|date=November 5, 2022|access-date=July 25, 2023}}

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US 12-inch single{{cite AV media notes|title=U Don't Have to Call|others=Usher|year=2002|type=US 12-inch single vinyl disc|publisher=Arista Records|id=07822-15060-1}}

:A1. "U Don't Have to Call" (radio edit) – 3:59

:A2. "U Don't Have to Call" (instrumental) – 4:32

:B1. "U Don't Have to Call" (album version) – 4:30

:B2. "U Don't Have to Call" (acappella) – 4:21

Australian CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=U Don't Have to Call|others=Usher|year=2002|type=Australian CD single liner notes|publisher=Arista Records|id=74321-95844-2}}

1. "U Don't Have to Call" (radio edit) – 3:59
2. "U Don't Have to Call" (remix featuring Ludacris) – 4:18
3. "U Don't Have to Call" (Pete Avila's organic club mix) – 6:16
4. "Nice & Slow" (B-Rock's Basement mix) – 4:03

New Zealand CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=U Don't Have to Call|others=Usher|year=2002|type=New Zealand CD single liner notes|publisher=Arista Records, BMG|id=74321920032}}

1. "U Don't Have to Call" (radio edit) – 3:59
2. "U Don't Have to Call" (Pete Avila's organic club mix) – 6:16
3. "U Don't Have to Call" (Pound Boys Boogie vocal) – 6:47
4. "U Don't Have to Call" (remix featuring Ludacris radio edit) – 4:18

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European CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=U Don't Have to Call|others=Usher|year=2002|type=European CD single liner notes|publisher=Arista Records, BMG|id=74321962912}}

1. "U Don't Have to Call" – 3:53
2. "U Don't Have to Call" (remix featuring Ludacris) – 5:08
3. "U Turn" – 3:12

UK CD single{{cite AV media notes|title=I Need a Girl (Part One) / U Don't Have to Call|others=P. Diddy, Usher|year=2002|type=UK CD single disc notes|publisher=Arista Records, BMG|id=74321 94724 2}}

1. "I Need a Girl (Part One)" {{small|(P. Diddy featuring Usher and Loon)}}
2. "U Don't Have to Call" (remix featuring Ludacris)
3. "I Need a Girl (Part Two)" {{small|(P. Diddy featuring Ginuwine, Loon, Mario Winans and Tammy Ruggeri)}}
4. "I Need a Girl (Part One)" (video)
5. "U Don't Have to Call" (LP version video clip)

UK 12-inch single{{cite AV media notes|title=I Need a Girl (Part One) / U Don't Have to Call|others=P. Diddy, Usher|year=2002|type=UK 12-inch single vinyl disc|publisher=Arista Records, BMG|id=74321 94724 1}}

:A1. "I Need a Girl (Part One)" {{small|(P. Diddy featuring Usher and Loon)}}

:B1. "U Don't Have to Call" (remix featuring Ludacris)

:B2. "I Need a Girl (Part Two)" {{small|(P. Diddy featuring Ginuwine, Loon, Mario Winans and Tammy Ruggeri)}}

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Credits are lifted from the European CD single liner notes.

Studio

• Recorded at The Record Plant (Los Angeles, California)
• Mixed at Right Track Recording (Manhattan, New York City) and Criteria (Miami, Florida)

Personnel

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• The Neptunes – production
• Pharrell Williams – writing, all instruments, arrangement
• Chad Hugo – all instruments, arrangement
• Usher – vocals
• Brian Garten – recording
• Supa Engineer "Duro" – mixing
• Scott Kieklak – mixing assistant

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{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications and sales for "U Don't Have to Call"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=single|artist=Usher|title=U Don't Have to Call|award=Platinum|relyear=2002|certyear=2024|access-date=February 10, 2024|note=Digital}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|type=videosingle|artist=Usher|title=U Don't Have to Call / U Got It Bad|award=Gold|relyear=2002|certyear=2003|access-date=February 10, 2024|note=Video single}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true|streaming=true}}

{{Reflist}}

{{Usher singles}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:U Don't Have To Call}}

Category:2002 singles

Category:2002 songs

Category:Arista Records singles

Category:Bertelsmann Music Group singles

Category:Music videos directed by Director X

Category:Song recordings produced by the Neptunes

Category:Songs written by Pharrell Williams

Category:Usher (musician) songs