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"Yeah!"
British CD 1 cover
Single by Usher featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris from the album Confessions
Released	January 2004
Format	CD single, CD maxi single, digital download
Recorded	2003
Genre	Crunk & B Hip-Hop
Length	4:10
Label	Arista
Writer	Lil Jon, Sean Garrett, Patrick J. Que Smith, Ludacris, Robert McDowell, James Phillips, LaMarquis Jefferson
Producer	Lil Jon
Certification	3× platinum (RIAA)
Usher singles chronology
"U Don't Have To Call" (2002) "Yeah!" (2004) "Burn" (2004)
Lil Jon singles chronology
"Real Nigga Roll Call" (2004) "Yeah!" (2004) "Salt Shaker" (2004)
Ludacris singles chronology
"Diamond in the Back" (2004) "Yeah!" (2004) "Blow It Out" (2004)
Alternate cover
British CD 2 cover
Audio sample
Info (help·info)

"Yeah!" is a crunk & B/Hip-Hop song written by American songwriters and producers Lil Jon, Sean Garrett, Patrick J. Que Smith, Ludacris, Robert McDowell and James Elbert Phillips (aka LRoc) for Usher's fourth studio album Confessions (2004). The track was produced by Lil Jon and received a positive reception from music critics. Released in early 2004, the song was the first single from the album, which topped various charts around the world, including the Billboard Hot 100 for twelve weeks. It also topped the Australian, Canadian, Norwegian, Swiss, and the UK charts. In 2005, "Yeah!" was nominated for at the 2005 Grammy Awards for "Record of the Year", and won the "Best Rap/Sung Collaboration" award. The song is considered one of the high points of the crunk movement in popular hip hop music.

This song features producer Lil Jon and rapper Ludacris. This is Usher's fourth number-one single, Lil Jon's first number one, and Ludacris's second number one.

The single kicked off what would be a string of back to back hits for Usher. "Yeah!" was followed by number-one hits "Burn", "Confessions Part II", and "My Boo" (with Alicia Keys). The song not only shot Usher to new heights of fame, but it also made Lil Jon one of the most popular producers of 2004.

Musically, the song was influential in applying Lil Jon's "crunk" beat-making to a pop-R&B context—utilizing sung portions over Lil Jon's trademark huge, low-end synthesizer hooks. The song thus validated the applications of "Dirty South"-style beats to R&B songs—as on subsequent songs like Amerie's "Touch", Monica featuring Dem Franchize Boyz's "Everytime tha Beat Drop", and Chris Brown featuring Juelz Santana's number-one pop and R&B hit "Run It!", actually produced by Scott Storch in a style heavily derivative of "Yeah!" and Lil Jon's crunk in general. Also Mario would do a very similar song: "Boom", from his 2004 album Turning Point, with similar lyrics, Lil Jon producing, and a rap collaborator (Juvenile). There is a remix to "Yeah!" featuring Lil Jon, Ludacris, Bone Crusher, YoungBloodZ, Nivea, and Pastor Troy.

The song's video features guest appearances, most notably by Ludacris and Lil Jon. Rapper and protege of Ludacris, Chingy, can also be seen near the end of the video holding up his chain which shows his name. Sean "Diddy" Combs' old assistant, Fonzworth Bentley, made a cameo at the end of the video.

In 2004, Drunkenmunky remixed a sample from "Yeah!" into a hard house track with the same name.

The track was picked up by Z100 in March 2004, and managed to hit number one on the "Interactive 9@9" for a month and a half. On VH1, the song was ranked number one on the Top 40 Videos of 2004.

British CD 1

1. "Yeah!" (featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris) (Jefferson, LaMarquis/Smith, Patrick J Que/Phillips, James/Smith, Jonathan/McDowell, Robert/Garrett, Sean) – 4:10
2. "Red Light" (Smith, Patrick J Que/Smith, Jonathan/Hilson, Keri/McDowell, Robert/Garrett, Sean) – 4:48
3. "Yeah!" (Reggaeton Remix)

British CD 2

1. "Yeah!" (featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris) (Jeffersopn, LaMarquis/Smith, Patrick J Que/Phillips, James/Smith, Jonathan/McDowell, Robert/Garrett, Sean) – 4:10
2. "Red Light" (Smith, Patrick J Que/Smith, Jonathan/Hilson, Keri/McDowell, Robert/Garrett, Sean) – 4:48
3. "Sweet Lies" (Williams, Pharrell/Hugo, Chad) – 4:09
4. "Yeah!" (Instrumental) (Jeffersopn, LaMarquis/Smith, Patrick J Que/Phillips, James/Smith, Jonathan/McDowell, Robert/Garrett, Sean) – 4:09

• United States #1 (4x Platinum - based mainly on digital downloads) (Sales: 800,000)
• New Zealand #1 (2x Platinum) (Sales: 20,000)
• Canada #1 (Platinum) (Sales: 10,000)
• United Kingdom #1 (Silver) (Sales: 200,000)
• Sweden #4 (Gold) (Sales: 10,000)
• Switzerland #1 (Gold) (Sales: 20,000)

Sources

• All Music Guide
• αCharts.us
• Top40-Charts.com
• Absolute TRL