The Meaning Behind “My Boo” by Usher and Alicia Keys

Usher is performing at the upcoming Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show. While the Internet predicts and wishes for a dream setlist, one song making most of these playlists is his hit single, “My Boo,” featuring Alicia Keys.

And if “My Boo” makes the list, then the next piece of speculation must follow: Will Alicia Keys be there?

Usher Raymond IV (cozy serendipity with the NFL’s continued use of Roman Numerals) is one of the most influential R&B artists of his time. His career began as a teenager with a self-titled release on LaFace Records in 1994. Though LaFace initially questioned Usher’s star power, his second album, My Way, left no doubt.

His fourth album, Confessions (2004), is a flawless R&B pop album. In a move before Beyoncé’s Lemonade—a 2016 album documenting her emotional journey around Jay-Z’s infidelity—Usher played coy with the press at the time of Confessions’ release regarding his own infidelity with his partner, TLC’s Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas.

Is Confessions autofiction, or was the narrative a PR stunt? It didn’t matter. Mythmaking is at the top of the toolbox of pop music, and stretching a little truth for a lot of press isn’t so bad, boo.

First Kiss

In “My Boo,” Usher duets with Alicia Keys, singing as a former couple who reflect on their time together. Though they’ve moved on to new partners, they continue to share a special bond.

Do you remember, girl?

I was the one who gave you your first kiss

’Cause I remember, girl

I was the one who said, “Put your lips like this.”

Even before all the fame

And people screaming your name

Girl, I was there when you were my baby

The couple in the song fell in love before fame. A coming-of-age story, “My Boo” documents the lasting impression of first kisses. Keys returns the sentiment with her verse.

It started when we were younger, you were mine (my boo)

Now another brother’s taken over, but it’s still in your eyes (my boo)

Even though we used to argue, it’s alright (my boo)

I know we haven’t seen each other in a while

But you will always be my boo

Usher co-wrote the song with Keys, Jermaine Dupri, Adonis Shropshire, and Manuel Seal. It’s a hip-hop-infused R&B track where Usher and Keys turn the song lyrics into a dialogue combining nostalgia with a tinge of regret.  

The “Boo” Revolution

The affectionate term “boo” dates to 18^th-century England, used to describe a male admirer. “Boo” evolved from the French word beau, meaning lovely or beautiful. Language ricochets around the world, often through colonization. With the French in the Caribbean, beau became “boo” and, like other terms of endearment, reflects a kind of infantile affection—like “baby.”

Not to be confused with the scary word, Boo! According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the frightening version of “boo” comes from Middle English. The 16^th-century “bo” was an exclamation to “surprise or frighten.”

Language is tricky. You can express love with boo, scare the bejesus out of children with it, or use it to shout displeasure at the opposing team. In The Language Instinct—arguing sapiens’ instinct for language—Steven Pinker points out grammar’s easy confusion with examples of how we park on a driveway but drive on the parkway.

“Boo” worked its way into 90s hip-hop culture in America with A Tribe Called Quest’s song “Go Ahead in the Rain.” Lifeless adventures ain’t new, boo / So don’t boo hoo, yeah, you too.

In 1996, Ghost Town DJs had a hit called “My Boo,” released on Jermaine Dupri’s record label So So Def. Completing the French to American hip-hop full circle slang, Dupri also produced Usher’s “My Boo.”

It’s Not Beyoncé

A 2004 demo of “My Boo” is thought to feature Beyoncé singing with Usher. However, the duet featured Kortney Kaycee Leveringston. Though “My Boo” reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, it didn’t appear on the initial track listing for Confessions. The song leaked online before LaFace Records released it as a single, later included on Confessions (Special Edition).

Keys and Usher first collaborated on a European edition of her 2004 single, “If I Ain’t Got You.” Dupri’s working relationship with Keys and Usher brought the duo together on “My Boo.”

Times Square

The music video follows Usher and Alicia Keys in New York City, in separate apartments, preparing to go out for the night. Usher watches his video for “Bad Girl” on TV before the song cuts to “My Boo,” and he and Keys sing from their separate spaces.

They head out for the night, with Usher using the subway and Keys in her car. The couple finally comes together in Times Square. It all ends wistfully as they embrace, building will-they-or-won’t-they tension as the camera pans to the New York skyline before they kiss.

(Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)