A joint album from Usher and Chris Brown appears to be moving closer to reality. According to producer and songwriter Bryan Michael Cox, the two R&B stars are sorting through a large stockpile of new material to decide what belongs on a duet project and what will be saved for their solo releases.
Cox, who has been writing with Usher for the new music, described the process as nonstop. “We are in a revolving door of music,” he said, adding that “we’ve made so much music together for this new project.”
The volume of songs has created a familiar challenge: deciding where each one should land. Cox explained that the camp has now begun narrowing things down after weeks of steady writing sessions.
“Figure out which songs they’re going to keep,” he said, describing the current stage of the work.
He made clear that the material is being split several ways, with the artists working out “which songs are going to go on the duet album, which songs are going to go on Usher’s album.
The confirmation that Usher and Chris Brown are building a full duet album is the headline here. Cox spoke about the project as an established plan rather than a rumour, saying the pair appear to be assembling a track list from the songs that have piled up.
He was careful not to overpromise, framing his comments as hopeful rather than final. “I know we’ve written a lot of songs,” he said, before noting that this is nothing new for the team. “We’re always writing a lot of songs for them.”
That candour reflects the reality of working with two artists known for recording far more than they release.
Cox noted that the writing simply continues until the decision makers settle on a direction, at which point the project starts to come together.
Cox also pointed out that the duet album is unlikely to be Chris Brown’s only release in the pipeline. Chris is probably going to drop another album,” he said, joking about the singer’s famously productive output by adding that “he’ll drop five albums” given the chance.
Brown’s habit of releasing large bodies of work has long been part of his reputation, and Cox’s remarks suggest the collaboration with Usher will sit alongside, rather than replace, his own solo plans.
For Usher, the sorting process means some of the songs written in these sessions will be reserved for his next solo album, while others will be shared with Brown on the joint project.
Cox’s most notable comments concerned timing. While no release date has been announced, he expressed confidence that the album will arrive sooner rather than later.
“I think it’ll happen,” he said. “I believe it’s going to happen on this side of the tour.”
He pointed specifically to a European tour scheduled for next year as the likely cutoff point, saying he expects the effort to wrap before “the European tour kicks in next year.”
He reinforced the point moments later. “I think they’re going to really try to get it done on this side of it,” he added.
For fans who have long imagined a full collaboration between two of R&B’s most influential performers, Cox’s update offers the clearest sign yet that the project is real and progressing.
With the songs written and the selection process underway, the remaining question is simply when the finished album will be ready to share.
