Justin Bieber recorded a Christmas album, and I can’t think of a better artist to release a Christmas album from a marketing standpoint. This will probably be the most popular stocking stuffer this year. Despite my acknowledged status as a “Belieber,” I did not expect to like the album—and yet, I did.

What happened to Usher? In 2004, the R&B singer released his hugely successful album “Confessions,” which spawned four number-one singles—“Yeah,” “Burn,” “Confessions Part II” and “My Boo.” Then, he tried to make a comeback in 2008 with “Here I Stand,” which managed to feature one number-one hit, “Love in this Club.” Now Usher has returned with his new album, “Raymond vs. Raymond,” in the hopes that he can regain his former title of R&B king. At this point, that seems highly unlikely.