Keke Palmer is addressing the end of her relationship — in song!
The One of Them Days actress released new track, “My Confession,” that reflects on her breakup with boyfriend Darius Jackson, as well as the viral moment she shared with Usher that led to her ex’s widespread roasting on social media.
Palmer explained the song’s intentions on social media on Friday. “This one is personal,” she wrote. “‘My Confession’ is exactly what it sounds like—me giving voice to the feelings I buried.”
She continued: “Sometimes the closure we need doesn’t come from a conversation—it comes from being honest with ourselves. That’s what this song is. My peace. My clarity. My way of letting go.”
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Keke Palmer at the Grammy Museum on May 10, 2023
At the beginning of the song, Palmer sings, “Summer ’23 we was in Vegas right/Broke up with me and you hopped up on a flight,” suggesting that her relationship ended before she attended that fateful Usher concert. She also implies that she chose to go to the pop star’s show as a reaction to the breakup: “Was tryna find my way back to alright/So I figured that I’d have myself a girl’s night.”
Palmer doesn’t directly detail the incident at the concert, wherein Usher slow-danced with her while singing his 2010 song “There Goes My Baby.” She does, however, mention the fallout from the moment in the song.
“48 hours later online/Made me a villain for sympathy but you lied,” Palmer sings, referencing Jackson’s infamous response to a video of Palmer and Usher, wherein he criticized her wardrobe by writing, “It’s the outfit tho.. you a mom.” The music video for the song features a black-and-white screenshot of Jackson’s post.
Palmer reiterates that the relationship had already ended before Vegas. “But the truth is in Vegas we was already over, boo/Because of you,” she sings.
In the chorus, Palmer sings, “F— your projections, these are my confessions” — a not-so-subtle nod to Usher’s song “Confessions Part II,” which also features the line, “These are my confessions” in the chorus.
Later in the song, Palmer recalls Jackson being lambasted online for his unsupportive comment. “72 hours now your feelings hurt/My fans was dragging you because you had the nerve,” she sings. “You almost turned me into a cliché.”
The actress also alludes to tension between herself and her ex’s family — but suggests that he sometimes doesn’t get along with his family, either. “Your family, they don’t like me, that’s fine/
But when did you get back on they side?/When I met you, you hated them like you hating me now,” she sings.
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Darius Jackson and Keke Palmer at the Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic Los Angeles on Oct. 2, 2021
Usher later addressed the incident with Palmer in an interview with PEOPLE. “Every night I’m thinking about how the world now is going to react to this moment that I’ll have with whoever I’m choosing to sing to,” he said. “But it was a pop moment, and it was fun to have at least conversation going and we just keep it light. I don’t see anything negative happening in Las Vegas.”
Palmer then appeared in the video for Usher’s song “Boyfriend,” seemingly poking fun at their previous encounter. “Somebody said that your boyfriend is lookin’ for me,” Usher sings in the song. “That’s cool.”
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Keke Palmer at the 2023 Met Gala in New York City on May 1, 2023; Usher at the 2022 Beloved Benefit in Atlanta on July 7, 2022
In 2024, Palmer expressed surprise at the Vegas concert’s virality. “I was just at a concert, doing what I do as an entertainer, creating a fun moment,” she told PEOPLE. “How it became a storyline that me and Usher are in love, I don’t know.”
The two musicians reflected on the incident earlier this year when Usher appeared on Palmer’s podcast Baby, This is Keke Palmer. During their conversation, the “Yeah!” singer deflected responsibility for the fallout of the Vegas incident. “Did I have anything to do with what was going on in your home?” he said as Palmer laughed. “Did I send you that dress? I can not be responsible for how people choose to react to my experience as an entertainer. I am not deliberately trying to do anything that’s gonna rock anybody’s home.”
Palmer concurred that Usher wasn’t a contributing factor in her breakup. “No guys, it’s not Usher,” she said. “People have problems. Relationships have up and downs. If Usher ends up being there, it’s just coincidence.”
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