era" and revealed he deliberately chose Usher to appear since nobody would expect him to sing the song. An accompanying music video was intended to be released, with Canadian director X expressing interest after having directed the video for the three artists' previous song "Yeah!" (2004). However, it never came to fruition, as none of their record labels could come to terms on a contractual agreement. Musically, "Lovers and Friends" is an R&B slow jam, which samples Sterling's 1990 song of the same name. It contains a soft melodic piano and hook, as Usher croons with a "rap-soul" style and performs a falsetto coo. Ludacris and Lil Jon additionally rap their verses on the song. The former ad-libs during the closing refrain: "Please tell your lovers and friends that Usher, Jon and Luda had to do it again." LaMarquis Jefferson and Craig Love play the guitars, while L-Roc uses the keyboard. Writing for Rolling Stone, Jon Caramanica compared "Lovers and Friends" to the Mary J. Blige song "Everything" (1997), which he considered as a "liquid love song". Rashaun Hall of Billboard wrote that the song is a "grooving ballad". According to Tyson Mccloud of Lancaster New Era, the song's lyrics do not depict women in "an inferior or stereotypical role" in contrast to the other album tracks. James Doolittle of The Morning Call stated that it is "a humorous attempt at being a mack daddy". Critical reception USA Today writer Steve Jones described "Lovers and Friends" as "smooth", while Caramanica stated that any R&B artist "would be grateful" to include the song on their album. Soren Baker of Los Angeles Times opined that it lyrically consists of a "little more than boasts and threats", but praised the production's "intense, satisfying feeling". Writing in album reviews for Crunk Juice, music critics were surprised by the placement of "Lovers and Friends" on the track listing. The Augusta Chronicle writer C. Samantha McKevie stated that the song alters the pace of the album and "show[s] a softer side" of Lil Jon. Orisanmi Burton of AllHipHop wrote that it "disrupt[s] the rhythm" and is "contrived", while Heather Kuldell and Craig Seymour of Creative Loafing described "Lovers and Friends" as "something they [would] play at an eighth-grade dance" and noted that a Chris Rock introduction is the "lead-in". Writing for The New York Times, Kelefa Sanneh critiqued that the previous song is a Rick Rubin