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Usher

 
Who2 Biography: Usher, Singer/Actor
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Usher
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  • Born: 14 October 1978
  • Birthplace: Dallas, Texas
  • Best Known As: The R&B star who did "You Make Me Wanna..." and "Yeah"

Name at birth: Usher Raymond IV

Called an "R&B teen dream" by Rolling Stone, Usher was only 15 years old when he released his self-titled first album in 1994. (The album was executive produced by hitmaker Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.) Usher's 1997 hit single "You Make Me Wanna..." gained him international fame, and his album My Way earned him the 1998 Billboard Best Performer of the Year award. A sultry R&B singer in the old-school mode of Marvin Gaye and Luther Vandross, Usher has never been afraid to show off his muscular new-school physique. He has also dabbled in acting, with a recurring role on the teen sitcom Moesha, and roles in the films The Faculty (1998, with Jon Stewart), She's All That (1999, with Freddie Prinze, Jr.) and Texas Rangers (2001, with Ashton Kutcher). His other albums include 8701 (2001) and Confessions (2004). Confessions featured the singles "Burn" and "Yeah" (the latter a collaboration with Ludacris and Lil' Jon) and earned Usher four American Music Awards and eight Grammy nominations.

Usher is a part-owner of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers... Usher made his Broadway debut in August of 2006, playing slick lawyer Billy Flynn in the long-running revival of Chicago for six weeks... Many sources list his place of birth as Chattanooga, Tennessee. According to his Thomson Gale biography, "Usher was born... in Dallas, Texas. Within a year of his birth, he moved with his mother to Chattanooga, Tennessee."

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Black Biography: Usher
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rhythm and blues singer; actor

Personal Information

Born Usher Raymond IV in Dallas, Texas, on October 14, 1978; son of single mother Jonnetta Patton (a choir director, later his manager); one brother, James.

Career

LaFace Record Label, recording artist, 1993-; actor, 1997-; Us Record Label, co-founder, 2002--.

Life's Work

With his natural good looks and personal presence that set him apart from the pack, Usher has risen from genuine teen idol to mature pop star. Usher has to travel with bodyguards to hold back the throngs of screaming adolescent females. "I actually have been hurt," he told Interview magazine writer Dimitri Ehrlich. "I twisted my ankle--well, they twisted my ankle--in Amsterdam." Usher's musical talents were obvious, and the industry rewarded him with a 1998 Grammy award nomination for Best Male R&B vocal performance. At the century's end, Usher built on his teenage success, thanks to what People described as his "sculpted pecs, six-pack abs, and come-hither croon," to launch a successful acting career and media empire that will fuel his meteoric rise in the entertainment industry.

Inspired to Sing at Young Age

Usher was born Usher Raymond IV on October 14, 1978, in Dallas, Texas, but grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His father, despite the long continuity of male family lineage implied by the fourth generation of the "Usher" name, abandoned his family. But Usher benefited from constant support and encouragement from his mother, Jonnetta Patton. "She showed me the difference between good and evil," Usher told Interview. "My dad never did. He split when I was born," he continued.

The members of Usher's extended family, which included grandmothers and aunts, were fans of R&B music, and he soaked up various vocal sounds when he was young. Ironically, it was a song recorded eight years before he was born, the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back," that first caught the youngster's attention and made him think about singing himself. Usher's mother spotted her son's talents and honed them by getting him to join her church choir, a critical step for many vocalists in the R&B tradition. Then she nurtured his competitive instincts by entering him in talent contests, and Usher justified his mother's confidence by winning many of them.

The family moved to Atlanta because of the city's importance as a spawning ground for new R&B talent during the 1990s. Usher continued to enter competitions, and, around 1991, took home his biggest prize yet: he was named best teen male vocalist on the nationally broadcast television program, Star Search. The win propelled Usher, barely of high school age, to a contract with the LaFace music label in 1992.

Groomed for Stardom

Usher's signing fell during the rise to prominence of Sean "Puffy" Combs, the famed hip-hop impresario and producer who played a key role in the successful marketing of the "gangsta" rap style and later emerged as a multi-platinum-selling artist in his own right. Usher spent a year under Combs's tutelage, and the relationship between the two young men was not always a harmonious one. "That whole bad-boy thing, me frowning for the camera-that wasn't me," Usher told People. Sales of Usher, the self-titled Combs-produced 1994 debut CD, though modest, did yield one gold-selling hit single, "Think of You," and Usher was on his way.

Taking steps to forge a new and friendlier image on his own, Usher began to work with hot R&B producer Jermaine Dupri. Part of Usher's effort to take control of his career was a new emphasis on writing his own songs, and Dupri had the sense to partner with his young new charge in this enterprise. Usher's refashioning of his career began to pay big dividends with his sophomore CD, 1997's My Way; led by the Usher-Dupri composition "You Make Me Wanna," a smooth ballad that brought to life the beginnings of a love triangle, My Way achieved sales of over five million copies and vastly broadened Usher's appeal beyond the R&B field. Another Number One single from My Way was "Nice & Slow." Asked about the album by Time magazine, Usher demonstrated awareness of the resonances of its title: "I know who Frank Sinatra is, daddy," he answered, showing the charismatic confidence he often exuded in interviews.

The album effectively mixed R&B and hip-hop stylings, and Usher proved that he had the vocal chops to go with his good looks when he wowed an audience at Harlem's prestigious Apollo Theater during the tour he undertook to promote it. Thanks to the success of My Way, Billboard named Usher its 1998 Artist of the Year. On top of the music world, Usher took the opportunity to enjoy the fruits of his success, repaying his mother's long years of investment in his career (she remains his manager) with a new Mercedes 420 automobile and a Cartier watch. But he was already planning the next stage of his career.

Forged Film Career

Usher had already made his acting debut with a stint of several episodes on the television series Moesha and Promised Land. For his first film project, he would choose a different kind of teen setting. Usher astutely zeroed in on the horror genre, largely an untapped field for black performers but tremendously popular among young people of all races. In late 1998 he made his debut in The Faculty, playing a high school football star possessed by aliens.

The film was a hit, and it attracted interest from the hip clothing designer Tommy Hilfiger, who featured images of its youthful cast in his advertising that year. It was a measure of Usher's appeal that he was played prominently in these ads, and he wrangled with Hilfiger over the use of his image. Ultimately he filed suit against the company for $1 million with the claim that Hilfiger had gone far beyond the guidelines the cast had agreed to, without "paying the money appropriate for an endorsement deal." Clearly Usher was aware of his own potential for further marketability.

Usher's movie career entered an upward trajectory more quickly than did his musical one. Faculty director Robert Rodriguez praised Usher in a People interview, saying, "He was already way above and beyond a lot of people I have worked with who were coming in for the first time." In 1999 Usher also appeared as a student disc jockey in the film She's All That, Light It Up with Vanessa L. Williams and Forest Whitaker and two more films were set for release in the year 2000, Gepetto and Texas Rangers. "I've found a new love," he told People. "My acting is making me want to leave my singing."

Musical Offerings Brought Unprecedented Fame

But while Usher developed as an actor, he continued to tour and music remained a huge part of his life. To appease fans, he released Live in 2000. The album documented Usher's development as a performer, featuring remixes of his early work and songs with guest artists such as Trey Lorenz, Shanice, Twista, and others. But it was not until 2001 that he came out with an album of new work. Writing for 8701 Usher created songs with stories. His stories touched fans and sent the album to multi-platinum success and fans kept "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad" at the top of both the pop and R&B charts for weeks. Usher won his first Grammy awards for these songs, and about a dozen other industry awards for his work on the album.

The success of 8701 made the 25-year-old Usher wonder about how he should develop his career. "With every album, I try to better myself," Usher noted on the UsherWorld Web site. "I'm a perfectionist and with the success of my last record, I wasn't sure about where my growth should be--as a performer, as a vocalist. I always felt like I held something back on my albums--on every album, I was playing a 'role.'" So for his next album, Confessions, Usher said: "I decided to shake my fears and allow my personality to come through."

His efforts created a record-breaking, chart-topping, award-winning album. Four songs from Confessions landed at number one on the Billboard 100, and Usher became the third artist, after the Beatles and the Bee Gees, with three songs in the top 10 at the same time. Confessions also won him three Grammy Awards and four American Music Awards in 2005. With sales of more than 25 million albums by 2005, his success has inspired comparisons with the youthful rise of Michael Jackson to the top of the charts and led the media to dub Usher the new King of Pop.

But Usher's phenomenal success in music had become only one segment of his vision for the future. He started his own record label, Us records, with his mother in 2002; began producing films; bought a stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers; and had begun preparations to start selling his own line of clothing, cosmetics, and fashion accessories. In addition to his business ventures, Usher started a summer music camp for talented youth and Usher's New Look, an organization focused on developing teen leadership. Usher related his vision for his future in an interview with Essence: "I hope to do something as a businessman that opens up more opportunities for people to believe in themselves, if I can do it, you may believe you can do it as well. Let me become the motivation for moving forward. Oprah Winfrey is a great motivator for Black people. How can I do the same thing?" Given his ambitions and recognized drive, many would guess that Usher certainly can.

Awards

Selected: First place award on Star Search television talent search program, 1992; Soul Train Music Award, best performance by an R&B Artist, Male, 1997; multi-platinum status for My Way, 1997; Grammy awards, for Best Male R&B Performance, 2001 and 2002, for Rap/Sung Collaboration, for Contemporary R&B Album, and for R&B Performance for a Duo, all 2005; NAACP Image Award, 2005.

Works

Selected works

    Albums
    • Usher, LaFace, 1994.
    • My Way, LaFace, 1997.
    • Live, LaFace, 2000.
    • 8701, LaFace, 2001.
    • Confessions, LaFace, 2004.
    Films
    • The Faculty, 1998.
    • Light It Up, 1999.
    • She's All That, 1999.
    • Gepetto, 2000.
    • Texas Rangers, 2001.
    • In the Mix, 2005.

    Further Reading

    Books

    • Contemporary Musicians, volume 23, Gale, 1999.
    • Larkin, Colin, ed., Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Muze UK, 1998.
    Periodicals
    • Daily News Record, January 4, 1999, p. 6.
    • Ebony, January 1998, p. 46.
    • Entertainment Weekly, April 3, 1998, p. 96.
    • Essence, June 2005, p. 124.
    • Forbes, May 9, 2005, p. 18.
    • Interview, May 1998, p. 102.
    • Jet, December 14, 1998, p. 38.
    • Men's Health, May 2005, p. 160.
    • People, January 11, 1999, p. 83.
    • Time, February 23, 1998, p. 93.
    On-line
    • UsherWorld, www.usherworld.com (March 22, 2006).

    — David G. Oblender, Shirelle Phelps, James M. Manheim, and Sara Pendergast

    Artist: Usher
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    Home > Library > Entertainment & Arts > Pop Artists
    Usher

    Similar Artists:

    Dru Hill, Tyrese, Tatyana Ali, Mya, Myron, K-Ci & JoJo, Monifah, Xscape, Monica, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, TLC, Lee Carr, Ne-Yo, T-Pain, Ryan Leslie, Destiny's Child, LSG, 112, Guesss, Brandy, Marques Houston, R. Kelly, Aaliyah, Blackstreet, Shai, Mario, Sisqó, Angie Martinez, Jagged Edge, Case, Mark Morrison, En Vogue, N2U

    Influenced By:

    Jodeci, Keith Sweat, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Boyz II Men, Guy, Bobby Brown, New Edition

    Followers:

    Jeremih, NLT, Corbin Bleu, Chris Brown, Pretty Ricky, One Chance, O'Ryan, Corey Clark, Omarion, Sammie, Ray J, Lloyd, Day26, Elliott Yamin, Keke Palmer, Mario Vazquez, Cassie, Frankie J, Buddy, Rick Harris

    Performed Songs By:

    Brian Casey, Usher Raymond, Faith Evans, Manuel Seal, Jr.

    Formal Connection With:

    Black Men United, Babyface, Justin Bieber, DeVante Swing, Al B. Sure!
    See Usher Lyrics
    • Born: October 14, 1978, Dallas, TX
    • Active: '90s, 2000s
    • Genres: Rhythm & Blues
    • Instrument: Vocals
    • Representative Albums: "Confessions," "My Way," "Here I Stand"
    • Representative Songs: "U Remind Me," "Love in This Club," "U Got It Bad"

    Biography

    After being spotted by a La Face record executive at a talent show in his hometown of Atlanta, it took no time for Usher Raymond's career to take off. The 14-year-old auditioned for La Face co-founder L.A. Reid, who signed the gospel choir boy to a recording contract. Raymond was introduced to the world simply as "Usher," and released his debut album of the same name in 1994, which featured co-executive producer Sean "Puffy" Combs. The first single, "Think of You," gained Usher notoriety and reached gold status. From that initial exposure, Usher was approached to do other projects. In 1995, he recorded a national holiday jingle for Coca-Cola. He also joined several top male R&B vocalists to form Black Men United for the single "You Will Know," featured on the Jason's Lyric soundtrack. He also teamed with teen singing sensation Monica for a duet remake of Latimore's "Let's Straighten It Out."

    After graduating from high school, Usher released his sophomore album, My Way, in 1997. In an attempt to display his maturity and songwriting abilities, Usher co-wrote six of the nine songs and enlisted the help of producers Jermaine Dupri, Babyface, and, again, Combs. The album's first single, "You Make Me Wanna," re-established Usher as one of R&B's hottest artists, and also made him a crossover sensation; it topped the R&B charts for 11 weeks, hit number two pop, and eventually went double platinum. Both of the follow-up singles, "Nice & Slow" and "My Way," also went platinum; the former stayed at number one on the R&B charts for eight weeks and became his first number one pop single. In the meantime, Usher launched an acting career, appearing in the 1998 horror spoof The Faculty and the 1999 urban high-school drama Light It Up.

    To tide fans over, he issued a concert recording titled simply Live in 1999. Usher returned with his third proper album, All About U, toward the end of 2000. His third album, 8701 (2001), moved him from a teen pop star to a sultry R&B singer. In early 2004, Arista released the single "Yeah!" Produced by Lil Jon and guesting Ludacris, the addictive, lightly crunk cut fast became a club and radio favorite. By the time the Usher full-length Confessions dropped later that March, "Yeah!" had hit the top of the Billboard charts. The album itself was Usher's most mature work to date and won the Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album in 2004 while "Yeah!" took home the best rapped/sung collaboration award. He starred in the 2005 flop In the Mix and went back to music with 2008's Here I Stand. ~ Lynda Lane, All Music Guide
    Discography: Usher
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    U Don't Have to Call [Austrailian CD]

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    My Way

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    My Way [Clean]

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    My Way/8701

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    Confessions, Pt. 2 [Australia CD]

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    Confessions [Germany CD]

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    Confessions [Bonus Tracks]

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    8701 [Japan Bonus Track]

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    Live: 8701 Evolution Tour [Video/DVD]

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    Sex Appeal

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    Actor: Usher Raymond
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    • Born: Oct 14, 1978 in Chattanooga, Tennessee
    • Occupation: Actor
    • Active: '90s-2000s
    • Major Genres: Music, Comedy
    • Career Highlights: Usher: Rhythm City, Vol. 1 - Caught Up, Light It Up, In the Mix
    • First Major Screen Credit: Light It Up (1999)

    Biography

    A young R&B star who makes music under only his first name, Usher Raymond has also forged a secondary career (fully billed) as an actor. Born in Tennessee, Raymond moved to Atlanta with his family at age 12. Under the eye of his choirmaster mother, Raymond nurtured his singing talent in the church choir, but it was at a local talent show that Raymond caught the attention of LaFace Records impresario Antonio "L.A." Reid. A success with his first album at age 16, Raymond added acting to his repertoire in 1997 as part of the cast of fellow one-name teen music star Brandy's hit sitcom Moesha. Continuing to make the most of the late-1990s teen entertainment explosion, Raymond made his feature film debut in 1998 in the Robert Rodriguez-Kevin Williamson high school horror movie The Faculty. Though the success of his second album made Raymond Billboard's 1998 Artist of the Year, he maintained his dual career with a small part in the popular, teenage Pygmalion retread She's All That (1999) and his first starring role in the urban high school drama Light It Up (1999). Though Raymond proved he had the acting talent and presence to topline a movie, Light It Up did not exactly brighten the box office. Undeterred, Raymond next joined the all-star cast of the splashy TV miniseries Geppetto (2000) and co-starred with James Van Der Beek and Ashton Kutcher in the teen-dream big-screen Western Texas Rangers (2000). ~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide
    Wikipedia: Usher (entertainer)
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    Usher

    Usher performing at The Warfield in San Francisco, November 2008
    Background information
    Birth name Usher Raymond IV
    Born October 14, 1978 (1978-10-14) (age 31)
    Dallas, Texas, United States
    Origin Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States
    Atlanta, Georgia, United States
    Genres R&B, hip hop, pop
    Occupations Singer-songwriter, music executive, actor, record producer
    Years active 1990–present (singing)
    1998–present (acting)
    Labels LaFace, Arista
    Associated acts NuBeginnings
    Website www.usherworld.com

    Usher Raymond IV (born October 14, 1978), who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American recording artist and actor. He rose to fame in the 1990s, releasing the multi-platinum album My Way (1997) and 8701 (2001). His success continued with Confessions (2004), which has sold over ten million copies in the United States, and been certified diamond by the RIAA. To date, he has sold over 40 million albums worldwide and has won five Grammy Awards.[1] In 2008, Usher was ranked as the 21st most successful Hot 100 Singles Artist of all-time by Billboard magazine.[2] He ranked higher than any other artist of his generation. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Usher has sold over 21.5 million albums in the United States.[3]

    Aside from recording, Usher ventured in to other business. He had established his own record label, US Records, and is a part owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise. He has also been appearing in films, debuting in the 1998 film The Faculty.

    Contents

    Biography

    Early life

    Usher was born in Dallas, Texas[4][5] the son of Jonetta Patton (née O'Neal) and Usher Raymond III.[4] Usher spent the majority of his young life in Chattanooga: his father left the family when Usher was one year old, and they relocated to Chattanooga, where Usher lived with his mother, then-step father, and half-brother, James Lackey, born in 1984.[4] As a child, Usher joined in their local church youth choir in Chattanooga when he was nine years old, as directed by his mother, in which event his grandmother discovered his ability to sing, although it was not until Usher joined a singing group that she considered he could sing professionally.[6] In the belief that a city would provide greater opportunities for showcasing his talent, Usher's family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where there was a more conducive environment for beginning singers.[7] While in Atlanta, Usher attended North Springs High School.[8] Usher's father died of a heart attack in January 2009.[9]

    Personal life

    In 2001, Usher began dating former TLC member Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, who had a child with producer Dallas Austin. Their relationship lasted for two years: they broke-up in December 2003, followed by a media frenzy surrounding the personal nature of Usher's fourth album, Confessions. His fans inferred the reason he and Thomas split is due to infidelity on his part, giving allusions to the lyrics of the songs.[6] In an interview on The Bert Show on Atlanta's Q100 in February 2004, Thomas claimed that Usher cheated on her: "Usher did the ultimate no-no to me ... I will never be with him again, and that is that".[10] Usher defended: "... it just didn't work out. But cheating is not what caused the relationship to collide and crash. That ain't what broke it up".[6] Following their break-up, Usher briefly dated English model-actress Naomi Campbell in September 2004.[4]

    In January 2007 he proposed to his then stylist girlfriend Tameka Foster. She has a son from when she was a teenager, as well as two sons with Atlanta clothier Ryan Glover. In February 2007, Usher announced his engagement. After the sudden cancellation of a planned July wedding due to medical concerns, the two were wed on August 3, 2007 in a private ceremony.[11] Their son Usher Raymond V was born on November 26 of the same year.[12] On December 10, 2008, Tameka gave birth to their second child, Naviyd Ely Raymond.[13] In February 2009, in São Paulo, Brazil, Tameka Raymond suffered a cardiac arrest prior to having cosmetic surgery. The procedure, reportedly liposuction[14] was never performed, and Raymond was put into a medically induced coma to aid her recovery. She was later transferred to a larger hospital.[15] Usher canceled his performance at the Recording Academy and Clive Davis's pre-Grammy Gala. Davis told party-goers the singer had to bow out due to a "serious injury in the family ".[16] After a week of recovery, Raymond's surgeon issued a statement saying that she "is doing very well".[17][18] In June 2009, Usher filed for divorce from Foster after claiming to live separately for nearly a year.[19][20] However Tameka's family and friends claim the two were never separated and he was living in their Atlanta home until March 2009.[21] The two were seen together holding hands in January 2009 during President Obama's Inauguration in Washington, DC.[22] Insiders speculated that when images of him alongside Def Jam Music employee Grace Miguel began to surface in Los Angeles, the singer promptly filed for divorce.[23]

    Philanthropy

    Usher had founded New Look, a non-profit charity organization which aims to "provide young people with a new look on life through education and real-world experience". Its flagship project, camp New Look, ran from July 11 to July 23, 2005 in Clark Atlanta University.[24] In 2006, the charity started an initiative called Our Block, for which it helped rebuild and revitalize city blocks in New Orleans. The project went on one street at a time, and the funding was helped through part of the proceeds of Usher's team-up with Armani Exchange in creating "Love 4 Life" dog tags, which were made available at the company's stores and Web site.[25]

    In 1999, Usher participated in "Challenge for the Children", a benefit basketball game hosted by American boy band 'N Sync. The event, which was held on the campus of Georgia State University, had raised an estimated $50,000 for several local charities.[26] In 2005, Usher is one among the artists who signed on for a Hurricane Katrina relief concert.[27]

    Usher has also performed a public service announcement to promote Do Something's campaign for civic engagement.[28]

    Career

    1992–1996: Early works and debut

    At age 11, Usher joined an R&B local quintet called the NuBeginnings, which was organized by local music svengali, Darryl Wheeler. Usher recorded 10 songs with the group in 1991, and the ensuing album, Nubeginning Featuring Usher Raymond IV, was only made available regionally and by mail order.[29] However, Patton took him out because, according to her, it was a "bad experience".[6] The album was re-released nationally in April 2002 by Hip-O Records.[29][30]

    At age 13, Usher competed on Star Search, where he was spotted by an A&R representative from LaFace Records, who arranged an audition for Usher to L.A. Reid, the co-founder of LaFace; Reid signed Usher a contract with the record company.[5][31] Usher's mother left her job as a medical technician to manage his career, but later broke-up their relationship as manager-client in May 2007.[4] Usher was introduced on "Call Me a Mack", a song he recorded for the soundtrack album to the 1993 drama-romance film Poetic Justice.[29]

    On August 30, 1994, LaFace released Usher's self-titled debut album. Sean "P Diddy" Combs produced several of the tracks and co-executive produced the album.[5] Usher peaked at number twenty-five on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and was accompanied by three singles: "Can U Get Wit It", "Think Of You", and "The Many Ways".[32] The album has sold over 500,000 copies, to date.[33]

    After graduating from high school, Usher continued to develop his skills as a stage performer and laid the groundwork for his second album. He also appeared on their version of "Let's Straighten It Out", a 1995 duet with fellow Atlanta teen recording artist Monica;[34] and on "Dreamin'", from LaFace's 1996 Olympic Games benefit album Rhythm of the Games. He was also featured on "I Swear I'm In Love" off the 1996 Kazaam soundtrack.[35]

    1997–2003: Rising popularity

    Usher developed a friendship with American record producer, Jermaine Dupri, with whom he co-wrote and produced several tracks for his second album, My Way, released on September 16, 1997. The album's lead single, "You Make Me Wanna", reached number one in the United Kingdom, becoming Usher's first record to be top single; the record led to his popularity reaching in the country.[36][37] It also became Usher's first gold- and platinum-certified single in the United States.[38] The album's second single, "Nice & Slow", peaked in January 1998 at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Usher his first US number-one single.[39] Later in February of the same year, the single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America; My Way has been certified six-time platinum in the United States.[38]

    Usher received his first Grammy Award nomination as Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "You Make Me Wanna",[7] which also won him for Best Male R&B/Soul Single at the Soul Train Music Award.[40] In the closing months of 1997, Usher embarked on a series of tour engagements including a spot on Puffy's No Way Out tour, dates with Mary J. Blige, and the opening spot on Janet Jackson's The Velvet Rope tour. Usher's first concert album, Live, was released in 1999, which featured appearances by Lil' Kim, Jagged Edge, Trey Lorenz, Shanice, Twista and Manuel Seal; the album has been certified gold in the United States.[38]

    Usher made his acting debut on the UPN television series Moesha, which resulted in a recurring role on the series and subsequently his first film role in 1998's The Faculty.[7][33] Usher's extracurricular activities outside of the recording industry gathered momentum over the following year as he was cast in the soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful.[7][33] He completed two more films, She's All That, and his first starring role in Light It Up.[7][33] He also appeared in the Disney TV movie "Geppetto".[41]

    Usher's third studio album, originally titled All About U, was slated to be released in early 2001.[42] The first single, "Pop Ya Collar", was released in late 2000 and became a number two hit in the UK but underperformed in the United States.[43] The album was subsequently pushed back and retooled after select tracks were later leaked to the radio and Internet. After having revised and renamed to 8701, the album was released August 7, 2001 (8.7.01).[7] The first two singles "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad" each topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four and six weeks, respectively. 8701 has been certified four-time platinum in the United States.[38]

    Usher appeared in the 2001 film Texas Rangers.[44] In February 2002, Usher won a Grammy for 'Best Male R&B Vocal Performance' for "U Remind Me".[45] The next year, he won the same award for "U Don't Have to Call",[7] making Usher the only artist aside from Luther Vandross and Stevie Wonder to win this award consecutively. In summer 2002, Usher contributed vocals to P. Diddy's "I Need a Girl, Part I". The year closed out with a trio of TV series appearances, all in November, on The Twilight Zone, 7th Heaven, Moesha, and American Dreams, the latter in which Usher portrayed Marvin Gaye.[46][47]

    2004–07: Confessions era

    Usher arriving in Miami, Florida to attend the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards

    Usher's fourth studio album, Confessions, was released on March 23, 2004—just as its first single, "Yeah!", was in its sixth week at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and fifth week on top of the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Chart.[48] The album's nearly 1.1 million unit debut sales was the highest first-week numbers ever scanned by a male R&B artist and the seventh best of the Nielsen SoundScan history.[49][50] To date, the album has accumulated sales of over 20 million copies worldwide,[45] over 10 million of which were sold in the United States, earning the album a Diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America.[51][52]

    Usher's second single, "Burn" succeeded "Yeah!" at the #1 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Yeah!" had logged twelve weeks at the top, followed by seven consecutive weeks for "Burn" giving Usher nineteen consecutive weeks with a song in the top position. "Burn" yielded the top spot for one week to Fantasia's single "I Believe", and then rose to #1 for an eighth week before Usher's third single "Confessions Part II" hit #1 for two consecutive weeks. Usher's 19 consecutive week-run set a record broken by the Black Eyed Peas in 2009. Usher tied Glenn Miller who also spent 22 of 23 weeks in the #1 position in 2004-05.

    The album's second and third singles, "Burn" and "Confessions Part II", also topped the Billboard Hot 100, the former for eight weeks. Usher became the first artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay with four consecutive number-one singles,[53] In September 2004, "My Boo", a duet with American singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, also peaked at number one at the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the album's fourth number-one single.[54] In December, the album's final single "Caught Up" peaked at number eight on the Hot 100.[43]

    Confessions earned Usher numerous awards, including four American Music Awards, two MTV Europe Music Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, and three World Music Awards.[55][56][57][58] At the 47th annual Grammy Awards ceremony in 2005, Usher won three awards, including: R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals for "My Boo", which he shared with Keys; Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Yeah!"; and Contemporary R&B Album for Confessions. At the 2004 Billboard Music Awards, Usher was recognized Artist of the Year, in addition to receiving 10 other accolades.[59]

    In spring of 2005, Usher scored a number three Hot  100 hit as a featured vocalist on Lil' Jon's "Lovers & Friends".[60] In 2007, Usher also collaborated with R. Kelly on the track "Same Girl," for Kelly's album, Double Up.[61] He was also featured in a remix version of Omarion's "Ice Box".[62] Usher also appeared on the track "Shake Down" on American singer-songwriter Mary J. Blige's 2007 album Growing Pains.[63]

    In November 2005, Usher starred as a disc jockey named Darrell in the Lions Gate film, In the Mix.[64] On August 22, 2006, Usher took over the role of Billy Flynn in the long-running Broadway musical Chicago.[65]

    2008–present: return to music

    Usher performing with Stevie Wonder and Shakira at the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial

    To promote Usher's fifth studio album, the single "Love In This Club" was sent to radio in February 2008 and peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100—and went on to spend three consecutive weeks at the top—becoming Usher's eighth number-one single and the fastest-rising song of his career.[66][67] Here I Stand was released on May 26 in the United Kingdom and May 27, 2008 in the United States. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number one for accumulated first-week sales of 433,000 copies.[67] The follow-up single "Love in This Club, Part II", which features American singer Beyoncé Knowles and rapper, Lil Wayne, peaked at the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, and "Moving Mountains" and "Trading Places" have both peaked at the Top 20 of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[39] In September 2008, Usher announce he would embarked on the 15-date tour One Night Stand, in which the audience is only females.[68]

    On January 18, 2009 Usher performed with Stevie Wonder and Shakira at the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial. He also sang "Gone Too Soon" at the memorial of Michael Jackson on July 7, 2009.[69]

    Usher is planning to release a new album on December 8, 2009 titled Raymond vs. Raymond.[70] The new album is expected to follow in Usher's Confessions album's footsteps, as the album will be released only months after Usher's divorce to Tameka Foster. The lead single from the album, "Papers" was released to the blogosphere on October 5, 2009. The song appears to be loosely based on his failed relationship with soon to be ex wife Tameka.[71]

    Other ventures

    Usher during a product launch in 2007

    Usher founded US Records, a vanity label, in 2002. The label is a subsidiary of Clive Davis's J Records, which is distributed by Sony BMG. The first album released by US was the soundtrack to In the Mix in late 2005, which was used to introduce the label's acts, such as rapper Rico Love, Canadian teen R&B artist Justin Bieber, R&B vocal group One Chance, and singer Rayan. Usher served as songwriter-producer in the project.[72][73]

    Usher, whose group bought with a reported total purchase price of $375 million, is a part owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise. He became the third pop artist to own a large stake in an NBA team.[74] Usher has opened restaurants.[75]

    Discography

    Main article: Usher discography

    Filmography

    See also

    References

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