Usher (musician)
Usher Raymond IV is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. He is recognized as an influential figure in contemporary R&B and pop music. In 1994, Usher released his self-titled debut album at the age of 15. He rose to fame with the release of his second album, My Way, which spawned his first US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Nice & Slow", and the top-two singles: the title track and "You Make Me Wanna...".
Usher's third album, 8701, saw continued success, selling eight million copies and yielding the US number-one singles, "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". His fourth album, Confessions, sold over one million copies first-week and was supported by four consecutive US number-one singles: "Yeah!", "Burn", "Confessions Part II", and "My Boo". The album sold over 15 million copies worldwide and received a diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. After splitting from his manager and mother Jonnetta Patton in 2007, he released the album Here I Stand, which spawned the number-one single "Love in This Club". Billboard named him the second most successful artist of the decade, the number-one Hot 100 artist of the decade, and ranked Confessions as the top solo album of the decade.
Usher's sixth album, Raymond v. Raymond, contained his ninth number-one single, "OMG", making him one of the few artists to top the Billboard Hot 100 in three consecutive decades. His debut extended play, Versus, produced the top-five single "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love". Usher's seventh album, Looking 4 Myself saw further electronic production and spawned the top-ten single "Scream". He followed it with the albums Hard II Love and Coming Home. His Super Bowl LVIII halftime show in 2024 drew 123 million viewers within the US.
Usher has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Billboard ranked him among the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century. His accolades include 8 Grammy Awards, 12 Soul Train Music Awards, 8 American Music Awards, 18 Billboard Music Awards, 7 BET Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. He was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2021. In 2008, Usher co-founded the record label Raymond-Braun Media Group with Scooter Braun to manage the career of singer Justin Bieber. Outside of music, he founded the charitable non-profit Usher's New Look in 1999, served as a coach on The Voice, and starred in films such as The Faculty, She's All That, Light It Up, In the Mix and Hands of Stone.
Early life
Usher Raymond IV was born on October 14, 1978, in Dallas, Texas. His parents are Jonnetta Patton and Usher Raymond III. He spent the majority of his young life in Chattanooga, Tennessee. His father left the family when Usher was a year old. Shortly before dying in January 2008, Usher III reconciled with him and apologized for being absent. The singer once called this period "the most valuable time" they shared together. Usher IV has a younger half-brother, James Lackey, from Jonnetta's marriage to Terry Patton, and grew up with the three of them. Directed by his mother, he joined the local church youth choir in Chattanooga when he was nine years old. There, his grandmother discovered his ability to sing, although it was not until Usher joined a singing group that she considered he could sing professionally. Believing that a bigger city would provide greater opportunities for showcasing him, Usher's family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where there was a more conducive environment for beginning singers. While in Atlanta, he attended North Springs High School.Career
1991–1996: NuBeginning and ''Usher''
At age 12, Usher became one of five members of a local R&B group called NuBeginning, and recorded ten songs with them in 1991. The quintet was organized by local music promoter Darryl Wheeler, and his groupmates were Anthony Byrd, Adrian Johnson, Reginald McKibbon, and Charles Yarbrough. These were included on their self-titled album, which was released during 1993. It spawned a single titled "A Mother's Luv". NuBeginning at first was only made available regionally and by mail order before being re-released nationally in April 2002 as NuBeginning Featuring Usher Raymond IV by Hip-O Records. This ended up being the group's only album. Patton felt her son was better off as a solo artist and pulled him out at age 13, later calling his time with the group "a bad experience". He initially worried this would end his musical dreams and did not yet understand the choice before she stated "your world is only beginning" and planned out future success without the group.At age 13, Usher met A.J. Alexander at a local talent show in Atlanta. Alexander, who at the time was Bobby Brown's bodyguard, would take Usher around and have him perform in parking lots and talent shows. Alexander invited Bryant Reid, an A&R representative from LaFace Records to see Usher perform on the television talent show Star Search. Following the performance, he arranged an audition for Usher with L.A. Reid, the co-founder of LaFace; Reid signed Usher on the spot to a contract with the record company after Usher sang the Boyz II Men track "End of the Road". Patton left her job as a medical technician to manage Usher. His first solo song, "Call Me a Mack", was recorded for the soundtrack album to the 1993 drama-romance film Poetic Justice.
While preparing for his solo debut album, Usher lost his voice. He was going through puberty and had a difficult time adjusting his vocals. L.A. Reid became skeptical of Usher, put his album on hold and considered dropping him from the label. Usher pleaded with the label to keep him and they did. From this point Reid did not know what to do with Usher so he sent him to New York City in the spring of 1994 to live with record executive Sean Combs to "attend" what Reid called "Flavor Camp". Usher quickly adapted to the lavish lifestyle of Combs although in an interview with Rolling Stone, he described this period as the "hardest days" of his life. "I had to knuckle up, figure shit out in New York" he said.
On August 30, 1994, LaFace released Usher's self-titled debut album behind the co-executive production of Sean Combs. 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". The album sold over 500,000 copies, by December 2008. It received backlash because he was singing about sex, and him only being 15 years old, the public had a difficult time believing that this was so. LaFace had reservations again about signing Usher because the album was not as successful as they anticipated. At this time Usher's mother took control of his career and put him in more talent shows the summer of 1995, building him a larger fan base and ultimately giving L.A. Reid more confidence in Usher.
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 LaFace's version of "Let's Straighten It Out", a 1995 duet with fellow Atlanta teen recording artist Monica; 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 soundtrack to the 1996 film Kazaam.
1997–2003: ''My Way'' and ''8701''
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; this resulted in him increasing in popularity. It also became Usher's first gold- and platinum-certified single in the United States. 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. In February of the same year, the single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. My Way has been certified seven-time platinum in the United States."You Make Me Wanna..." won the Best Male R&B/Soul Single at the 1999 Soul Train Music Awards. 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.
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. 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. He completed two more films, She's All That, and his first starring role in Light It Up. He also appeared in the Disney TV movie Geppetto.
Usher's third studio album, originally titled All About U, was stated to be released in early 2001. 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. The album was subsequently pushed back and retooled after select tracks were later leaked to the radio and Internet. At the same time, LaFace went dormant, moving most of its artists, including Usher, to its parent company, Arista Records. After having revised and renamed to 8701, the album was released on August 7, 2001. 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 five-time platinum in the United States.
Usher appeared in the 2001 film Texas Rangers. In February 2002, Usher won a Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "U Remind Me". The next year, he won the same award for "U Don't Have to Call", making Usher the only artist aside from Luther Vandross and Stevie Wonder to win this award consecutively. In the summer of 2002, Usher contributed vocals to Combs' "I Need a Girl ". 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.