Usher (entertainer)

Usher Raymond IV (born October 14, 1978),¹ known simply by his first name Usher, is an American R&B-pop singer-songwriter and actor who rose to fame in the 1990s. To date, he has sold approximately 35 million albums worldwide and has won five Grammy Awards.² On September 13, 2008, Usher has been inducted into the All time Hot 100 Artist by Billboard magazine.³ He is one of the few artists of his generation to be mentioned.

Usher is a part owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise, and has his own record label, US Records.

Biography

Early life

Usher was born in Dallas, Texas,⁴ the son of Jonetta Patton (née O'Neal) and Usher Terry Raymond III;⁵ both of African American heritage. He spent the majority of his young life in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a child, he joined his local church choir in Chattanooga where her mother discovered his ability to sing.⁶ As early as junior high school, Usher successfully entered local talent shows.⁴ Usher's family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in the belief that the city would provide greater opportunities for showcasing his talent. While in Atlanta, Usher attended North Springs High School.⁷

Early works and debut: 1992—1996

At age 11, Usher joined a quintet singing group called the New Beginning, 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.⁸ However, Patton took him out because, according to her, it was a "bad experience".⁶ Although her mother had already discovered his ability to sing, it was when Usher joined the group that she considered he could sing professionally.⁶ The album was released nationally in 2002 by Hip-O Records.⁸

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.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.⁸

After graduating from high school, Usher continued to hone 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;¹⁰ 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.¹¹

Rising popularity: 1997—2002

Usher developed a friendship with Jermaine Dupri, with whom he co-wrote and produced several tracks for his second album, My Way, released on September 16, 1997. The lead-off single, "You Make Me Wanna" was serviced to radio that summer and hit number one in its second week out—the same week that the album was released. "You Make Me Wanna" stayed on top of the R&B/Hip-Hop track charts for a total of 11 weeks (the longest-charting R&B hit in more than 3 years) and at #2 on the Pop charts for 7 weeks (second only to Elton John's "Candle In the Wind.") The single remained on the R&B chart for an unprecedented 71 weeks and became Usher's first platinum single. The album's second single, "Nice & Slow," was released in November, and in January 1998 peaked at #1 on the Hot 100 Singles Chart for two weeks, as well as #1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart for eight weeks. The following summer, the album's eponymous single title track peaked #2 pop/#4 R&B.

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. My Way was certified 6x platinum in the United States. Usher received his first Grammy Award nomination as Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "You Make Me Wanna," which was also nominated for a Soul Train Music Award as 'Best Male R&B/Soul Single.'

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 studio gathered momentum over the following year as he was cast in the daytime drama The Bold and the Beautiful and was seen in the family series Promised Land. 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" with Drew Carey. Usher also became involved community activities: he served as national spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Transportation's "Get Big On Safety" campaign, and appeared on NBC's NBA Inside Stuff. He also participated in the NBA's "Stay In School" program, and performed at several of the franchise's jamborees.

Usher's third studio album, originally titled All About U, was slated to be released in early 2001. The first single, "Pop Ya Collar" (co-written and produced by Kevin "She'kspere" Briggs), was released in late 2000 and became a #2 hit in the UK—but underperformed in America. The album was subsequently pushed back and retooled after select tracks were later leaked to the radio and Internet, and garnered a largely cold public response.

After having revised the album, it was renamed 8701 (named for the years of his career at that point [1987-2001, and for its release date of August 7, 2001, or 8/7/01). The first two singles "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad" each topped the U.S. Hot 100 singles chart for four and six weeks respectively in the summer and fall. In early 2002, "U Don't Have to Call," also went top five pop. The albums final single, "U-Turn" was released outside of America, and became a top twenty hit in Australia and the U.K.. 8701 was certified 4x platinum, selling more than eight million copies worldwide.

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, more than a decade before, and Stevie Wonder (in the 1970s) 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 (in which Usher portrayed Marvin Gaye).

Breakthrough success and acting: 2004—2007

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.¹² 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.¹³¹⁴

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 third lead artist in pop music history (but the first solo artist) to have three singles inside the Hot 100's top 10 since The Beatles in 1964, and the Bee Gees in 1978. In September 2004, "My Boo," a duet with singer Alicia Keys (which was included on a Special Edition, released a half year after the original version), also peaked at number one and gave him a total of twenty-eight weeks on top of the U.S. charts that year.¹⁵ In December, the album's final single "Caught Up" peaked at number eight on the Hot 100. Confessions became the most successful album of the year; certified ten times platinum in America, topping the world charts for several weeks and as of 2008 it sold nearly 19 million copies all over the globe making it the 5th best selling album of the 21st century.¹⁶¹⁷¹⁸¹⁹

Usher was recognized with numerous awards, including two MTV Video Music Awards for "Best Male Video" and "Best Dance Video", three World Music Awards ("Best Male Artist," "Best Male Pop Artist" and "Best R&B Artist"), two Source Hip-Hop Music Awards ("Male R&B Artist of the Year" and "R&B/Rap Collaboration of the Year," a Nordic Music Award, three Radio Music Awards, four American Music Awards, eleven Billboard Music Awards and two more MTV Europe Music Awards. 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" with Alicia Keys), "Rap/Sung Collaboration" (for "Yeah!") and "Contemporary R&B Album" (for Confessions).¹²

In spring of 2005, Usher scored a #3 Hot 100 hit as a featured vocalist on Lil' Jon's "Lovers and Friends." In November 2005, Usher starred as a disc jockey named Darrell in the Lions Gate film, In the Mix.

On August 22, 2006, Usher took over the role of Billy Flynn in the long-running Broadway musical Chicago. Critical response to his overall performance were mixed. Usher is currently recording his fifth studio album. The album was due for release in November 2007 but was delayed to March 4, 2008. In June, an album was leaked onto the internet, claiming to be the singer's new album; it is however just a bootleg compilation of his previously unreleased material. In 2007, Usher also collaborated with R. Kelly on the track "Same Girl," for Kelly's album, Double Up.²⁰ He was also featured in a remix version of Omarion's Ice Box. Usher also appeared on the track "Shakedown" on Mary J. Blige's new album Growing Pains.²¹

Return to music: 2008—present

To promote the Usher's fourth 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.²²²³ 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.²³ The follow-up single "Love in This Club, Part II", which features American singer Beyoncé Knowles and Lil Wayne, has peaked at 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.²⁴

Usher said he is working on plans for a tour in which he will perform for audiences comprised of only females entitled One Night Stand. Usher said he is attempting this for the challenge of it.

Other ventures

Usher founded US Records, a vanity label, in 2002.²⁵ 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 of In the Mix in late 2005,²⁵ which was used to introduce the label's acts, such as rapper Rico Love, R&B vocal group One Chance (both of whom had tracks released on a dual single prior to the album's release), and singer Rayan.

US has not released any further material since the In the Mix soundtrack. One Chance's debut album, originally scheduled for release in late 2006, has been pushed back numerous times.

Personal life

Usher married Tameka Foster in 2007,²⁶ with whom he has a son, Usher Raymond V, born the same year.²⁷ On September 9, 2008, it was announced that the couple are expecting their second child together.²⁸

Discography

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Contents