Usher

Usher, in full Usher Terry Raymond IV, (born October 14,

1978, Dallas, Texas, U.S.), American musician whose smooth
vocals and sensual ballads helped establish him as a rhythm-and-
blues superstar in the late 1990s.

As a youngster in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Usher sang in church

choirs but sought entry into the mainstream music industry by
entering talent shows. At age 12 he moved with his mother and
brother to Atlanta, and two years later he secured a recording
contract with LaFace Records. The album Usher was released in
1994, with the 15-year-old singer moving beyond his choirboy
background by proclaiming that “it’s only a sexual thing” on the
slow-groove single “Can U Get wit It.” The album was not a
commercial success, and Usher spent the next few years working
on a follow-up, My Way (1997), which marked him as a major
R&B star. His singles “You Make Me Wanna” and “Nice & Slow”
became major R&B hits (the latter also topped Billboard’s all-
genre singles chart), and the performer reached greater audiences
through appearances on television shows (he had a recurring role
on UPN’s Moesha series). In onstage performances, he showed
prowess as a dancer that was as notable as his fluid singing voice.

Usher’s third studio album, 8701 (2001), further cemented his

reputation as a smooth, seductive, and bankable artist. Music
from 8701 gave Usher two number-one pop hits, “U Remind Me”
and “U Got It Bad,” and his first two Grammy Awards. On his
fourth album, Confessions (2004), he extended his range beyond
ballads, collaborating most famously with Atlanta rappers Lil Jon
and Ludacris on the boisterous radio-dominating single
“Yeah!” Confessions eventually sold more than 10 million copies in
the United States alone and earned Usher three Grammy Awards—
for best contemporary R&B album, best R&B performance by a
duo or group (for “My Boo,” a duet with Alicia Keys), and best
rap/sung collaboration (for “Yeah!”).
Meanwhile, Usher continued to make appearances in various
television shows, including the period drama American
Dreams (2002) in the role of Marvin Gaye. In 2005 he starred as
a disc jockey who protects a mobster’s daughter in the film In the
Mix, though his acting, and the film as a whole, received
unfavourable reviews. The following year he portrayed Billy Flynn
in the long-running Broadway musical Chicago.
After a four-year break, Usher returned to recording with Here I
Stand (2008), a soulful album that saw the brash lothario
of 8701 and Confessions settle into the routine of family life. The
follow-up album, Raymond v. Raymond (2010), continued to
serve as a window into Usher’s private life, but it was a dark
reflection of Here I Stand, as it traced the disintegration of his
marriage. In 2011 Raymond v. Raymond won a Grammy for best
contemporary R&B album, and the single “There Goes My Baby”
won for best male R&B performance. Two years later Usher picked
up another Grammy, for the artfully restrained single “Climax.”
The song was among the highlights of Looking 4 Myself (2012), an
expansive album that found him increasingly influenced
by electronic dance music. Usher’s eighth studio album, Hard II
Love, was released in 2016. “A” (2018) drew mixed reviews.

During this time Usher continued to act. He had recurring roles on

various television series, and he appeared in such films as Hands
of Stone (2016), in which he portrayed Sugar Ray Leonard,
and Burden (2018), based on a true story.

In addition to performing, Usher became a part owner of

the National Basketball Association’s Cleveland Cavaliers in 2005.
In 2013–14 he served as a coach on the televised singing
competition The Voice. His charity work included New Look
Foundation, an organization he established to help educate youths
from lower-class backgrounds about the business of entertainment
management. The organization was also involved in the efforts to
rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina (2005).