ABOUT USHER : BIOGRAPHY


Today
Far beyond the extraordinary levels of success that Usher has already achieved in his meteoric rise to global superstardom as singer, composer, producer, film and television actor, businessman and philanthropist, 2004 managed to add even further levels of accomplishment to his profile. Consider the phenomenal success of his fifth album, Confessions, which (as of this writing) is certified 8-times RIAA platinum in the U.S. alone, has surpassed 11 million copies worldwide, and continues to sell about one million copies per month.



Confirming the album's chart-busting success was the decision, seven month's after its initial release, to issue Confessions (Special Edition), a deluxe repackaged, redesigned, limited-edition version of the album (with a distinctive 3-D lenticular cover and 2x2 panel fold-out poster inside the jewel box) also including four bonus tracks. Among those bonus tracks was a fourth #1 pop/#1 R&B hit single, "My Boo," an electrifying duet with J Records artist Alicia Keys, produced by Jermaine Dupri for So So Def Productions, and co-produced by Manuel Seal. The video was directed on location in New York City by Chris Robinson.







Getting Started: Usher
Born in Chattanooga on October 14, 1978, Usher Raymond was raised by his single mother (and manager) Jonnetta Patton, who moved him and his younger brother to Atlanta when Usher was 12. Mom brought up her sons within the foundations of faith and family afforded by St. Elmo's Missionary Baptist Church, for which she served as choir director. As early as junior high school, Usher began entering local talent shows. He was performing at a "Star Search" competition at age 13 when he was spotted by an A&R rep from LaFace who arranged an audition with L.A. Reid. A record contract soon followed. "I have been building my career since I was a little boy," Usher explains, "because singing had always been what I wanted to do. At first I thought about playing [professional] football, then I wanted to play basketball, but in the end it was all about the music. It's my biggest passion and my biggest joy."

Usher was one month shy of his 15th birthday when his modest debut LaFace single made the R&B chart in late-'93, "Call Me a Mack," from the movie soundtrack of John Singleton's Poetic Justice. One year later, Usher, his self-titled debut album arrived, co-executive produced by Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs. It rose to #25 on the R&B chart on the strength of three singles: "Can U Get Wit It," "Think Of You" (top 10, written and produced by label mate Donell Jones, with a rap by Biz Markie), and "The Many Ways" (with Al B. Sure on backing vocals).

My Way
Over the next three years, Usher honed his skills as a stage performer, concentrated on graduating from high school, and laid the groundwork for his second album. Meanwhile, he was heard on "Let's Straighten It Out," a 1995 duet with fellow Atlanta teen and Rowdy/Arista artist Monica; and 1996's "Dreamin'," the first single from Rhythm Of the Games, LaFace's Olympics benefit album.



My Way, co-executive produced by L.A. Reid, Babyface and Dupri, marked the real genesis of Usher's career as a star. "You Make Me Wanna" stayed at #1 R&B for 11 weeks (the longest-charting R&B hit in more than 3 years) and at #2 pop for 7 weeks (second only to Elton John's "Candle In the Wind" tribute to Princess Diana). It remained on the R&B chart for an unprecedented 71 weeks as Usher's first RIAA certified platinum single. Into '98, it segued into another massive platinum hit, "Nice & Slow" (a sensual ballad featuring Jagged Edge, with a video shot on location in Paris), the first of many Usher singles that would simultaneously reach #1 R&B (for 8 weeks) and #1 pop (for 2 weeks). My Way, whose title tune single extended into the summer '98 (#2 pop/#4 R&B, also platinum), has gone on to earn 6-times platinum album sales in the U.S. alone.

At the end of the day, 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 hit the road on a series of engagements including a spot on Puffy's No Way Out tour, dates with Mary J. Blige, and the opening spot on Janet Jackson's Velvet Rope tour. There were television appearances on the Billboard Music Awards, VIBE-TV, "The Keenan Ivory Wayans Show," "Live with Regis & Kathy Lee," "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "The Chris Rock Show," Dick Clark's "New Year's Rockin' Eve," UNICEF's "Gift Of Song," Nickelodeon's "Big Help-a-Thon," and "All That." Usher made his acting debut on UPN's "Moesha" opposite Brandy, which resulted in a recurring role on the series, and his first lead role in a movie, the eerie 1998 thriller, "The Faculty."

Live
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, the Freddie Prinze, Jr. high school comedy "She's All That," and his first starring role in another high school-based drama, "Light It Up." A subsequent role in the Disney tv movie "Geppetto" (with Drew Carey), "required me to step outside of what I do, especially as a dancer," Usher recalled. "I looked at the work of people like Ben Vereen and Fred Astaire and doing that part definitely helped me increase my dancing vocabulary."

Usher was also starting to involve himself in community activities as a role model to youth. He served as national spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Transportation's "Get Big On Safety" campaign, and appeared on NBC's "Inside Stuff." He participated in the NBA "Stay In School" program and performed at several of the franchises' jamborees entertaining students while showing them the importance of education.



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His international appeal was evident when "Pop Ya Collar," produced and co-written by Kevin "She'kespere" Briggs, was released outside the U.S. early in the year and became a #2 hit in the U.K. Back home, "U Remind Me" was the first new advance single, a tough, irresistible groove with melodic R&B flavor produced by Philadelphia's Edmund "Eddie Hustle" Clement. Exactly one month before the album's release, "U Remind Me" simultaneously hit #1 pop/#1 R&B, staying on top of both charts for 4 weeks.







Confessions
Setting chart records and winning a truckload of industry awards might have given another artist an excuse to rest on his (or her) laurels. In addition to his two Grammys, there were three Soul Train Music Awards, a BET Award, a Nickelodeon Kids Choice Award, two Teen Choice Awards, three Billboard Music Awards, three R&B Hip Hop Conference Awards, three ASCAP Awards, a Blockbuster Music Award, not to mention countless other international awards from several countries. But true to his nature, Usher's drive would enable him to outdo himself once again as 2004 began.



Confessions obliterated several other long-standing chart records:

The highest overall R&B (non-Hip-Hop) debut in the Soundscan era, surpassing Destiny's Child's Survivor in May 2001 (#1, with 663k units);
The highest solo R&B (non-Hip-Hop) debut in the Soundscan era, surpassing Alicia Keys' Songs In A Minor in June 2001 (#1, 618k units);
The highest overall debut in BMG and Arista history, surpassing Notorious B.I.G.'s Life After Death in March 1997 (#1, with 689k units);
The highest single-week scan in Arista history, surpassing the 2nd week of The Bodyguard soundtrack in December 1992 (#1, with 1.061 million);
The highest overall debut of 2004, surpassing Norah Jones' Feels Like Home in February (#1, with 1.022 million).




At the June 29th BET Awards telecast (with Confessions past 4 million sales), Usher won the Best Male R&B Artist award and "Yeah!" won the Viewers' Choice award. Exactly two months later on August 29th, Usher interrupted his sold-out North American tour (with Kanye West and Christina Milian) to pick up the first two MTV VMAs of his career. After opening the show's first-ever broadcast from Miami Beach with a live performance of "Yeah!", Usher went on to win Best Male Video and Best Dance Video for the hit.

On September 16th, the World Music Awards departed from its traditional site in Monaco to stage its first global telecast from Las Vegas. The show, broadcast on the ABC network in the U.S., found Usher on the receiving end of three awards: Best Male Artist, Best Male Pop Artist and Best R&B Artist. Confessions had now moved past the 5 million mark.

With Tuesday, October 5th set as the release date for Confessions (Special Edition), a special event was arranged at the Virgin Megastore Union Square in New York City. A limited number of fans who had pre-paid on the Friday before, for their copy of the album, were given exclusive passes to meet Usher at the store on Monday night, as the Soundscan numbers officially started to total at midnight. Six days later, at the annual Source Hip-Hop Music Awards in Miami on October 11th, "Yeah!" won as the R&B/Rap Collaboration of the Year and Usher was named Male R&B Artist of the Year. (His "My Boo" partner Alicia Keys was named Female R&B Artist of the Year.)



The awards season barreled on November 15th at the ABC network telecast of the 32nd annual American Music Awards from the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, hosted by Jimmy Kimmell. Usher's avalanche of awards continued, as he won all four categories in which he was nominated, including Favorite Male Artist and Favorite Album (Confessions) in both the Pop/Rock and Soul/R&B categories. Four nights later at the MTV Europe EMAs in Rome, Usher added two more awards to his stash, for Best Male and Best Album.