He went on to become one of the most bulletproof figures in pop, capable of straddling club music (2004’s “Yeah!”), ballads (2004’s “Confessions Part II”), boundary-pushing R&B (2012’s “Climax”), and the kind of borderless, big-tent anthems everyone seems to agree on (2008’s “Love in This Club”). That performance led almost instantaneously to a deal with LaFace Records, then home to TLC and Toni Braxton, with Usher releasing his self-titled debut album when he was just 15.
See him on Star Search, circa 1991, singing Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road,” wading through a sea of admirers (“I was a ham,” he joked later). It turns out, Usher might be the closest thing we have to Jackson since Jackson himself-a singer, songwriter, actor, dancer, and consummate performer whose appeal seems to transcend genre and demographics.Ī pop star who’s hovered in the spotlight for three decades running, with little sign of slowing down.Born Usher Raymond IV in 1978, and raised in Chattanooga and Atlanta, Usher started his career at age 10, making the rounds and honing his craft on Atlanta-area talent shows. “I love you!” Usher replied, pointing back. Usher juked, Jackson followed suit, the two traded moves. Usher has released eight studio albums, ten compilation albums, eight extended plays, and 79 singles (including 19 as a featured artist).įew moments define Usher’s career quite like that night in September 2001, when he stood opposite Michael Jackson at a sold-out Madison Square Garden and shared a dance. Having sold over 100 million total records sold worldwide, including more than 23 million albums in the United States alone and over 65 million albums worldwide, Usher is one of the best selling music artists of all time.
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