Usher

Usher Terry Raymond IV, known professionally as Usher, born October 14, 1978, in Dallas, Texas, and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before his family relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, is one of the most successful and accomplished R&B artists in the history of popular music, a singer and dancer whose combination of extraordinary vocal range, world-class choreography, and consistent hitmaking across four decades has made him one of the best-selling music artists of all time and a defining figure of the Atlanta R&B scene. He grew up in a deeply religious household, singing in his local church choir under the guidance of his grandmother, before his mother moved the family to Atlanta specifically to pursue his music career, recognizing his exceptional talent at an early age. He was signed to LaFace Records by L.A. Reid at age thirteen and released his self-titled debut album at fourteen. My Way (1997) produced Nice and Slow, his first number-one single. 8701 (2001) confirmed his mainstream dominance. Confessions (2004), his masterwork, is one of the best-selling R&B albums in history, spending eleven weeks at number one in the US and producing four consecutive number-one singles — including Yeah!, the song that opened the album and became one of the most played songs of the decade. Here I Stand (2008), Raymond vs. Raymond (2010), Looking 4 Myself (2012), Hard II Love (2016), and Coming Home (2024) continued his commercial and artistic output. He sold over 80 million records worldwide. His headlining performance at Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show in 2024 was a spectacular celebration of his career and of R&B culture that received universal praise. He is also a successful Broadway producer and has performed in several major films and television projects.