Usher Raymond IV, commonly known by his stage name Usher, is an award-winning singer, songwriter, and actor. Usher rose to superstardom as a rhythm and blues/ pop musician and has established himself as one of the most successful R&B artists of his era and one of the best-selling musicians in American history.
Born on October 14, 1978 to Vanessa Raymond, Usher grew up in Chattanooga, Tennessee with his younger brother James. At age 12 Usher moved with his family to Atlanta, where he joined the church choir his mother directed. He performed in numerous talent competitions until he scored well on the television showย Star Searchย which led to his signing with the LaFace Record label at age 14. In 1994 when Usher was 15 he began working on his first album,ย Usher, co-produced by Sean (P. Diddy) Combs, leading to his first gold record, โThink of You,โ which became an international hit. The following year Usher recorded Coca-Colaโs holiday commercial jingle and later in 1995 recorded โYou Will Knowโ with Black Men United for the soundtrack of the filmย Jasonโs Lyric.
Soon after graduating from high school Usher released his second album, My Way, in 1997, generating the hit โYou Make Me Wannaโ which was in the number one spot on the R&B chart for 11 weeks, reached number two on the Hot 100, and went double platinum. Both of Usherโs next singles, โMy Wayโ and โNice & Slowโ also went platinum, with โNice and Slowโ staying at number one on the R&B chart for eight weeks in addition to becoming his first number one pop hit. The next album, 8701, produced two number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, โU Remind Meโ and โU Got It Bad.โ
Usher also began his acting career in the films The Faculty (1998) and Light It Up (1999). In 2004 Usher released the albumย Confessions, spawning the hugely popular โYeah!โ which became another big international hit, as well as โBurnโ and โMy Boo.โย Confessionsย earned Usher three Grammy Awards for the album and songs โYeah!โ and โMy Booโ and became certified Diamond. In 2008 Usher released the albumย Here I Stand, which topped the Billboard 200 and R&B and hip hop album charts. Two years later Usher released the Grammy winning albumย Raymondย v.ย Raymond, which produced three hit songs and earned him a Grammy for โThere Goes My Baby,โ followed byย Looking 4 Myselfย in 2012, which included Grammy winning โClimax,โ which topped both R&B and hip-hop charts, and โScream,โ a Top 10 hit, making this Usherโs fourth number one album.
In addition to continuously creating music and performing for over two decades, Usher became a part owner of the National Basketball Associationโs Cleveland Cavaliers in 2005, founded a fragrance line, and began working more as an actor. In 2013 Usher joined the television seriesย The Voiceย for one year as a coach. Usher also heads the New Look Foundation, a charity he founded in 1999 that helps fund children in foster care and service programs, works to help at-risk youth, and promote leadership skills for children in low income communities. The charity was also involved in rebuilding New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.
