Usher

At the age of 13, Usher was spotted at a talent contest and Signed to LaFace records, where he released his debut album, “Usher” in 1994. Despite many of the tracks being produced by Sean ‘P Diddy’ Combs, the album failed to make much of an impact on the American public.

Three years later, Usher released his second studio album “My Way” and secured his first number one hit in the UK with “You Make Me Wanna…”. Usher rose to fame in the US after the release of his breakthrough single “Nice & Slow”. Which ended up being certified six-times platinum in the US.

Usher’s following two albums “8701” and “Confessions” surpassed the success of “My Way” with multiple number one singles in the US including “U Remind Me”, “U Got it Bad”, “Yeah!”, “Burn”, Confessions Part II” and “My Boo”. The albums won him five of his eight Grammy Awards, and the 1.1 million initial sales of “Confessions” upon its release were the highest recorded for a male R&B artist.

With these successes and an enormous fan base under his belt, Usher had no problems getting his subsequent three albums, “Here I Stand”, “Raymond Vs. Raymond” and “Looking 4 Myself” to the number one spot in the US charts. Usher has toured extensively across the globe to promote his music and bring it live to his fans.

A huge Michael Jackson fan, Usher cites the King of Pop as his biggest influence, and was given the opportunity to perform at the legend’s funeral service in 2009. Taking after his hero, Usher’s style is distinct yet fresh, meaning that he is easily able to collaborate with other artists, and he does so frequently. Usher has worked with Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, Ludacris, Pitbull, will.i.am and Lil Wayne amongst others.

A keen businessman and philanthropist in addition to his musical career, Usher is clearly a man who likes to work hard and give his all. His constant success is hard earned and long may it continue.