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| Birth Name(s) : Usher Raymond |
Date of Birth: October 14, 1978 |
| Status:
N/A
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Partner:
N/A |
| Profession:
Actor/Musician |
Official Site
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Full Usher Raymond Biography
Usher's journey began in 1987, when he moved with his family from a quiet neighborhood in Chattanooga, Tenn., to Atlanta to pursue a career in music. Soon after his arrival, he began participating in various local talent shows. In 1992, the precocious teen would turn an impromptu audition for a thoroughly impressed LaFace Records honcho Antonio "L.A." Reid into a bona fide contract.
In 1994, at the age of 14, Usher recorded and released his self-titled debut album, which was produced by emerging hip-hop impresario Sean "Puffy" Combs. Despite the disc's first single, "Think of You," becoming a marginal hit, the CD was a big flop. On top of that, Usher's voice began to change due to puberty, and Puff Daddy could no longer fit him into his busy schedule. "A lot of the lessons you learn later on in life, I learned at an early age," he says of the abandonment. "At one point in time, I felt like didn't nobody care about me. I had lost my voice, and was at my lowest point."
Afterward, Usher took a long sabbatical, during which he made a conscious decision to take greater creative control of his music. In 1997, he connected with Atlanta's hottest hitmaker, Jermaine Dupri, and released his comeback CD, My Way. "What we ended up writing and recording about is my life –- about what I've dealt with, being a teenager who's going into manhood," he says about the project. The album spawned Top 10 hits like "Nice & Slow," "My Way" and "You Make Me Wanna," which topped Billboard's R&B singles chart for 11 straight weeks.
Usher's latest recording, 8701 -- the title represents the years he's been in the business (from 1987 to 2001) -- earnestly displays his maturity. "The album is really about my evolution as an artist, as a writer, as a producer and as a man," he explains. "I learned how music works dealing with Jermaine Dupri, and I learned how image works dealing with Puff Daddy."
Music is not the only thing on Usher's resume. In recent years, the multitalented star has turned his attention to the big screen. He's appeared in such films as The Faculty, She's All That and Light It Up.
The self-proclaimed "king of hip-pop" currently is preparing to share the stage with the King of Pop during the all-star concerts in New York celebrating the career of Michael Jackson. "For Michael Jackson to ask me to be a part of the tribute to him Sept. 7 and 10 in Madison Square Garden, that's a step," he says of the request. Usher only hopes he can continue to entertain his fans as long as his idol MJ has. "Sleeping is forbidden at the age of 22," the singer says of his demanding career. "It's all work and no play." |
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Additional Usher Raymond Biography
Usher was born to Usher Terry Raymond IV and Jonetta (O'Neal) Patton in Dallas, Texas, but spent the majority of his young life in Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a child, he joined his local church choir where he discovered his ability to sing. As early as junior high school, Usher successfully entered local talent shows imitating his idol Michael Jackson. As a pre-teen Usher was a member of a boy band, although his mother, (who was managing his career) later withdrew him from the group to concentrate on his solo work. Usher's family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, in the belief that the city would provide greater opportunities for showcasing his talent. While in Atlanta, Usher attended Haynes Bridge Middle School and the Performing Arts Magnet North Springs High School, and participated in show choir.
Usher developed a friendship with Jermaine Dupri, with whom he co-wrote and produced several tracks for his second album, My Way, released on September 16, 1997. The lead-off single, “You Make Me Wanna” was serviced to radio that summer and hit number one in its second week out—the same week that the album was released. “You Make Me Wanna” stayed on top of the R&B/Hip-Hop track charts for a total of 11 weeks (the longest-charting R&B hit in more than 3 years) and at #2 on the Pop charts for 7 weeks (second only to Elton John’s “Candle In the Wind.”) The single remained on the R&B chart for an unprecedented 71 weeks and became Usher's first platinum single. The albums second single, “Nice & Slow,” was released in November, and in January 1998 peaked at #1 on the Hot 100 Singles Chart for two weeks, as well as #1 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart for eight weeks. The following summer, the album's eponymous single title track peaked #2 pop/#4 R&B.
Usher made his acting debut on the UPN television series Moesha, which resulted in a recurring role on the series and subsequently his first film role in 1998's The Faculty. 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, She's All That, and his first starring role in Light It Up. He also appeared in the Disney TV movie "Geppetto" with Drew Carey. Usher also became involved community activities: he served as national spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Transportation's “Get Big On Safety” campaign, and appeared on NBC’s NBA Inside Stuff. He also participated in the NBA "Stay In School" program and performed at several of the franchise's jamborees.
Raymond’s first concert album, Live was released in 1999—which featured appearances by Lil' Kim, Jagged Edge, Trey Lorenz, Shanice, Twista and Manuel Seal, and was RIAA-certified Gold.
In summer 2002, Usher contributed vocals to P. Diddy's “I Need a Girl, Part I.” The year closed out with a trio of TV series appearances, all in November, on The Twilight Zone, 7th Heaven, Moesha , and American Dreams (in which Usher portrayed Marvin Gaye).
Usher was recognized with numerous awards, including two MTV Video Music Awards for "Best Male Video and "Best Dance Video", three World Music Awards (“Best Male Artist,” “Best Male Pop Artist” and “Best R&B Artist“), two Source Hip-Hop Music Awards (“Male R&B Artist of the Year” and “R&B/Rap Collaboration of the Year,” a Nordic Music Award, three Radio Music Awards, four American Music Awards, eleven Billboard Music Awards and two more MTV Europe Music Awards. At the 47th annual Grammy Awards ceremony in 2005, Usher won three awards, including: “R&B Performance by a Duo or Group With Vocals” (for “My Boo” with Alicia Keys), “Rap/Sung Collaboration” (for “Yeah!”) and “Contemporary R&B Album” (for Confessions).
On August 22, 2006, Usher took over the role of Billy Flynn in the long-running Broadway musical Chicago. Critical response to his overall performance were mixed. While his singing and dancing received more positive reviews; his acting, however, received negative notices.
Usher is the godson of performer Ben Vereen. In June 2007, Usher announced that he and his fiancée Tameka Foster were expecting a baby boy in the fall of 2007. This would be the first child for Usher, and the fourth for the recently divorced Foster. The coupled planned to be wed on July 28, 2007, at record executive LA Reid's home in the Hamptons, but the wedding was abruptly canceled. On August 3, 2007, Usher and Foster were married in a quiet ceremony in his lawyer's office in Atlanta. In September 2007, Usher placed his Atlanta home in Country Club of the South on the market for an asking price of $1.95 million. |
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