Usher Raymond IV (born October 14, 1978; pronounced /ˈʌʃ.ər/), who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American recording artist and actor. He rose to fame in the 1990s and after releasing his albums My Way (1997) and 8701 (2001). My Way has been certified 6 times platinum by the RIAA. It spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit, Nice and Slow. As well as two other highly successful singles "My Way" and "You Make Me Wanna", both of which peaked at number-two on the Billboard Hot 100. 8701 has been certified 4 times platinum by the RIAA. It spawned the Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". The albums fourth single, "U Don't Have to Call" peaked at number-three on the Billboard Hot 100. Both albums, My Way and 8701 sold over 8 million copies worldwide.
His success continued with Confessions (2004), which has sold over ten million copies in the United States, and been certified diamond by the RIAA. Confessions has the highest first week sales for an R&B artist in history, has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, and was named the best selling R&B album of the 2000s decade. It spawned a record breaking four Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits, "Yeah!", "Burn", "Confessions Part II", and "My Boo". The albums last and fifth single Caught Up peaked at number-eight on the Billboard Hot 100. In total Usher spent 28 weeks on top in a calendar year, becoming the first act to have achieved such an extended chart run on the Billboard Hot 100, and with four consecutive number-one hits, he broke the record set by pop band The Beatles, who had three consecutive number-one singles in 1964. His 2008 album Here I Stand has been certified platinum by the RIAA, and has sold over 5 million copies worldwide. The albums lead single "Love In This Club" peaked at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100. It also spawned the single "Love in This Club, Part II", which peaked at number-eighteen on the Billboard Hot 100.
To date, Usher has sold over 45 million albums worldwide. He has won numerous awards and accolades for his musical work. Including 5 Grammy Awards, 4 World Music Awards, 4 American Music Awards, 8 Soul Train Music Awards, and 19 Billboard Music Awards. In 2008, Usher was ranked as the 21st most successful Hot 100 Singles Artist of all-time by Billboard magazine. The RIAA ranks Usher as one of the best-selling artists in American music history, having sold 23 million copies in the United States alone. Billboard Magazine ranked Usher the #1 Hot 100 artist of the 2000s decade. They also named him the most successful singer and second most successful artist of the 2000s decade. His 2004 album Confessions was ranked as the top solo album and second most successful overall album of the last decade.
On March 30, 2010, Usher released his sixth studio album Raymond v. Raymond, which became his third consecutive album to debut at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart. It has been certified platinum by the RIAA and spawned another Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit "OMG". The song became his ninth number one in the United States, making him the first 2010s artist to collect number one singles in three consecutive decades, and only the fourth artist of all-time to achieve the feat. Usher also became the third artist to have at least one number one song from five consecutive studio albums. He has also achieved sixteen Top 10 singles on the Billboard Hot 100. Usher announced he would release an extended play and deluxe edition of "Raymond v. Raymond", entitled Versus. It's lead single "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love" has peaked at number-seven on the Billboard Hot 100, and became the sixteenth Billboard Hot 100 top-ten hit of his career. In the UK he has achieved 11 Top 10 singles on the UK Singles Chart, as a lead artist. Usher is also the first artist to have a number-one single on the UK Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100 during the 1990s, 2000s, and the 2010s.
Early life
Usher was born in Dallas, Texas, the son of Jonetta Patton (née O'Neal) and Usher Raymond III. Usher spent the majority of his young life in Chattanooga: his father left the family when Usher was one year old, and they relocated to Chattanooga, where Usher lived with his mother, then-step father, and half-brother, James Lackey, born in 1984. Directed by his mother, Usher joined the local church youth choir in Chattanooga when he was nine years old; there, his grandmother discovered his ability to sing, although it was not until Usher joined a singing group that she considered he could sing professionally. In the belief that a bigger city would provide greater opportunities for showcasing his talent, Usher's family moved to Atlanta, Georgia, where there was a more conducive environment for beginning singers. While in Atlanta, Usher attended North Springs High School. Usher's father died of a heart attack on January 21, 2008.
Personal life
In 2001, Usher began dating former TLC member Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas, who had a child with producer Dallas Austin. Their relationship lasted for two years: they broke up in December 2003, followed by a media frenzy surrounding the personal nature of Usher's fourth album, Confessions. His fans inferred the reason he and Thomas split is due to infidelity on his part, giving allusions to the lyrics of the songs. In an interview on The Bert Show on Atlanta's Q100 in February 2004, Thomas claimed that Usher cheated on her: "Usher did the ultimate no-no to me ... I will never be with him again, and that is that". Usher defended: "... it just didn't work out. But cheating is not what caused the relationship to collide and crash. That ain't what broke it up". Following their break-up, Usher briefly dated English model-actress Naomi Campbell in September 2004.
In January 2007, he proposed to his then stylist girlfriend Tameka Foster. She has a son from when she was a teenager, as well as two sons with Atlanta clothier Ryan Glover. In February 2007, Usher announced their engagement. After the sudden cancellation of a planned July wedding due to medical concerns, the two were wed on August 3, 2007 in a private ceremony. Their son Usher Raymond V was born on November 26 of the same year. On December 10, 2008, Tameka gave birth to their second child, Naviyd Ely Raymond. In February 2009, in São Paulo, Brazil, Tameka Raymond suffered a cardiac arrest prior to having cosmetic surgery. The procedure, reportedly liposuction was never performed, and Raymond was put into a medically induced coma to aid her recovery. She was later transferred to a larger hospital. Usher canceled his performance at the Recording Academy and Clive Davis's pre-Grammy Gala. Davis told party-goers the singer had to bow out due to a "serious injury in the family ". After a week of recovery, Raymond's surgeon issued a statement saying that she "is doing very well". In June 2009, Usher filed for divorce from Foster after claiming they lived separately for nearly a year. However Tameka's family and friends claim the two were never separated and he was living in their Atlanta home until March 2009. The two were seen together holding hands in January 2009 during President Obama's Inauguration in Washington, DC. Insiders speculated that when images of him alongside Def Jam Music employee Grace Miguel began to surface in Los Angeles, the singer promptly filed for divorce.
Philanthropy
Usher had founded New Look, a non-profit charity organization which aims to "provide young people with a new look on life through education and real-world experience". Its flagship project, camp New Look, ran from July 11 to July 23, 2005 in Clark Atlanta University. In 2006, the charity started an initiative called Our Block, for which it helped rebuild and revitalize city blocks in New Orleans. The project went on one street at a time, and the funding was helped through part of the proceeds of Usher's team-up with Armani Exchange in creating "Love 4 Life" dog tags, which were made available at the company's stores and Web site.
In 1999, Usher participated in "Challenge for the Children", a benefit basketball game hosted by American boy band 'N Sync. The event, which was held on the campus of Georgia State University, had raised an estimated $50,000 for several local charities. In 2005, Usher is one among the artists who signed on for a Hurricane Katrina relief concert. He has also performed a public service announcement to promote Do Something's campaign for civic engagement.
