by Niko Skinner

Usher, January 2024 (Malachi, Yahoo News)

Usher is in the house! This week we’re covering one of the most iconic pop-r&b singers of the modern times. This may be one of my longer entries because I can’t say enough about him. Usher Raymond IV was born in my area, Dallas, TX, but spent most of his adolescent life in Chattanooga, TN and Atlanta, GA. It was in Atlanta that he built a foundation for what would later become a successful music career. He has put out such hits as “Yeah” (featuring Lil John and Ludacris), “Confessions Part II”, “My Boo” (featuring Alicia Keys), “U Got It Bad”, and “Love In This Club” (featuring Young Jeezy). He has sold over 30 million album copies and is regarded as the King of R&B for good reason. He has won multiple different music awards and has been inducted into multiple musical hall of fames to recognize his success in the 2000 decade. It doesn’t stop there though. Usher is now 45 years old, yet he is still making noise in the game and has been up to quite a lot in the last couple of years.

Las Vegas Residency

Usher just finished his My Way residency in Las Vegas, which spanned from July 2022 to December 2023. He did 100 performances capped off by a final performance on December 2, 2023, which was highlighted by an emotional rendition of “Without You” (with David Guetta). Usher wanted to prove that he can consistently deliver in Vegas, and that it had nothing to do with luck. He also wanted to change his audience’s perception on his creative evolution. I say that he succeeded on both of these fronts. (Daw)

2024 Super Bowl Halftime Performance

Usher barely had any time to rest as he performed at this year’s Super Bowl, which was two months later. This was honestly one of my favorite Super Bowl performances of all time, and I don’t just flippantly say that about any music artist’s performance. What started off as a snippet of “Caught Up” later led to renditions of “Love In this Club”, “U Don’t Have to Call”, “If I Ain’t Got You” and “My Boo” with Alicia Keys, “Confessions”, “Burn”, “U Got It Bad”, “Bad Girl”, “OMG” with will.i.am, “Turn Down For What” with Lil Jon. It ended with a special rendition of “Yeah” with Ludacris. Usher was also accompanied by dancers and a marching band who brought a lively sound and presence to the stage. Usher’s surprising guitarist was revealed to be rising r&b artist, H.E.R. She joined Usher by playing a screaming guitar solo at the end of “U Got It Bad” that had a lot of eighth and sixteenth notes and technical note progressions. She followed this up by continuously playing the main riff of “Bad Girl”. Throughout the performance, you can see the confidence and poise of Usher as well as everybody else who made an appearance. All of the transitions between the songs were smooth, and all future halftime shows should model the professionalism of this year’s show.

Coming Home

Coming Home was released on February 9, 2024. It holds the distinction of being Usher’s first independent album. This means that there would a DIY approach when it came to recording and publishing, and the album would be produced by a commercial label or its subsidiaries. A highlight song on this album is “Good Good”. Not only does it feature notable artists Summer Walker and 21 Savage, but there is also his signature Atlanta sound from the 2000s blended in with a more modern tone. The beat consists of a heavy use of the synth in different pitches, a heavy and accentuated bass, and chord progressions that signify a sad moment in someone’s life with a bright side in hindsight. The message is also very relatable. The song is about failed relationships and how to be a good ex. Being a good ex is something that can be difficult for a lot of people because there is that feeling of bitterness from the end of a relationship. It usually ends in one party wanting to do things to spite the other and wish ill will on them. In “Good Good”, all of the verses form Usher, Summer Walker, and 21 Savage depict them wishing their ex’s the best and hoping they can find their person. This is a good sign of maturity and addresses how to handle a breakup well. The album also features songs such as “Risk It All” (ft. H.E.R.), “A-Town Girl” (ft. Latto), “On The Side”, and “Kissing Strangers”, all of which are catchy, slow to medium tempo songs that are about love and the burning desire for romance. In general, I feel like this album reached a new level of vulnerability as well as depicting romance as more than something that is black and white.

The point that I am making in this entry is that Usher has been a busy man! He has been making moves nonstop, and they have produced career-defining results. All of this is the result of a long and legendary career that is still going strong today. What started out as small beginnings as an ambitious 10-year-old has evolved into a multifaceted career at the age of 45. Usher has more than earned a place in the pop-r&b scene and the music scene in general. Below is a Spotify link to his album and a YouTube link to his Super Bowl performance in its entirety.

https://youtu.be/7hYbrdC_-s8?si=52ZcfkjGLKrUudTo

References

Malachi, JaJuan. “2024 Is Definitely The Year Of Usher”. Yahoo News, 12 January 2024. https://news.yahoo.com/2024-definitely-usher-194051828.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAABMMNo8ha_KdX9VkG96iZXVoN2UGFlWtHqDQ9m5a1dXtknSFsHq6l2BJSLCcGh9xG6X1NR84IefdKdKYDTwbYJJHUUs_IoaL_Wuu-_GPOHPltZ2HM6Dl9evqP3zf_ch6Takf8J5EJZ3lK_jQaNEmWgUVcAztvCUNehjlZP_2R7w9

Daw, Stephen (2023, December 4). Usher Gets Overcome With Emotion During Final Performance of Las Vegas Residency: ‘God Bless You’. Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/usher-cries-final-vegas-residency-show-1235532320/