Usher

Usher Raymond IV (born October 14, 1978), known mononymously as Usher, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, philanthropist, entrepreneur, and actor. He rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit, "Nice & Slow". The album has been certified 6-times platinum by the RIAA.^[2] His follow-up album, 8701, produced the Billboard Hot 100 number one hits "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". The album has been certified 4-times platinum by the RIAA.^[2]

Usher's 2004 album, Confessions, sold over 10 million copies in the United States and has been certified diamond by the RIAA. Confessions has the highest first week sales for an R&B artist in history.^[3] It spawned four consecutive Billboard number one hits — "Yeah!", "Burn", "Confessions Part II", and "My Boo". Usher's 2008 album, Here I Stand, sold over 5 million copies worldwide,^[4] and its lead single "Love in This Club" spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

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.^[5] It has been certified platinum by theRIAA,^[6] 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. He later released an extended play and deluxe edition of Raymond v. Raymond, entitled Versus, which debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart. Its lead single "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100.

The RIAA ranks Usher as one of the best-selling artists in American music history, having sold over 23 million copies in the United States alone.^[7] To date, he has sold over 65 million records worldwide,^[8][9] making him one of the best selling music artists of all time. Usher has won numerous awards including eight Grammy Awards.^[10] At the end of 2009, Usher was named the number one Hot 100 artist of the 2000s decade.^[11] Billboardnamed him the second most successful artist of the 2000s decade,^[12] with his 2004 album Confessions being ranked as the top solo album of the 2000s decade.^[13] Billboard also placed Usher at number six on their list of Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years.^[14] Usher has attained nine Hot 100 number-one hits (all as a lead artist) and has attained eighteen Hot 100 top-ten hits.

\

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.^[21] In an interview on The Bert Show on the Atlanta radio channel 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".^[118] 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".^[21]

In November 2005, Usher began dating stylist Tameka Foster, who had worked as his personal stylist for several years.^[119] Their engagement was announced in February 2007.^[120] After the sudden cancellation of a planned July wedding in the Hamptons,^[121][122]the two were wed on August 3, 2007, in a civil ceremony in Atlanta.^[123] This was followed by a larger wedding ceremony on September 1, 2007, held at the Chateau Elan Winery & Resort outside Atlanta.^[124] Upon their marriage, Usher became a stepfather to Foster's three sons from previous relationships, one born when she was a teenager and two from her first marriage, to Atlanta clothier Ryan Glover.^[119][120] Usher and Foster also have two sons together: Usher "Cinco" Raymond V, born in November 2007,^[125][126]and Naviyd Ely Raymond, born in December 2008.^[127]

Foster's 11-year-old son Kile Glover, Usher's former stepson, was declared brain dead on July 8, 2012, after being struck by a personal water craft on Lake Lanier the previous day.^[133][134] Glover died on July 21, 2012, after being removed from life support.^[135] Just over a year later, on August 5, 2013, Usher's eldest son, Usher V, was hospitalized in the ICU after he became stuck in a drain while swimming in a pool at Usher's home.^[136] The next day, Foster filed a request for an emergency custody hearing in Fulton County Superior Court, seeking temporary primary custody and citing Usher V's "near-death accident" as evidence of a lack of supervision of the children.^[137] At the hearing on August 9, 2013, the case was dismissed and Usher retained primary custody of their two sons.^[138]

Usher is a vegan.^[139] He adopted a vegetarian diet shortly after the death of his father, Usher Raymond III, from a heart attack in January 2008.^[140][141] After several years, Usher dropped all egg and dairy products, embracing an entirely vegan diet for health reasons.