The R&B force that is Usher dominated the ‘Today’ concert series yesterday, sizzling with a performance set up to endorse his forthcoming album ‘UR’!
How he fared? Perfectly, whipping up momentum for his ‘UR Experience’ tour with a setlist that included ‘OMG’, ‘Good Kisser’ and the feel-good jam that is ‘She Came To Give It To You.’
Watch the stage-slaying superstar at work below!
“She Came to Give It to You”
Killed it!
However, as great as that was, we can’t be the only ones who feel something is missing from this era of Usher‘s career.
For, despite rocking the world with two phenomenal singles, neither of them – ‘Good Kisser’ or ‘She Came To Give It You‘- have done what they needed to do for the star.
Pretty worrying, when one remembers just how eager folks were to see just how he would fare following the 2013 success of his closest rival Justin Timberlake…also signed to RCA.
His biggest problem? His ideas…or the lack of them.
Far be from it us to endorse gimmicks, but in a visual era, the recycling of MJ inspired choreography or the shooting of summer singles in dark settings may be why the general public aren’t latching onto the singer’s new material in the way they should be.
What Mr.Raymond needs most right now is a story, one that the world can use to mentally tie his new releases together and force them to invest in his cause with their hearts and wallets.
Put simply, if Beyonce is a sexually liberated wife and mother and JT is a grown’n’sexy GQ reading bachelor, what’s Usher?
Here’s hoping he finds out before it’s too late.
Hmmm I have lost all interest in Usher these days… He just does nothing for me NOW. I will continue to listen to his old work. This new stuff is uninspiring & forgettable bull-crap. Like 95% of old/young artist these days…
Usher is the king.
Ush > Bee&JT
Time magazine agrees with you.
To answer your question TGJ, Usher is one of the few remaining “artists” who have stayed true to their craft. With him its all about the music; no personal life situations overshadowing his career, it seems like in order to progress and become a household name nowadays, you have to be borderline naked, date well known figures, be involved in stupidity etc. Usher is NOT ABOUT THAT LIFE, and I commend him for it!
Is that why he changes genres like Rihanna changes dirty drawers.
Regardless, how many times he switches it up, to me his music is still appeasing to ‘my ears.’
please let us all know how he switched genres? u must not have listen to his last 3 albums. he worked with will i am on “here is stand”, and with him on raymond vs raymond and he did elcric pop bc omg did well as well as the song he did with d. guetta and those were hits. any smart person would say they will go with what the fans gravitate towards, which was the dance music, which is what “looking for myself” was with rnb songs on it.dont listen to just the singles n say he did just dance pop n not listen to the whole album which was half with different twist n experimental for him. yall complain when ppl dont “evolve” but cry when they do something new and say they are jumping on the bandwagon.
PREACH!!!!
Sorry but stupid question TGJ !!!!!!!!!
Usher has a story: A fairly newly divorced, available /single grown ass man. he is singing the songs he should sing. I don’t see what’s wrong,the music is great but, this is different times. Beyonce dropped a surprise album after having a whole year building anticipation (new social media strategy, pepsi, superbowl etc.) and Justin came back and dropped an album after being mia. It wasn’t the best album in my opinion, but it’s all about timing. Timing is the next best seller after selling s**.
But how is his music reflective of anything you just said sis. Nothing he’s doing indicates growth and that’s why nobody’s feeling him this time.
@Bey I agree to a certain extent…i just think Usher lost his way and is reaching for anything to get back to where he was, he hasn’t evolved as a artist or dancer I mean he has been in the game so long that he shouldn’t still be doing this MJ inspired dance moves he should have his own.
How can u say nobody’s feeling him wen he still being asked to perform on award shows and the kids in my school talk about him,chris brown,and trey songz I don’t hear any kids say s*** about JT. Also he has deals with Pepsi and General mills so people still care.
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-08-21/ushers-honey-n**-cheerios-commercial-knows-its-audience
Now y’all usher haters can shut the f*** up
I dont care what anyone says..but Usher Raymond SHITS on Justin Timberlake 10 times over..I love this man..and he has had such a long successful career..The legend that is
I love Usher too but I’m happy TGJ said this cos i feel the same way 2bh, he’s getting boring and it’s annoying me cos I need him to slay Justin.
AGREED!!!!
Usher is so corny now. His time has come and gone next
Usher time has come and it’s still here. This whole year he been performing at big music events and is having an arena tour 20 years being in the game and he’s still performing at the vmas,iheart awards,bet,today show. Now Ciara career has never took off. Last award show she performed on was the bet awards lol. Usher has crossover appeal. Same can’t be said about Ciara
10 years ago Usher and Ciara were on the scene tens years later Usher still on the scene and Ciara is just another babymoms
Coming from person dat stans for an artist that hasn’t seen success since their debut
I agree with everything in the writeup. I thought Usher showed great energy and he was smiling and enjoying himself a little more, but something’s not there. I keep saying Usher needs to bring back the color and style in his routines and appearances. The dark visuals and either all-white or all-black attire Usher sticks to is seriously boring. The choreography needs work too. The female dancers are doing the same gyrating moves that people criticize Ciara for doing all the time – that stuff can only go so far. The choreography as a whole just doesn’t fit the rhythm and beat of the music like it used to. Has Usher forgotten who he was in the day of “U Remind Me”? Usher was himself back then; no MJ imitations.
He’s so tired but he’s better than JT totally agreee with that.
Yassss King Usher served and slayed, I live.
Each era Usher tells a story or a stage of his life. From My Way being young, not knowing what girl he should go with to 8701 becoming a young man and excepting his feelings and throwing away his player card. To Confessions of not being faithful and letting go to Here I Stand becoming the idea man and father. To Vs divorcing and being free to Looking 4 Myself, finding a new sound and direction into his life and career. And now looks like he found it, he the entertainer, being an adult. I know there’s something missing and it’s a clear theme of this era. We don’t even have an album title, so we don’t know what to look forward to, but I know it’s grown, fun, classy and groove. JT came and went, he’s repeating Usher’s steps (selling a million one album and selling 400 ( the next), Usher is out the hole, but JT has entered it. Unless JY take another 6 year break, his success and sale will decline. How many flop singles he had last era? Oh ok.
Sisqo is back!!
http://www.thisisrnb.com/2014/09/behind-the-scenes-sisqo-feat-waka-flocka-a-list-video/
#TeamUsher just ignore