With record sales of 24 million in the US alone, it’s fair billing christening Usher a music royal.
It’s fitting, then, that the singer covers the newest edition of Billboard magazine wearing a crown. After all, his kingly achievements have established him in the history books and his performance style has been adapted and modified by the likes of Chris Brown and (regardless of current predicament) Justin Timberlake.
And yet, the 36-year old finds himself on tricky terrain these days.
In a trait common to major names in 2014, Mr Raymond seems to be making the transition from releasing diamond-certified albums and near-annual #1 hits to struggling to even land gold certifications.
Indeed, the star’s most recent opus – 2012’s ‘Looking 4 Myself’ – has sold 504,000 Stateside, according to Nielsen SoundScan — 800,000 fewer than the LP prior (2010’s ‘Raymond vs. Raymond’).
And while this Fall was to bring with it his triumphant return, the campaign ‘Good Kisser’ led LP was brought to an abrupt halt and its release bumped to an undisclosed date next year.
Speaking to Billboard, the performer explained his reason for the delay. He also opened up on the waywardness of his mentee Justin Bieber.
Soundbites below…
On Delaying Album His Album:
“I just ain’t ready,Meaning I have more that I want to say and more that I want to do. My process is pretty different. L.A. Reid will tell you, it takes two albums to make one with Usher.”
On Justin Bieber:
“Our relationship is more man-to-man now, He’s making his own decisions and it’s important to show support. I can say I’m not happy with all the choices my friend has made, but I’m supportive of him. I try my hardest to give as much positive reinforcement as I can. I’ll punch him in the f—ing chest when I need to, and give him a hug and kiss when I need to. It’s more than just mentoring. I love the kid.”
On His New Tour, The UR Experience:
“Most tours cater to the specific launch of a project — not this time. The focus this time is the music. Going all the way back to the beginning.” {Source}
Hmmm.
There’a a lot of “spin” at play here – which we’ll leave to you to dissect (or overlook). What we will re-iterate is that, as history has shown time in and out with superstar names such as Usher, they’re always just one big hit away from a comeback. We just hope the stars align for him sooner rather than later.
I have a question. Who else is on Usher’s level? His peers are dead, these young dudes can’t measure up to his catalog. And that’s why he’s King of Urban Pop.
No need to ask. NOBODY is on his level. MJ’s heir Apparent.
White America will have the public believing JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE is the heir to MJ THRONE. Thrust me justin timberlake DOES NOT WANT TO SEE USHER …on a dance moment or vocal moment. USHER is that dude. HERE I STAND killed vocally and the dance moves are in his blood.
Damn right he’s wearing a crown. NONE of these boys can see him in sales or talent, especially Timberfake. He’s the only one out there that CAN wear that crown. MJ himself passed him the torch during his 30th Anniversary.
Isn’t it strange that Jermaine Dupri is a major part of this project as well!
LOL URSHER IS KING. AND YOU BYTCHES WILL DEAL. THE END LOL.
Gagas a flop you will also deal
Yawnce is the photoshop queen you will deal
LOL STRUGGLEYONCE IS STILL STRUGGLING TO PASS UNAPOLOGETIC. AND YOU WILL DEAL LOL.
Where have you been f**? Self-titled outsold Anapologetic months ago.
Wearing the crown for what? he’s far from a king. His career is in shambles right now he’s getting slayed left and right by JT,Bruno, & Chris B.
When will he be slayed by Smelly Flopland?
Usher is King. You are just a pressed b****. And Guess wat? He ain’t being slayed by Jt,CB or Bruno cuz last time I checked they can’t perform better then U-S-H-E-R. And if you don’t believe me watch This years IHeartRadio Music Festival performance which he HEADLINED!!!!!!!!!!. 1st Chris will only be remembered as the 2010s Bobby Brown and Usher’s substitute. 2nd Bruno Mars is a poor man’s James Brown and 3rd JT is To Usher what Iggy Azelia is to Nicki Minaj. A f****** copycat. Y’all are just mad that he’s The Man and no one will ever be closer to MJ Status then Usher
Kelly would be so lucky if she could open up for Usher. But she ain’t big enough is she
LOL SIT H0. TIMBERBYTCH, CHRISTINA BROWN & BRUNO WHAT’SHISNAME WILL ALWAYS BE KING USHER’S LESSORS. NOW GO FIND KELLY NO-LAND SOME RELEVANCY LOL.
I have ALWAYS loved Usher. He is actually the ONLY artist with an FULL R&B album to go Diamond. Isn’t that weird. No other, full length R&B albums went Diamond except for Confessions. Anyways, Usher’s music from 1997 – 2010 was REALLY good. But, I did not like his last album… Or ANY song from this new era.
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He is no where near MJ’s crown… In fact, there is NO male even remotely close to breaking ANY of MJ’s records. To bad, cause we are missing those HUG male pop acts. Justina Bitcher is NOT a King. Justin Timberlake is cute. But, his second album is & will always be his best work. The rest is mediocre. Yup, so NO MALE ARTIST is even close to MJ’s success. But, POP females are VERY close to Queen Madonna’s records…
*HUGE*
Records means nothing, Madonna’s impact>>>>>>>>>Peasants.
You can’t compare Usher to the artists today, that’s pretty dumb. He is past his prime however I think he has proven himself as a R&B icon, he doesn’t need to try to fit in with this generation. Just stick to your roots Usher
Hell f****** no. He is not past his prime. Usher fitting in with this generation is what makes him successful and relevant. He doesn’t make outdated music and he sticks with the time. That’s why he’s been the King of R&B for the 2000s and the 2010s. And + that n**** can still dance his ass off
True
Usher is Superior, but don’t discredit JT, because he is
A beast also.. Usher has his own lane.. All Ursh needs
is that one huge hit.. He’s a megastar !!
I agree. JT is great as well. IDK why so many pit Usher & JT against each other.
Nicki Minaj,Taylor Swift,Jason Derulo,Ariana Grande and Coldplay were all Usher’s opening acts at IHeart Radio Festival.
He is King period and he’s the Alpha Male of Music
Usher is KING, and that’s why on my birthday (Dec 4) I will be going to Texas to see him on his current tour! I love love love Usher.
Usher is King.
Nobody cares if he sells or not at this point. His repertoire speaks for itself, he is a legend already.
I think he’s impact in music is a thing to Americans, a US thing, in Europe, South America and the rest of the world he is just another R&B artist. On TJ, he is musically superior, Usher is not a musician, JT is, end of story, i don’t understand the comparisons and hate towards JT.
To the rest of the world Jt is white copycat Usher
Please, don’t confuss MICHEL JACKSON with Usher, JT’s idol was MJ, but if you wanna go there, Usher is the one who seems to be copying JT these days.
You can sit. Timberfake is the poor man’s Usher, and he’s been copying Usher from day 1. Usher is a musician AND a performer. And he outsells the boy band biitch WORLDWIDE, not just in the U.S.
Ushers a better singer, Usher is a better dancer, Usher’s live/stage show is more entertaining, Usher’s musical catalogue is stronger and influence on young males more apparent. Justin can write better. Eh. Doesn’t look like the scale is tipped on JT’s side hun.
Usher is a better singer, i prefer JT’s moves, he has swag, flow, charisma, like i said, he is a musician, play several instruments, is a beast on stage, he write, produce, etc, etc, a musician, have you seen Usher trying to play instruments?, a Joke.
@ Realest, exactly. I never understood the hype with Judus Timberfake. Usher is better in EVERY single way.
The 20/20 era was so forgettable. I prefer Bruno to both of them TBH.
The album was pushed back because his singles bombed. Usher is not popular as he used to be. CB is keeping him relevant right now with New Flame which is sad. His singles are flopping and his tour is TANKING.
If Usher wasn’t relevant he wouldn’t be performing at the VMAs,,IHeartradio Music Awards,having an 8 min set for a medley at the BET Awards,having deals with Pepsi and General Mills, headlining Summerfest and IHeartradio Festival and winning The Voice all this year. F*** Singles the man is still everywhere.
But his singles FLOPPED. Idc where he performed. Why isn’t his tour selling? Stop being delusional and accept the fact that no one cares.
Most of Beyonces latest singles underperformed, but her album still sold and her tours were a MASSIVE success. I’m just using her as an example because they’ve both been around for about the same amount of time. She’s the definition of relevant. Usher is not. Sorry.
You have to understand that artist aren’t gonna sell well forever. But he’s doing a good job keeping himself afloat. At least he’s doing much better then Britney,Jennifer,Mariah and etcxccc
I do understand that. That’s why I said he isn’t as popular as he used to be. His singles flopped and hs tour is flopping….that’s why he has no release date. The more he pushes it back, the less it’ll sell.
If no one cared billboard wouldn’t be crowning him the king,if no one cared he wouldn’t be winning the voice, If no one cared we wouldn’t be debating if he’s the new mj . If no one cared he wouldn’t have sold 65 million records worldwide
If no one cared he wouldn’t have had 5 top 10 hits in the 2010s decade. Now gtfo.
All that is good and fine, but where’s his music on the charts? How much has his singles sold? How many venues has his tour sold out so far? When’s the album release date? Inquiring minds want to know.
Chris isn’t has popular has he use too be either
Of course he isn’t. 2008 ruined his career, but at least his music is making some sort of impact. Ushers isn’t.
What the hell .Usher has impacted and influenced many artist way more then Bhris Brown
FLOPSHER IS OLD NEWS GET OVER IT
Ok iggy dat makes sense he’s old news wen he’s on the F****** COVER OF BILLBOARD MAGAZINE with a CROWN ON HIS HEAD
But you are comparing usher, who’s been in the game for 20 years, to Chris brown’s relevancy, who is going on yr 8?! Of course the younger kid is going to be more “relevant” compared to the vet. BUT, the vet has more accomplished and lasted astringent for 20 yrs where as the younger kid spark has died out YEARS ago. Usher will never have another confession, but cb will only dream of saying he had an era half as decent as confessions.
Usher better wear that crown, HE IS the king. In all honesty USHER>>>>>Everyone else.
“King,” my ass. Usher fell the f*** off. He’s like that old lady in the commercial crying on the floor talking about “I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up.” Lets be real. The album delay is because none of the singles took off and he’s scrambling to come up with something that will work better. Usher’s new album is gonna be like Mariah’s latest. Push back after push back with the lowest sells of his career. He’s peaked.
Damn this was so funny and true LOL
No it’s wasn’t funny and No it wasn’t true. But I guess Dumb recognizes Dumb.
#SLAYKINGUSH
Man Shut the f*** up you stupid ass nitwit. You can’t compare Mariah Situation with Usher. Ush is still a big superstar and is performing at every award show and respected by many artist. Your dumb ass is pressed that Usher is being recognize as the King of Male Artists for the past two decade. He still is going strong. Who gives a f*** about singles 1 way or another by a tour,a feature song with kid ink/chris brown or a tv show Usher stays relevant because he’s a smart business man. Now shut your b**** ass up and appreciate a legend cuz ur fave will never be respected as Usher and ur fave will never see Usher’s type of success you dumb ass fagot. Be gone b****.
He’s performing, but he’s not SELLING!
This trend hopping sellout is full of transparent excuses. The album is pushed back because there were no hits on it and because these past few years have proved that he can’t sell on his name alone. Save the arrogance for the next time he manages to go platinum.
F*** outta here you jackass. The reason why Usher is relevant and successful is because he sticks to the times which your dumbass calls trend hopping. You want him to stick too 2004 type music ? Hell Nooooooo because he’s a respected legend of pop & r&b music in 2014 stated by billboard. King Ush continue to press haters
LOL HIS ALBUM GOT PUSHED BACK BECAUSE HIS MUSIC FLOPPED. SAVE THE EXCUSES OLDSHER. U LET CRACK BROWN SWOOP IN AND REPLACE YOU.
The only spot chris took was bobby browns now shut up and respect The King U-S-H-E-R
Your fave needs to have her own identity and stop copying Nicki Minaj. Cuz her b**** ass can write a song.and BET said it themselves Best female hip hop artist of 2014 Nicki Minaj #KingUsherQueenNickiMinaj
ILL SEE YOU AT THE GRAMMYS B**** HAHA
Why is that racist up there trying to make JT out to be Bruno Mars, Prince or a Stevie Wonder? JT is basic on all levels, he will forever be a pop boy bander that tries too hard to be soulful. And it is not because he’s White, because look at Robin Thicke and Sam Smith, that’s blue eyes soul. And is JT was a musician, then why does he cling to Timberland production so much? Hahaha
No lies detected, speak on it Mark.
Stop pretending that Usher ain’t played out. He lost his audience. All that’s left is the nostalgic crowd who want to hear “Yeah” so they can remember what it was like to be 20.
Nope not really. Usher has music that kids love (Dj got us falling in love,OMG,Without You,Scream,Climax,New Flame and Body Language)
That only proves that he has a great catalog. And that can be said about any artist with 20+ years. Career and longevity > being current.
It can’t be said bout Mariah though lol
Mariah has one of the best catalog. The thing is she can’t perfrom them like she used to.
FIST BROWN > USHER
Hahahahahah, I can’t take you seriously with that name.
Iggy just shut up ur a f****** fool
I Kneewwww It. Pressed souls were hurt too see that picture of Usher with the crown on his head. Sway said it himself “The Michael Jordan of R&B…….Usher”
MAYBE IF HE PUT QUEEN IGGY ON HIS SINGLE INSTEAD OF ICKI IT WOULDNT FLOP LOL. PRESSED B******
Iggys like Flo Rida and Carly Rae a one hit wonder
BUT IGGY HAS A #1 AND A TOP 3. WORK WAS A MODERATE HIT TOO. FLO-RIDA HAS A LOT OF HITS ALSO. MAD BECAUSE NOBODYS CHECKING FOR LIL WAYNE ANYMORE?
Folks can seethe all day long. Usher’s record speaks for itself. That’s why that crown is rightfully where it should be.
A record over 10 years ago. He is just trying to just trying to bully people into believing lies now
Usher already has Michael Jackson’s endorsement, KING right here, nobody on his level
http://youtu.be/-IkRsyLjqD4
I laugh at all these fake goons in here defending Usher as I wonder how many of them actually bought “Good Kisser” or tried to support it at radio. What about that tour he tried to put together, how many of you were willing to shell out money for tickets? F***** phonies. Its overall poor reception basically proves that your pseudo support of this has been begins and ends in the comments section of TGJ.
When the King of Pop invites you to the stage and pretty much passes the button on to you, no amount of naysayers can deny you or your impact. Usher is a GLOBAL phenomenon and like has been stated in the article, is one hit away.
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Nobody is on Usher’s level, all of them (Judas TimberFLOP, Jessica Derulo, Fistopher Brown, Jacob Nevermore, September Allessor, Sexlijah Blake, Justina Bieber, Sisquash, Treysina Songz, [insert lessor here]) are all Usher’s lessors, can never, and will never be on Usher’s level.
But everyone you tried to name is doing better than him at this moment. We are not talking about 10 years ago. This is 2014
I would say they can’t even out do Confessions alone, but that’s too easy. Let’s see, JT is pop and is playing catchup. Jason can’t sell an album to save his career. Chris Brown hasn’t went plat since 2008. And his new and last album isn’t even at a million sold mark added together. AND his last album came out 3 weeks after Usher’s, U went gold, CB stalled at 400k. JB is HIS ARTIST, nuff said. Sisqo… moving along. Trey don’t even have a plat album to his name and is a water down R.Kelly. So no, not even now they’re on Usher’s level. Who’s talking about 20/20 part one and two today? No one.
Those here saying Usher is delaying his album b/c his singles have been flopping are right, but let’s also keep in mind that Usher’s been in this exact spot before — multiple times. Usher pushed back the album that eventually became 8701 because his early singles (Pop Ya Collar being one) didn’t catch on. He also pushed back the album that eventually became Raymond v. Raymond for the same reason. If anybody can figure this out and get back on top again, it’s Usher.
And most of the time, the song he leaks is the song that really takes off. (Yeah, Love In The Club.)
His ear for music just isn’t the same tho and his performing style is outdated…those MJ inspired moves need to be dumped and he needs a reinvention.
Hey Sam, when did Nicole Scherzinger’s album come out? Did anybody even know it’s out? Wow how uneventful.
USHER is KING!!! He looks a mess in that pic tho, But those eyebrows are snatched!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVAfR3QjFKo&feature=youtu.be
R kelly is the king of R&B and Usher is the Prince deal with
USHER is King and you pressed b****** will deal with it. And that moron that said it’s cus of fist Brown, King Usher is relevant needs several seats. CB New Flame is a Hit cus of Usher. Remember when Chris released New Flame Nobody wants to even listen to that trash before he enlist Usher & Rick Ross for the Remix. Usher Confession is CB Career.
Usher has ALWAYS been a trendy singer, which can be a good and bad thing. He’s getting older so some of his subject material may come across as unbelievable to the younger generation. His singles aren’t doing well.
Don’t cancel out Breezy…in my opinion he his King of Urban R&B/Pop