Biographic - Sunday May 9, 2010 Comic Strip Licensing and Permissions

Transcript

Born in Dallas, Texas on October 14, 1978, Usher Raymond IV was raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, by his single mother who later moved the family to Atlanta, Georgia, when Usher was 12. He began entering talent shows, where he was spotted by a scout for the Laface Record Label. He was talented football player, but any thoughts of a sports career where abandoned with the release of his debut single, "Call Me A Mack," just weeks before his 15th birthday. His self-titled debut album came out in 1994, after which he spent the next three years honing his performance skills and preparing to graduate from High School. His 1997 "My Way" album, with the hit singles "You Make Me Wanna" and "Nice & Slow" established Usher as a major star. Branching out into tv, he starred on "Moesha" and "The Bold And The Beautiful" and he starred in such movies as "The Faculty" and "She's All That" The "8701" album, spawned the chart-topping hits "Pop Ya Collar" and "U Got It Bad" and was followed by a slew of awards including back-to-back best male R&B Grammys. In 2004 Usher went supernova! His "Confessions" album sold more than 1 million copies in the first week and produced a string of number one singles. He became the third artist, following The Beatles and The Bee Gees, to have three singles in the top 10. Thanks in part to his "My Boo" duet with Alicia Keys, he spent 28 weeks at the tops of the U.S. pop charts in 2004. His fifth studio album, 2008's "Here I stand" also topped the charts worldwide. Having found his own record label, Usher has recently been instrumental in guiding the careers of artists such as Justin Beiber.

Tags