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Remembering the longevity of Usher ahead of 'Hard II Love'
Now an elder statesman of the genre, Usher's longevity stretches back to his mid-90s debut. Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images

Remembering the longevity of Usher ahead of 'Hard II Love'

Usher is still making music. The 37-year-old is releasing his eighth studio LP on Friday, Hard II Love, to the world on Friday (it has been specially made available earlier for Tidal users). And yes, Usher’s still got it. Sound-wise, Usher’s entire career feels like one humongous, cohesive album.

But for accuracy’s sake, let’s take a trip and review the best of Usher because he is one of the most iconic pop and R&B artists of this century and the last as he just got his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Sept. 7, he continues to push his creative boundaries as he stars as Sugar Ray Leonard in Hands of Stone, and because it gives me an excuse to listen to hours of Usher's catalog.

Shall we? 

As many albums as Grammy Awards

Usher has won eight Grammy Awards since breaking onto the music scene in the mid-90s. In order, from 2001-12, Usher has won Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("U Remind Me"), Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("U Don't Have To Call"), Best Rap/Sung Collaboration ("Yeah!"), Best Contemporary R&B Album (Confessions), Best R&B Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals ("My Boo"), Best Contemporary R&B Album (Raymond V Raymond), Best Male R&B Vocal Performance ("There Goes My Baby"), and Best R&B Performance ("Climax"). These awards symbolize, obviously, Usher's prominence, but also his ability to make R&B feel like pop music without losing everything that makes R&B, R&B. 
  
Confessions 

Arguably Usher's most famous work, Confessions was released in 2004 as his fourth studio LP. You know what words come next when I type, "These are my confessions." If you turned the radio on or went to a school dance, or any club, in 2004 and beyond, you could not (and sometimes, still can't) escape the second track on this album, "Yeah!" featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris. "Yeah!" is every bit hip hop as it is R&B, and allowed Usher to momentarily escape his slower and more sentimental or sexual songs. The track earned Usher MTV Video Music Award of the Year. All of this is to say, Confessions was as diverse in sound as it was universally popular. 

Mentorship

Let me remind you that Usher is responsible for Justin Bieber. Usher famously discovered Bieber, along with manager Scooter Braun, in 2009 when Bieber sang Usher's very own "U Got It Bad" to Usher in Atlanta. This is relevant, of course, because of the massive successes Bieber is enjoying in pop music but also because Bieber sang "U Got It Bad." One piece of proof among piles of proof that Usher's influence on young musicians and people around the world. 

Usher was mentored before he became one, though. Talking with Howard Stern on Sirius XM in August, Usher spoke of his time under Puff Daddy/P. Diddy/Sean Combs's wing—specifically, living with him when Usher was only 14 years old. "I got a chance to see some things," Usher said. "I went there to see the lifestyle, and I saw it." Usher notes that his nickname was "Baby Boo" and he frequently ran into Notorious B.I.G., Mary J. Blige and Faith Evans. 

My Boo

Featured on 2004's Confessions, the "My Boo" duet between Usher and Alicia Keys is timeless. This was at the height of Usher, which is not to suggest that he has dropped off dramatically over the years, but every artist has his or her peak. And in 2004, Usher was everywhere. Song after song from Confessions was flooding the mainstream, with each song on the album's track list feeling like it could stand alone as a single. It didn't hurt that Keys and Usher had experienced prior success in collaboration with "If I Ain't Got You." Usher was just as powerful in collaboration as he was by himself—his distinct style never got lost when teaming up with Keys or other artists. 

Climax 

"Climax" was the lead single, most popular and successful song from Usher's 2012 album Looking 4 Myself. Even when his albums as a whole aren't smashing everything in sight, he at least produces one song that will resonate on a large scale, and "Climax" represents that. Even after accomplishing pretty much everything one can accomplish in the music industry, reaping fame and fortune, Usher remains relatable in his lyrics, and that no doubt translates to his longevity. 

Usher also collaborated with now-famous and in-demand producer Diplo on this track, but as usual: Diplo's sound did not swallow what Usher has long ago claimed as his—his signature falsetto and raw truth.

Crash 

I urge you to temporarily take a break from reading this and open a new tab. Go to YouTube and watch Usher's official music video for "Crash," his second single off of Hard II Love. Try to only watch it once. You can't. 

The sound is class, through-and-through Usher. The choreography is mesmerizing and displays that he has not lost a step. His movements are perfectly in line with the message of the words he smoothly sings. All of it together is Usher at his best: mastering the mixture of desperation and confidence. 

Usher has proven that he can evolve with the music landscape without forgetting what he first brought to music all those years ago.

What Usher sings, we feel. And that hasn't changed.

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