base talk Let’s talk about Usher

[Destiny]

Encouraged by the overwhelming appreciation of his talent following his NPR Tiny Desk special.

Next year marks his 30th year since he debuted. Looking back at his career, what do you make of it? Would you say he has fully entered his R&B legend territory and should be mentioned as a defining figure of the genre as the likes of Luther Vandross, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder? 
 

He has accumulated 9 #1 Hits on the Hot 100, 9 Grammy Awards, his voice is still as recognisable and as great as ever and his influence can be seen in 95% of male R&B artists that came after him.

 

I’ve always felt like he is underrated by the music industry. Where is his Video Vanguard? His Billboard Icon Award/ Artist of the Millennium? Do you think he will be inducted in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? Should he?

 

Thoughts?

[KatyPrismSpirit]

its sad he was never able to transition into the digital age and age of streaming properly. He should be where Drake is now tbh. His presence in this age of music is very much missed. There really isnt a male r&b singer that is filling his void currently in the mainstream. 

[Both Sides Now]

I think his work from Raymond v Raymond on damaged his image. He is quite remembered and has had a big career but not considered amongst the greats imo. 

[fentypark]

he’s every bit of a legend and he’s STILL out singing most if not all the current male r&b acts. there will never be another like him. 

[Johnny Jacobs]

He's hot and has bop 

 

That's about it. He's not exciting tbh

[Destiny]

10 minutes ago, KatyPrismSpirit said:

its sad he was never able to transition into the digital age and age of streaming properly. He should be where Drake is now tbh. His presence in this age of music is very much missed. There really isnt a male r&b singer that is filling his void currently in the mainstream. 

I think he did well in the digital era. He. accumulated many hits from 2008-2012 but the quality of his music sort of declined. He should’ve served a 4-esque album with both Raymond v. Raymond and Looking for Myself, he probably would not have alienated his core audience and could be where Rihanna is now/ seen in the same light. 
 

Edit: also, like Bey did with 4 and constant touring, he could’ve transitioned smoothly into the streaming era with songs that stand the test of time.

Edited June 30, 2022 by Destiny

[Daydream]

He sold out. Oh well. We’ll always have his early music to enjoy. And for what it’s worth, Hard II Love was (kinda) a return to form and was much better than the couple of albums before it. But that was ages ago and he’s been AWOL since (minus that collab album with Zaytoven that barely anyone knows about).

 

He needs to release ASAP if he wants to stay in the minds of people who do know who he is.

[Katamari]

if we are truly honest without judgment

 

he is next in line with the MJ "inspired acts" that go like Bobby Brown, Usher, Jt, Chris Brown

 

He is the most successful imo of all of them probably deserves the title of king of R&B (bobby will always have that title in my eyes tbh)

 

imo the herpes scandal is what really killed him along with wrong single choices and average albums tho i like L4M quite a bit. i thought that was more like a 4 kind of album.

 

He should have made a BEYONCE tbh and toured more i agree

[popstar]

He's so hot and talented tbh

[Love4Janet]

He's a legend, but he's made a lot of missteps over the last decade or so

[Bears01]

He’s an icon, with so many classic albums and HITS. 8701 is still however, he got left behind once the streaming era started, but that’s fine, he had an amazing run 

[Power love]

32 minutes ago, KatyPrismSpirit said:

he was never able to transition into the digital age and

First lie. 

 

33 minutes ago, KatyPrismSpirit said:

He should be where Drake is now

 Usher career is legendary…

 

34 minutes ago, KatyPrismSpirit said:

There really isnt a male r&b singer that is filling his void currently in the mainstream. 

The weekend & Bruno are doing fine. 

 

34 minutes ago, KatyPrismSpirit said:

His presence in this age of music is very much missed

Only truthful thing you said babe. 

[KatyPrismSpirit]

34 minutes ago, Power love said:

First lie. 

Its true... i mean with streaming mostly. all his efforts post 2010 have been colossal flops sadly. nobody has heard of him since OMG

 

34 minutes ago, Power love said:

 

 

The weekend & Bruno are doing fine. 

 

 

They arent giving Usher vibes... like at all. Usher was a dancer, excellent singer, sings about HAWT stuff  the weeknd and bruno arent giving the same usher vibe imo but yes they are still succesful ig.

[Destiny]

17 minutes ago, KatyPrismSpirit said:

nobody has heard of him since OMG

What? Climax came after that, so did the top 10 hit Scream. Looking 4 Myself was a moderately successful album.

 

He also had “Good Kisser”, a Grammy nominated successful R&B single

[sugarysunflower]

 

Will always be cemented in pop and R&B history for this ACTUAL undisputed classic here: the Thriller of his generation.

• 1 million debut week, even after early leaking and heavy bootlegging. 
• 28 weeks atop the Hot 100; 9 weeks atop the BB200.
• 4 multi-week consecutive number ones, including dethroning himself.... TWICE!!
• No. 1 album of the year; No. 2 album of the decade.
• No. 1 and No. 2 single of the year; No. 2 and No. 21 single of the decade.
• No. 2 artist of the decade.

Proved gossip can indeed sell buckets of QUALITY records. He did that. That's what he did. 

 

It had people on a chokehold, dominating for a good 18 months. 

 

 

 

[Kiss It Better]

2 hours ago, KatyPrismSpirit said:

There really isnt a male r&b singer that is filling his void currently in the mainstream. 

Lucky Daye is the only one i can think of, he can dance, can sang, and has the sexual appeal Usher had in his early career but Lucky isn't mainstream enough

 

 

OT: i still believe he still has at least one great album coming from him, he should collab with Lucky Daye, Kaytranada, Muni Long, H.E.R., Snoh Aalegra on that album 

his collab with Ella Mai was also great i can't believe it kinda tanked, the album with that sound should be big

[Bacardo Royale]

IDK he feels more washed up than legendary, it's giving bobby brown and justin timberlake

 

R kelly felt more like the r&b legend of that generation before his downfall

 

 

[Power love]

1 hour ago, KatyPrismSpirit said:

streaming mostly

But you said Digital which is not true. 

 

1 hour ago, KatyPrismSpirit said:

nobody has heard of him since OMG

Another lie. 

 

1 hour ago, KatyPrismSpirit said:

post 2010 have been colossal flops

He’s had mild success. 

[Power love]

53 minutes ago, sugarysunflower said:

 

Will always be cemented in pop and R&B history for this ACTUAL undisputed classic here: the Thriller of his generation.

• 1 million debut week, even after early leaking and heavy bootlegging. 
• 28 weeks atop the Hot 100; 9 weeks atop the BB200.
• 4 multi-week consecutive number ones, including dethroning himself.... TWICE!!
• No. 1 album of the year; No. 2 album of the decade.
• No. 1 and No. 2 single of the year; No. 2 and No. 21 single of the decade.
• No. 2 artist of the decade.

Proved gossip can indeed sell buckets of QUALITY records. He did that. That's what he did. 

 

It had people on a chokehold, dominating for a good 18 months. 

 

 

 

SLAYAGE 

[Ger]

He used to be the hottest male artist back then. Ugh, he screamed hot sex.

[fentypark]

1 hour ago, Kiss It Better said:

Lucky Daye is the only one i can think of, he can dance, can sang, and has the sexual appeal Usher had in his early career

no ma’am 

[Kiss It Better]

8 minutes ago, fentypark said:

no ma’am 

yess he does, there were lots women tweeted thristing for him when he performed Over shirtless at Soul Train Awards last year

[OnlyRealMusic.]

He's an incredible performer, one of the few male R&B acts that can sing and dance at the same time while sounding good (this is hard).

 

I like most of his albums, he's a legend.

[trainsskyscrapers]

6 hours ago, KatyPrismSpirit said:

its sad he was never able to transition into the digital age and age of streaming properly. He should be where Drake is now tbh. His presence in this age of music is very much missed. There really isnt a male r&b singer that is filling his void currently in the mainstream. 

This is kinda him and his label's fault, because the shelved Flawed/UR Experience album was the perfect transition.

"I Don't Mind" w/ Juicy J (Dr. Luke, Cirkut), "She Came To Give It To You" w/ Nicki & Pharrell (Pharrell), "Chains" w/ Nas & Bibi Bourelly (Paul Epworth), "Good Kisser" (Pop & Oak), "Believe Me" (MikeWIll-MadeIt), "Still Got It" w/ The Migos (Zaytoven), "Clueless" (Roccstar), "Under U" (Max Martin - sold to Nick Jonas), "Bedroom" (Max Martin - still unreleased), and rumoured stream-friendly collabs with Chris Brown, Drake, Ed Sheeran, and Skrillex, would've been just what the doctor ordered in 2014/15. 

 

[Soda Pop Queen]

7 hours ago, Love4Janet said:

He's a legend, but he's made a lot of missteps over the last decade or so

This. I'm glad he's getting some flowers because he's still iconic, even if he didn't quite keep elevating his brand/career in his 30s like he should've, he's still achieved longevity and has a great catalog of albums/hits. He's also more influential than he's given credit for.