Usher

Usher
Biography

Name : Usher Raymond IV
Profession : Musician
Birthdate : October 14th, 1978
Place of Birth : Dallas, Texas

Usher was raised in Tennessee and Georgia and began singing at the early age of six in the local church choir led by his mother, Jonnetta Patton, who was the choir director. His mother raised him and his brother James in Chattanooga, until he was 12 years old, then they moved to Atlanta Georgia. Usher's mother continued to guide his carrer during his teen years, when he appeared on several talent shows.

It was on one of this shows that he was spotted by a record executive from LaFace Records, at the age of 14. He was signed by this same company then recorded and released his debut album in 1994. From this album, the single "Think of You," gived Usher an initial exposure.

After graduating from high school, Usher released his sophomore album, My Way, in October 1997, was produced by Jermaine Dupri of So So Def Records. Usher was by then 19 years old. On this record, Usher wrote five of the nine tracks of the album, and co-wrote the other four.

In 2001 Usher released his third album, 8701. The title symbolized its release date, Augus 7, 2001. From this album the singles "U Remind Me" and "U Don't Have To Call." where a great hit.

His latest album, Confessions, was released in March 2004. In the first week from release it sold almost 1.1 million copies in the US, this is a record for a male R&B artist. This great success was in part to the release in early 2004, of the single "Yeah!" produced by Lil Jon and guesting Ludacris, which became a club and radio favorite.