Latest news with #UsherRaymondIV
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Usher Tells Inspiring, Never Before Told Story At Emory Graduation
To know Usher is to know that he came from humble beginnings, but the road to become Dr. Usher Raymond IV wasn't always smooth sailing. As the keynote speaker at Emory's 2025 Commencement, the crooner also received an honorary doctorate from the university on Sunday (May 12.) His speech reflected on a pivotal moment from his youth that helped shape the man he is today. 'I'm not just accepting this honor for myself. I'm accepting it for every kid who's ever been told 'your dream was too big; your neighborhood was overlooked or your voice was too quiet.' For me, this moment is far more than a ceremonial moment filled with accolade and celebration for things that we all have done. It's personally deep for me,' he began. Usher recounted a story that he's 'never publicly shared' about being so 'academically far behind' after moving from Chattanooga, Tenn. to Atlanta and he was ultimately 'assigned to remedial classes, which at the time felt like a judgment on my ability.' The father of four was admittedly 'discouraged,' but he used his frustration to fuel his passion. 'Though I was misunderstood and passed on, that was the point of investment that I had to make in order to find my purpose. Because of that passion, I felt it would lead me in the right direction and it has,' Usher continued. 'Before I could sing, before I could dance, before I was a doctor,' he joked, 'I had passion.' Usher explained that 'the system' wasn't equipped to handle 'a student like [him]' and couldn't 'help prepare [him] for the future [he'd] have' and as a result, he became the global superstar and philanthropist we know and love. 'To go from that moment, to standing here and being honored by one of the most prestigious institutions, Emory [University], is truly full circle and proof that the journey is the destination.' Watch the King of R&B's full keynote address above. More from Boosie Becomes Emotional After Receiving Two Honorary Doctorates Usher Apologizes To Sabrina Carpenter's Dad Following Cherry Ordeal At 2025 Met Gala Usher's Concert Film, 'Rendezvous In Paris,' Set To Stream Exclusively On BET+
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Rain didn't stop Emory graduates from celebrating special day
Rain forced last-minute changes for graduates at Emory University. The outdoor graduation had to move indoors. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] On Monday morning at Emory University, now Dr. Usher Raymond IV took the stage not to sing but as the commencement speaker. The university granted him an honorary doctorate of humane letters. 'Think boldly. Think generously, this world needs fearless architects of our future,' Raymond said to Emory University's Class of 2025. However, of the 18,000 people who were supposed to hear the superstar on Emory's Quad, a much smaller number of people actually got a seat at the ceremony, as university officials made the call to move it indoors, in case of rain. TRENDING STORIES: 'That's wild': Your personal information is for sale, and it's not expensive Driver going 80 mph was using cellphone before crashing into GA deputy patrol car on I-20: Sheriff GA student taken into ICE custody after traffic stop pulled over by mistake, police say 'I was really excited to see Usher, and last night I found out that there is no more Usher,' Emory graduate Ayla Kahn said. Students whose tickets were limited to just three had to make some difficult decisions just hours before graduation. 'It's a really rough decision. My girlfriend, unfortunately, did not make the cut. I really tried to get her in, but she insisted my family come,' Emory graduate Samuel Bavur said. 'My parents and then I had an aunt who flew from California so she made the biggest trek, so she made the cut,' Emory graduate Rhea Knsal said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Most said that while the last-minute changes were disappointing, it didn't take away from the magnitude of the day. 'Really, really sad to leave but I'm excited to see my friends one last time before we graduate,' Emory graduate Maya Ndattatreya said. 'It was a little down to the wire figuring out what to do and where to go. But I guess everything is going to work out in the end. All I care is that I walk across that stage and make my parents Emory graduate Karl Kassabian said.
News.com.au
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Usher announces he is bringing his Past Present Future tour to two Aussie cities
Usher has announced he's bringing his musical 'Confessions' to Australia as part of his global tour, performing multiple dates in two cities. The multi-platinum, eight-time Grammy winner kicked off his Past Present Future Tour in Washington D.C. in August last year, and has since taken it across the US, Europe and the UK. The show is described by Usher as 'a celebration of the past 30 years and a glimpse into the future', and includes an epic 47-song setlist of his greatest hits, including U Got It Bad, How U Remind Me, Burn and Yeah. After a stint overseas, Aussie fans will soon have the opportunity to see him for themselves – but only in two major cities. The show will start its Aussie leg in Melbourne on the 19th, 20th, 22nd and 23rd of November at the Rod Laver Arena, before moving to Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on the 1st, 2nd, 4th and 5th of December. Tickets will go on sale starting with an artist presale on May 12, with general onsale beginning Friday, May 16 on Usher – full name Usher Raymond IV – took a brief break from his tour to perform at the Met Gala earlier this week, taking the stage at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC alongside Stevie Wonder. Vogue reports that the set was introduced with a poetry reading from Gala co-chair Colman Domingo, and that Usher performed Yeah, U Don't Have To Call and OMG. Wed Nov 19 - Melbourne, VIC - Rod Laver Arena Thu Nov 20 - Melbourne, VIC - Rod Laver Arena Sat Nov 22 - Melbourne, VIC - Rod Laver Arena Sun Nov 23 - Melbourne, VIC - Rod Laver Arena Mon Dec 01 - Sydney, NSW - Qudos Bank Arena Tue Dec 02 - Sydney, NSW - Qudos Bank Arena Thu Dec 04 - Sydney, NSW - Qudos Bank Arena
BBC News
30-03-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Usher kicks off 10-night London residency, with mixed results
Usher has kicked off a 10-night residency at London's O2 Arena with a slick, two-hour show that was impressive and frustrating in equal US pop star played more than 40 songs, including hits like Yeah, Burn, U Remind Me and OMG, with multiple costume changes and buttery-smooth the show, which comes to the UK after a 62-date run in the US, felt oddly rough around the edges - including a handful of on-stage stumbles and missed musical momentum was frequently torpedoed by waffly, overlong video interludes - but Usher's magnetic stage presence just about held the concert together. Titled "Past, Present, Future", the tour is billed as an "intimate" look at Usher Raymond IV's 30-year career, as well as "a glimpse into the future".It comes as the star, one of the best-selling artists of the 2000s, is enjoying a career rebirth - following an acclaimed Super Bowl half-time show, and the release of his ninth studio album, Coming 10 sold-out shows at the O2, he enters an elite group of artists who've played double-digit residencies at the venue, alongside Queen (10 shows in 2022), Bon Jovi (12 nights in 2010) and Prince (21 nights in 2007). At its core, Past, Present, Future illustrates the skill with which the 46-year-old has navigated the evolving trends of the music see a video clip of him, aged 14, dancing to his debut single, Call Me A Mack, then watch as he transforms into a teenage heartthrob, a confessional balladeer, an EDM party-starter, and an elder statesman of R& arrives from under the stage in a fog of dry ice and a cone of laser beams, apparently controlling the lights with his bare hands, before dancing to the middle of the arena with the molten fluidity of his idol, Michael in a sparkly raincoat and wide-brimmed Pharrell hat, he races through hits like Coming Home, Hey Daddy and U Make Me Wanna, backed by a funky 10-piece band and a dance team that echoes his every choreography is a constant highlight. Usher's moves are so effortless that they look unrehearsed, but such ease comes at a cost: Last year, he had to postpone the start of the tour after injuring his neck in the O2, that pain seemed a distant memory, as he careened around the U-shaped stage on roller skates, pulling off a flawless moonwalk, and even freeze-framing in a might have fumbled a hat at one point, but it was one of his dancers who came closest to calamity - losing his balance during an elaborate chair routine, sending the chair spinning across the band also suffered a mishap, missing Usher's cue to extend the intro to Superstar, and coming in four bars early. Not disastrous, but still unusual for a show on this level. The hits were punctuated by numerous interludes, narrated by Celeste, a glitch-prone "computer driven by AI technology to help Mr Raymond tell his story", from teen wannabe to global superstar, against a backdrop of infidelity, tabloid infamy, redemption and problem was his songs couldn't support the weight of that story. With a few exceptions, Usher mostly sings about lusting after women in the club, and carnal pleasures in the result was a weirdly disconnected show, where Usher followed a moving video about his absent father with a song about his ex, which he sung while straddling a was a running theme. Women in the audience were fed with cocktail cherries ("oh, it's your first time?" Usher mugged into the camera) and part of the stage was turned into a strip club, complete with pole dancers, during Bad sort of tongue-in-cheek raunch has been a hallmark of Usher's career, but it felt dated and shallow in a concert that promised an intimate look into his personality. Perhaps he just wanted us to know that, deep down, he really, really likes sex. Luckily, the songs still hold up. A trio of quiet storm ballads - Climax, Burn and Confessions Part II - had couples serenading each other, while a trio of women near me took the opportunity to slow dance a security guard who was mopping the his credit, Usher sang everything live, with an airy falsetto that's undiminished after 30 years on tour. During U Got It Bad, he held one sustained note for over 10 times, he struggled to hold the audience's attention during the slow jams. The UK has always preferred him in club mode - and it was his three biggest-sellers, Yeah, OMG and DJ Got Us Falling In Love that really set the O2 it was one of those empty club anthems, I Am The Party, that ultimately carried the most meaning."Hopefully my [music] has been something to you," Usher said over the introduction."Maybe we fell in love together, maybe we had a good time together, but something brought you here. And I just want you to know, I appreciate the connection.""If I didn't have you to cheer me on, I wouldn't continue to do this."Pop stars say this sort of thing all the time. But as he stood at the O2, drenched in sweat, remembering the father who abandoned him and soaking up the audience's affection, Usher didn't seem to be putting on an the encore, he'd given up all pretence of being a high-rolling playboy. Instead, he bounded around the stage, giddily filming the audience on his phone, as they hollered out the chorus to Without only that performer had shown up earlier.
