Usher

Usher is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor who rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit, "Nice & Slow". The album has been certified 6-times platinum by the RIAA. His follow-up album, 8701, produced the Billboard Hot 100 number one hits "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". The album has been certified 4-times platinum by the RIAA.

Usher has released seven studio albums, one live album, nine compilations, one extended play, and forty-five singles, including twelve as a featured artist. He has sold 22.5 million albums in the US and a combined 65 million records worldwide, making him one of the best selling music artists of all time. He has attained nine Hot 100 number-one hits and eighteen Hot 100 top-ten hits.

In 1994, Usher released his self-titled debut album which produced three singles that attained moderate chart success. His follow-up album, My Way, achieved international success selling seven million copies worldwide, becoming his break-through album. It was certified six-times platinum, and produced three successful singles, including his first US number-one hit "Nice & Slow".

In 2001, his third studio album, 8701, was released and debuted at number-four on the Billboard 200. The album produced two number-one singles, "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". It sold over 4.7 million copies in the US, and was certified four-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

His fourth studio album, Confessions, became his first US number-one album, and it sold 1.1 million copies in its first week. It spawned a record breaking four consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits: "Yeah!", "Burn", "Confessions Part II", and "My Boo". Each single accumulated to a total of 28 weeks on top, making Usher the first act to have achieved such an extended chart run on the Hot 100. It was ranked as the top solo album and second most successful album of the 2000 decade.

In 2008, Usher issued his fifth studio album Here I Stand. Its lead single "Love in This Club" topped both the New Zealand Singles Chart and the Hot 100. Other singles include "Love in This Club|Love in This Club Part II", "Trading Places" and "Moving Mountains". The album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold 1.5 million copies in the US to date.

Usher released Raymond v. Raymond in 2010, and it became his third consecutive number-one album. Its three US singles, "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)", "Lil Freak" and "There Goes My Baby", peaked in the top 25, 40 and 25 respectively on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album's two international singles, "OMG" and "More", achieved worldwide success, with the latter topping the Canadian Hot 100 and "OMG" topping the Hot 100. Raymond v. Raymond has been certified platinum by the RIAA, and sold 1.3 million copies in the US since its release.

During the same year, a follow-up set called Versus was released and it debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, becoming his sixth top-ten album. The EP's lead and mainstream single, "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love", reached the top ten in several countries, while the second single "Hot Tottie" became a top-thirty hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

In 2011, Usher was featured in numerous singles including David Guetta's "Without You" which was certified platinum and peaked in the top-ten in multiple countries. Usher also worked with Dominican-American singer Romeo Santos for the Billboard hit "Promise".