walking upstream…
Usher
Usher Raymond spent the late 1990s and 2000s as R&B's most reliable hitmaker, pairing gymnastic vocal runs and choreography-forward stagecraft with radio-ready production from Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon, and others. Raised on Motown and New Edition-style teen-R&B before Confessions made him a crossover pop giant, he later paid it forward as a mentor to a new generation of pop stars, most famously a teenage Justin Bieber. He remains one of the defining vocal and performance templates of turn-of-the-millennium R&B.
the sound in question
2004
Yeah!Usher
walk the tributaries ↓
Michael Jackson1980s · Pop / R&B / Dance
Usher has said Michael Jackson influenced him 'the most,' describing him as a childhood idol he tried to physically imitate, from the dance moves to the showmanship.
listen: upstream & here
1982
Billie JeanMichael Jackson
2004
Caught UpUsher
listen forPlay Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' next to Usher's 'Caught Up' — both pair a percussive, dance-forward vocal with choreography built right into the rhythm of the song.
New Edition1980s · R&B / Pop
Usher has said watching a New Edition concert as a kid was 'one of the greatest moments' in his performance history, and he studied New Edition alongside Jackson 5 and Guy as he developed his own teen-R&B sound.
listen: upstream & here
1983
Candy GirlNew Edition
1997
Nice & SlowUsher
listen forPlay New Edition's bubblegum-soul debut 'Candy Girl' next to Usher's own early ballad 'Nice & Slow' — hear the same boyish, Motown-schooled harmony instinct, a few years apart.
Marvin Gaye1970s · Soul / R&B
Usher has named Marvin Gaye among the singers on his personal 'Mount Rushmore,' and his own sensual, slow-jam register — most explicitly on the Confessions album — draws directly on Gaye's model of vulnerable, close-mic'd soul balladry.
listen: upstream & here
1982
Sexual HealingMarvin Gaye
2004
Confessions Part IIUsher
listen forPlay Marvin Gaye's 'Sexual Healing' next to Usher's 'Confessions Part II' — both use a hushed, intimate falsetto register to turn a confession into a slow-burning come-on.