As a child in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Usher sang in church choirs but sought entry into the mainstream music industry by entering talent shows. At age 12 he moved with his mother and brother to Atlanta, and two years later he secured a recording contract with LaFace Records. The album Usher was released in 1994, with the 15-year-old singer moving beyond his choirboy background by proclaiming that “it’s only a sexual thing” on the slow-groove single “Can U Get wit It.” The album was not a commercial success, and Usher spent the next few years working on a follow-up, My Way (1997), which marked him as a major R&B star. His singles “You Make Me Wanna” and “Nice & Slow” became major R&B hits, and the latter also topped Billboard’s all-genre singles chart. In onstage performances, Usher showed prowess as a dancer that was as notable as his fluid singing voice.

Usher’s third studio album, 8701 (2001), further cemented his reputation as a smooth, seductive, and bankable artist. Music from 8701 gave Usher two number-one pop hits, “U Remind Me” and “U Got It Bad,” and his first two Grammy Awards. On his fourth album, Confessions (2004), he extended his range beyond ballads, collaborating most famously with Atlanta rappers Lil Jon and Ludacris on the boisterous radio-dominating single “Yeah!” Confessions eventually sold more than 10 million copies in the United States alone and earned Usher three Grammy Awards—for best contemporary R&B album, best R&B performance by a duo or group (for “My Boo,” a duet with Alicia Keys), and best rap/sung collaboration (for “Yeah!”).

After a four-year break, Usher returned to recording with Here I Stand (2008), a soulful album that saw the brash lothario of 8701 and Confessions settle into the routine of family life. The follow-up album, Raymond v. Raymond (2010), continued to serve as a window into Usher’s private life, but it was a dark reflection of Here I Stand, as it traced the disintegration of his first marriage, to fashion designer Tameka Foster. In 2011 Raymond v. Raymond won a Grammy for best contemporary R&B album, and the single “There Goes My Baby” won for best male R&B performance. Two years later Usher picked up another Grammy, for the artfully restrained single “Climax.” The song was among the highlights of Looking 4 Myself (2012), an expansive album that found him increasingly influenced by electronic dance music. Usher’s eighth studio album, Hard II Love, was released in 2016. “A” (2018), a collaboration with the producer Zaytoven, drew mixed reviews. That same year saw the end of his second marriage, to former music executive Grace Miguel (now known as Grace Harry).

Between 2019 and 2023 Usher released several tracks, including “Don’t Waste My Time” (2019) featuring Ella Mai, “Bad Habits” (2020), and “Boyfriend” (2023), featuring a video starring the actress Keke Palmer in a scenario mocking whispers of their rumored romance. During this time Usher also performed a successful residency in Las Vegas and had two children with his girlfriend, music executive Jenn Goicoechea. In 2024 he released his first solo album since Hard II Love, the highly anticipated Coming Home, featuring collaborations with H.E.R., Latto, Jungkook of BTS, and other music artists. The album’s release coincided with his performance in the halftime show at that year’s Super Bowl in February.

Early in his career, Usher reached even greater audiences through his acting, beginning with television shows in the 1990s—notably, a recurring role on UPN’s Moesha series, which starred the singer Brandy. Even after reaching superstar status through his music career, Usher continued to make television appearances, including the period drama American Dreams (2002) in the role of Marvin Gaye. In 2005 he starred as a disc jockey who protects a mobster’s daughter in the film In the Mix, though his acting, and the film as a whole, received unfavorable reviews. The following year he portrayed defense lawyer Billy Flynn in the long-running Broadway musical Chicago.

His later films included Hands of Stone (2016), in which he portrayed Sugar Ray Leonard, and Burden (2018), based on a true story about a Black minister (played by Forest Whitaker) who befriends a member of the Ku Klux Klan (Garrett Hedlund) and causes him to confront his racist past. In the film, Usher played the childhood friend of the reformed Klan member. In 2019 Usher had a cameo in Hustlers, a movie starring Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu as strippers who devise a plot to scam their wealthy clients.