- 3 months ago
Global superstar USHER will take center stage as this year’s Legend of Live honoree. Moderated by: Gail Mitchell.
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00:00Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
00:05Hello, everybody. There he is, Mr. Stylish, a.k.a. Usher. Good to see you.
00:13Better be seen and viewed.
00:14Okay.
00:16So, there's a reason why I picked that song. I think he recognized that you got it bad.
00:23And there's a reason why I picked that song, because over the course of his 28 years of touring,
00:30There's a lot of people who've got it bad in terms of trying to see him live.
00:34Okay.
00:36A few stats before we get to chatting.
00:38The first residency, I assure the Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace, did $18.8 million, sold 84,000 tickets, over 20 shows.
00:48The second, My Way, the Vegas residency, staged at the Dolby Life Theater at Park MGM, garnered $95.9 million and sold 394,000 tickets, over 80 shows.
01:02Then there's the Super Bowl halftime show, a little 13 minutes, was it?
01:07Yes.
01:08Nearly 130 million viewers.
01:10And then his world tour, the latest outing, Usher, past, present, future, is the highest grossing and best-selling tour of his career, according to Billboard Boxscore, grossing $183.9 million, selling 1.1 million tickets, over 80 shows.
01:27And all told, Usher currently has a reported career gross of $422.6 million from 3.3 million tickets sold, over 334 shows.
01:40Congratulations, that's a lot of singing and dancing and skating and everything else, right?
01:51It is, ain't it?
01:53Yeah.
01:54So, the other reason I chose You Got It Bad, I don't know if you recall, when I interviewed you just prior to the halftime show in 2024, I asked you if there's still one song that sticks out the most in terms of being one of your favorites to perform and dance to.
02:08And you said, you got it bad, and here's your quote, because of the connection between me and the audience.
02:14It has rhythm and I dance to it.
02:16When people sing it the way that they do, when I'm performing it, they feel a connection to it.
02:21It feels real.
02:22When it all comes together, the song, the connecting message to the audience, the dance, it almost feels like classical music.
02:29So, I wanted you to explain that a little bit, that connection to the audience and what that really feels like.
02:36I mean, it's the only thing that's truly connected to an audience and artists' experience.
02:45I mean, of course, the things that we make, that we create, that tell the stories of our music are left to interpretation, and everything there represents art.
02:55But the thing that really, really matters in the end, and probably motivated me to do all of it, was this connection between me and an audience.
03:03It's the one thing that will never go out of style, and no matter how much technology may get in the way.
03:09I mean, because it's really hard when you're performing in front of an audience of people with a camera, right?
03:13But, I mean, y'all know what I'm talking about, right?
03:16No, but for the most part, to have that intimacy is a dedication, is a commitment between me and an audience member.
03:27One, they spent their hard-earned money to come and see me, and I want to impress them.
03:31But I would like to be as theatrical and use my imagination as much as I possibly can to lift the song higher than what it was when I delivered it as a piece of intellectual property.
03:42So, we're going to go back to your early days as an opening act for the likes of Mary J. Blige, Janet Jackson, and others.
03:54What key lesson did you learn from them, watching them, and watching their audience's reactions?
03:59Make the most of the moment that you have, and know that the journey is the destination.
04:06I mean, many artists, you know, nowadays you get, you know, Instagram famous, and you got millions and millions of followers.
04:14So, you don't even really think that you need to work for it anymore.
04:17And that's not a criticism, but that's just a reality to where technology has, you know, raised us.
04:23But what I do think has happened is the artist development, the time to become better as an artist, is being taken away in that.
04:34And that, so what I did is I learned.
04:37I learned from masters.
04:38I learned, you know, how to, you know, present myself to an audience.
04:43You know, the diversity between the audience that I had and I brought, as well as the audience of people who had been dedicated to that artist before I got there.
04:55So, I won new fans.
04:56You know, I had another notch on my belt in terms of what I was capable of being able to handle.
05:03So that when I went to, you know, try and headline my own tours, they knew I had the ability to hold a crowd.
05:09I mean, you know, I can remember in the beginning.
05:14Really funny story.
05:16I'm out with PDD and the family.
05:18And I'm an opening act.
05:21But I have a number one record or a record that's close to number one, You Make Me Wanna, and the song is starting to heat up.
05:27But I'm like on.
05:28And I only got like a 10, 15 minute set.
05:30And you all know, I mean, do you get there early enough to see the opening act?
05:35Sometimes you just don't unless there is some sort of pull, something that people are talking about.
05:40And being able to get there in time to be able to see me was a task.
05:47So I remember going out to first shows and nobody was there.
05:51And I remember, you know, wearing their ass out.
05:53Like, you know what?
05:54I'm going to make these 10 people who are here talk about what happened.
05:59And hopefully that news will spread.
06:01And before you know it, by the, I think, maybe sixth show.
06:06No, and granted, the song was growing.
06:07And, you know, so the excitement around You Make Me Wanna was great.
06:11But it was full.
06:13So now I'm playing to a full audience.
06:16And I'm an opening act.
06:17So Puff comes to me and he's like, yo, Young Bloods, you know what I'm saying?
06:20You're doing your thing.
06:21You know what I'm saying?
06:22You know, you finally made it.
06:23I'm so proud of you.
06:24You know, why don't you come on my set?
06:26And I was like, nah, I'm cool.
06:27I'm going to stay right where I'm at because I want to earn my keep.
06:30I'm here for a reason.
06:32I want to someday be where you are.
06:34I would like to be, you know, a headliner.
06:37But I don't want it given to me.
06:39I want to work for it.
06:40When I look in that audience and I see those people, that's something that I worked for.
06:45So.
06:46Do you remember that far back, what was the hardest challenge that you encountered during those opening,
06:53that opening stage of your career?
06:55I mean, you know, luckily I was dealing with, you know, artists who were not insecure
07:01and were very certain about what they would offer to their audience.
07:04But, you know, in some cases, you know, you battling for space and like, you know, time to be even, you know,
07:10to be able to warm yourself up, you know, so you don't really get a real sound check sometimes.
07:16Sometimes, you know, the stage allowances, if everybody is on this stage, I get like this little piece right here.
07:24And I got to make the most of it.
07:25But again, that made me improvise.
07:27That made me a better performer because I had to work with what I was given as opposed to being given everything
07:33and trying to figure out how to fit myself into it.
07:36But those are really the hardest challenges, you know, managing, you know, losing my voice and trying to get that back.
07:49Those were really, really difficult challenges for me.
07:54So set the stage for your first show as a headlining act.
07:58When, what, where, a key memory that sticks out?
08:04Set the stage for my first.
08:05Opening show on your own headlining tour.
08:09You're not opening anymore.
08:11It's been too long.
08:12I don't remember.
08:16I think the first time, the first time I toured by myself, I don't know if it was in between my way.
08:29I think it was.
08:30It was my way.
08:30I think Chattanooga, Tennessee was kind of the kickoff of it.
08:34The first time that I did, like, Antoine Fuqua actually shot my live.
08:41That's crazy, right?
08:42Wow.
08:42But it was the first time that I ever had my own show.
08:47I'd just come off the Janet Jackson tour.
08:52And this was an opportunity for me to really start.
08:55So that was a real major moment.
08:57One, being back in my hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee, where I was raised and didn't necessarily have all of the resources.
09:04Yeah, I had to go to Atlanta in order to really, you know, stretch out and then eventually go to New York City and learn even more.
09:10And then became, you know, a product of all of the experiences that I had.
09:14But that was the beginning where I knew I can handle an audience and I can lead a show.
09:22I can handle a show.
09:24Okay.
09:25Other than Antoine, wow.
09:26Any other memory that sticks out about that time?
09:31Just the importance of paying tribute.
09:33You know, I'm an artist who was inspired by the legends.
09:38You know, and if I study legends, then hopefully one day I will be one.
09:42And that was, you know, I think it's important for us to understand that although there's new music and although there's new, you know, idea,
09:51there's no unique idea that's never been created that someone else hasn't done.
09:55So I always made it a part of who I was and what I had to offer to stand on the shoulders of giants that had come before me that really blazed the trail.
10:05And just making certain that I did that always, it gave me material because I didn't have enough hit records.
10:11So, you know, trying to figure out how do I captivate an audience with songs that are not mine.
10:16So I would do covers of Bobby Brown.
10:17I would do, you know, Force MD's covers.
10:20I would do records that I'd heard from Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and, you know, Babyface, even though I didn't have a lot of records.
10:30But that was that was a challenge.
10:34OK. And you picked those particular songs.
10:36Why? They were some of your favorite artists or?
10:39Well, I mean, those songs are all about the get down.
10:42You know what I'm saying?
10:42They were always like they wanted people to you wanted to listen to a song and be excited about the show that you would see.
10:49And you didn't have social, you know, media, you didn't have as much exposure to be able to be there and have the FOMO of being there.
10:59Then you want to go and see the show.
11:00So I had to try and find ways to captivate an audience and maybe if they were fans of those songs, maybe they become a fan of mine and invest into what I was doing and what I was creating as a as a young artist.
11:13So over the years, since since my way in 8701 and Confessions and on up through the World Tour, how's your performance philosophy or approach to touring changed over the years?
11:28I mean, I've been a lot of places, seen a lot of faces.
11:30You know, part of it is, you know, the company that I've kept and the people that have been a part of this amazing career that I that I have one as an artist, two as a touring act.
11:47And, you know, I started with my mom and her and I, our vision of what, you know, this could be.
11:54It came to life, but it didn't come without having a village of people, some of whom are no longer here.
12:00And some people who are still a part actively of my career, you know, being able to have a great manager like Ron Lafitte and have Live Nation and Lewis Cohen and so many incredible people.
12:11Austin, who's in the house tonight, also to Brian Cohen and Arthur Fogel and these guys who would invest in in my vision.
12:22And if I wanted to, you know, see something happen, they knew it was all with good intentions for the audience.
12:28They are all about quality performers and safe environments.
12:33So I was like, you know, I really do have a vision.
12:35You know, when we decided to go to Las Vegas, it wasn't about the money.
12:39As a matter of fact, we were coming out of the pandemic.
12:41So what we wanted to offer people was hope.
12:43We wanted people to feel like they were coming back to some sense of normalcy.
12:46When was the last time we were in a room together?
12:48We were all quarantined and trying to figure out how the hell did we get to Atlanta?
12:52Because they ain't fucking stopped.
12:53They just been going the whole time.
12:55But, and I was in Los Angeles at the time.
12:58It's funny because it's true.
13:00But, you know, we were trying to offer people hope, you know, to get re-acclimated.
13:07So that show really kicked off live performance.
13:11And, you know, I'm not going to be wanting to pat myself on the back.
13:14But Live Nation, Arthur Fogel, Ron Lafitte, Lafitte Management, those people, you know,
13:20they really, really did invest in something that I think was majorly important.
13:24Akemon Jones, so many great people who were a part of it.
13:28Simon, you know, Hammerstein.
13:30And so many people who were really about trying to do something to get people back.
13:36And that started a new conversation for me that led me to the Super Bowl, that then led
13:42me on an incredible tour in America and in Europe.
13:46And then I had to stop.
13:48I'm coming back.
13:49But, you know, I had to take a little moment.
13:50It was like I only beat myself up so bad.
13:54Because I was going to say, how do you pace yourself, especially on something like a world
13:57tour where you've got the different stops and the time zones and you got to give it your
14:02all every single time?
14:03I mean, no sleep till Atlanta.
14:08Okay.
14:09No sleep to Brooklyn.
14:10Y'all missed that one.
14:12Yeah, see, no, but it's all about this passion, right?
14:19Okay.
14:20The passion for me as a legacy artist of live music is based off of my commitment to this
14:26audience.
14:27And now, you know, I'm beginning to realize that it's far more about something else, especially
14:33in places where, you know, you are not seen.
14:38There was no black union or minority union in Las Vegas when I came there.
14:45But as a result of that show, it established something.
14:49You know, in many lights, there's artists who might be written off from the world, you
14:55know, in society.
14:56But through a live performance, they can rebound their entire career.
15:01So live music and live entertainment is really the source, not just for the fact that they,
15:07you know, want to curate incredible shows, but it really does let you know something about
15:13a person and their commitment to you because they're there because they want to give you
15:18something special.
15:19They want to give you something to remember.
15:20And I'm happy to be able to say that I built a career that I have, but it is primarily
15:26because of my live performance that I have rebounded my hardest times.
15:32And, um, yeah.
15:35Okay.
15:36Um, what items must you always have with you when you are out on the road?
15:41What items?
15:43Yes.
15:44I don't know.
15:44Do you have any special requests?
15:47I, I, other than family people.
15:49A great crew.
15:50You know what I'm saying?
15:51I need to have like, you know, good music backstage.
15:55You know, I work out and I got to have a lot of people to wrap my legs up and try to figure
16:00out how to, you know, get me back out there every night.
16:03Um, you know, what you guys don't see is the hard work that goes in, you know, behind all
16:09of it.
16:09And, you know, there is something coming.
16:14Um, I'm in the midst of working on something that may even kind of shine a light on a very
16:18specific period of my life and around performance.
16:22But, um, you know, just stay tuned because there, there is, there's true value in life.
16:28Okay.
16:29Yeah.
16:30So it's going to be here despite other encroaching technologies and things like that.
16:36You think life's still going to?
16:37I think that there's a way to work with it, right?
16:40I don't think that abandoning the, abandoning the idea of live, um, I'm sorry, of not, you
16:47know, trying to use modern technology to help us elevate, but for the ones that are up and
16:54coming, they still need it.
16:55You know, I've gone to tons of shows and I'm like, man, these guys don't really know how
17:00to put together a show and we need it.
17:04Right.
17:04The technology also too can help, you know, compel the audience to not only know more
17:09about you, um, but also to find really creative ways to do things.
17:13It doesn't change the fact that we still need to, you know, double down and understand the
17:18importance of live and what it means to be an artist.
17:21You cannot consider yourself an artist if you can't like at the drop of a dime perform your
17:27song and captivate an audience.
17:29That's, that's, that makes a difference.
17:31Yeah.
17:32Okay.
17:33Is there something you always do or say before you go on stage after each show?
17:38Before each show, I should say, you're behind a curtain, you're looking out and seeing who's,
17:43I'll be honest, do you do that?
17:44I'm fired up.
17:45Who fired up?
17:46You can.
17:47And we go out there and we do it.
17:49Um, every night, you know, I, I am, I have a kind of a tradition, you know what I'm saying?
17:55And no, no, no disrespect to how people do what they do, but I say a prayer before every
18:00show, um, and put a blessing over the fact that one, we're there and two, um, God, what
18:05we're doing, there's something far, far more significant that's happening in this moment.
18:10And we've been given these gifts to be able to share with this audience.
18:13Hopefully that they leave, you know what I mean?
18:14Happy, uh, content, they get something out of it.
18:17And then I get something out of it as well.
18:20Okay.
18:21And what happened?
18:22Other than the check, you know what I'm saying?
18:23So what happens when you look out maybe, and something doesn't seem to be connecting
18:31with the audience?
18:32Have you had that kind of a moment?
18:33And what did you do to kind of make that pivot and, and get them back?
18:39You act like you ain't been to my shows.
18:40I don't do that.
18:40I know.
18:41I've been to every single one of your shows, but I don't know how many.
18:43Oh, they don't know.
18:44Okay, cool.
18:44You better tell them.
18:46Man, I'll be putting that work in.
18:47You better let them know.
18:50You do.
18:50You do.
18:50Nah, man, this is, it's real.
18:54You know, it's like I'm performing for the best version of myself every night, you know,
18:59and I'm trying to make myself better, even though I don't have to.
19:02Like, I've proven myself.
19:04I've sold millions of albums.
19:06I've sold more albums in the first week than many artists ever will.
19:10Tangible copies.
19:10I've showed tours out.
19:12I've been able to tour the world.
19:13People know what I do.
19:14But yet, there's still somebody out there who needs to have something special in this
19:17moment, and I'm doing it for them.
19:19I want to make certain that they see something in me that's going to make them excited, happy,
19:24cry, feel what you felt when you listened to these songs.
19:27It's my payback to you.
19:28I'm not going to get a chance to be with you after this moment.
19:30So let's enjoy it.
19:31Let's have a good time.
19:33Let's go back in time.
19:34Let's just have a great time together.
19:37And that's what I do.
19:38But you should tell them.
19:39This is what he does.
19:41I'm only singing my praises.
19:44No, I really get into it, you know.
19:47You know, you do.
19:48You do.
19:48And especially with...
19:50Yeah, I should have seen it when I brought it to the cherries.
19:56Well, no, that was, I think, on Jennifer Hudson's show.
19:59Right.
19:59Yeah, so, yeah, I was there.
20:01But, no, I didn't do the cherries.
20:03He didn't come over my way, but okay.
20:08Okay.
20:09You talked about the people behind the stage.
20:13I'm always fascinated, because, especially at the residency, it felt like you were always
20:17on stage, and you didn't have time to change, but then you'd be gone for a second, and you
20:21didn't.
20:21So talk a little bit, unless that's telling secrets, how fast, the fastest change you've
20:27ever had to make, and still, you know, and keep the show seamless and moving forward.
20:31Yeah, you know the cockpits that are either where the cars have to pit really quick to change
20:36their tires?
20:37Mm-hmm.
20:37We do it in record time, right?
20:39We live, it's actually funny.
20:41It's almost like a jungle gym down there, and I'm hanging on to it.
20:44They're taking my pants off, you know, and I got to put a shirt on, winds blowing, and
20:49some music is loud.
20:50They got to, you know, change this, don't forget this, manage to make us a countdown back
20:55there, literally letting you know, and three, and then I'm screaming at everyone, pull,
21:00flow, move, let's go!
21:02So it's just, it's crazy.
21:04Okay.
21:05All right.
21:06What's the craziest thing that a fan has done over the course of your career, in terms
21:14of maybe popping up on stage?
21:16What's the craziest moment you've had with a fan on stage?
21:20Craziest moment that a fan...
21:22That you never thought you'd see, and you saw it.
21:27Stripped naked in front of a venue, and sit there until she was put in custody.
21:36Oh, wow!
21:36Not the fact that she actually was there naked, but the fact that she sat there until she
21:44was found out.
21:46I thought that was crazy.
21:47I was like, I would have just done it and left, you know what I'm saying?
21:51Sorry.
21:52I didn't mean to.
21:56Wow!
21:57That is, that's...
21:59I've seen the underwear and that kind of stuff with that, yeah, that kind of takes...
22:03Oh, no, she came in a birthday suit.
22:05Birthday suit.
22:05Yeah.
22:06All right.
22:07Okay, so what advice do you have for artists who are starting out, especially in this age
22:13of social media and the internet and everything, and what three things would you say they must
22:20have at a show, especially when they're just starting out?
22:23At a show or period?
22:26Period, in terms of a live performance.
22:28We were backstage, and you guys did a guided meditation before you came, before I came out
22:32here, right?
22:33One thing that I would tell every artist, now that I'm in the position,
22:36that I'm at, right?
22:38There's many different ways to look at capital, right?
22:43We all need capital in order to be great at what we do.
22:46We need economic capital.
22:47We need social capital.
22:49We need cultural capital.
22:50But more importantly, I think we need wellness capital.
22:55And that moment that you guys were experiencing, it's very important for all artists, new as well as old and established, because it's the most valuable and most important capital that you'll ever have.
23:08wellness capital, to be able to sustain and leave space for yourself because it's a very, very rocky road.
23:17You know, it may look very dark at one point, but it doesn't have to stay there.
23:22And the only way you can manage that process is through, you know, finding whatever it is that guiding light is for you, whether it's meditation, whether it's having an entire time, really understanding that rest is important.
23:33I know I don't sleep, but the reality is it's really important to nourish those areas because you'll break down.
23:39And, you know, it's terrible to have an entire career and then be miserable, one, because you're always trying to figure out how to please this next idea or either appease this next idea or person, right?
23:54That piece of capital is the most important part that you could invest in.
23:59You've got to invest in your talent.
24:02You know, the journey is the destination.
24:05If it's based off of a car or either a certain amount of likes or recognition, you're going to eventually get there and then what?
24:13You're going to be stuck.
24:14So the journey is the destination.
24:17Those are the things that I always tell artists.
24:19Okay.
24:20Cool.
24:21So one thing before we get to the last couple of questions.
24:29You say you really live for the stage.
24:31Do you get an itch?
24:35Is there something that tells you, gee, I need to be on the stage?
24:38What do you do on your off time?
24:41I know you have family, of course, but live just seems so innate in you.
24:45It feels like it's something you just have to do.
24:49It's funny.
24:50My wife is always laughing at me because I got like three quick changes during the day.
24:54Like I wake up in one outfit, go do something, change my outfit, do something else, change my outfit.
25:02She's like, yo, you're not on stage, yo.
25:07But I miss it, you know.
25:09And the family that I have away from the family that I am taking time away from, you know, I nurture both sides.
25:19I'm very, very happy in what I do.
25:22It is a commitment based off of my dedication to what I decided to do when I was very young.
25:29And I am committed to that young teenager who, you know, had to find a way.
25:34You know, my life didn't look like this when I started.
25:38I made it look this way.
25:39It was a time that I put in and the actual relationships that I was able to build within that time to make it.
25:47So I'm very happy for the village of people who have been a part of this, the record companies, you know, the agency, John Marks,
25:55the people who came and were really, really helpful in dark times for me.
25:59Sarah Newkirk, you know, I talked to you about Ron Lafitte.
26:02I know he's in the house, too.
26:03But these were people who were very, very important and integral in maintaining this legacy.
26:12For me to be able to receive this legacy or this legend of live award, it doesn't come because of just me.
26:20There is an effort.
26:21There is an entire army behind me that is supporting where I'm going.
26:25An entire nation, live nation behind me, pushing me forward.
26:30All right.
26:31So you've skated, you've skated on stage, you've welcomed pole dancers to the stage, you've fed cherries to fans.
26:42What's the wildest show dream that you still have and would like to accomplish on stage?
26:47Wildest show dream?
26:48Mm-hmm.
26:49What would you like to present that you haven't done that kind of, you know?
26:53Oh, man.
26:57I don't know, man.
26:58Maybe I, um...
27:00You know, back in the day, I'm dating myself, but Earth, Wind & Fire, they used to pop up on stage, do magic acts, they'd disappear, and then they, I remember seeing them at the bowl, they'd disappear, and then they'd be at the back of the venue, or you had parliament with the spaceship and stuff.
27:16The spaceship, yeah, man.
27:17You know, so just, you know, and it was just, it was you, it was Atlanta, it was everything, the way that you integrated all of those different elements in the show and also on the tour, so...
27:33Really, that is the foundation that I am, um, it comes from soul music, it comes from, uh, the south, it comes from a very, uh, wide collective of being exposed to many different artists from many different genres, but most importantly, R&B, rhythm and blues, uh, is very important to me.
27:52It's very important for us to continue to support those artists that are up and coming, as well as the ones who have, uh, come and been great, you know, in the same way that I think all other industries have managed to monetize who and what they are, whether it's hip-hop, rock and roll, country, you buy guitars and boots and caps and all that kind of stuff, and, you know, I want the same thing for R&B.
28:14That is the thing that I haven't done yet. I want, um, us to celebrate the legacy of what it is that we've created and celebrate the people and the things that they created, uh, not just look at it as, you know, nostalgic things that have come and gone, but to be able to savor them and savor their legacy and a legend of what was created before.
28:35That's my most important focus. Um, not just live, um, not just live, in all things, all things curated. What I am, at the core, is a storyteller, and I want to be able to help that industry that has not been seen and recognized come alive.
28:52Very good. Yeah. Like that. So, uh, for the story you've told so far, we're ready to formally present you with Billboard's 2025 Legend of Live Award.
29:17Congratulations. Well-deserved.
29:25I know who the ensemble is by. This is, oh, my goodness.
29:35Y'all want to know what I'm wearing?
29:36Yes.
29:40This is Dolce and Gabbana, baby.
29:42You know what I'm saying?
29:45But thank you guys so much, man.
29:47Thank you guys, too.
29:48This has been a lot of fun.
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