Usher sang and danced his way into the music of many people’s minds in the 1990s. Since then, he’s held a special place in the music industry, even if he’s not consistently hitting hits or putting on shows. He had a massive career with numerous achievements.
Usher’s bio
He was born in Dallas, Texas on October 14, 1978. His parents are Usher Raymond III and Jonetta Patton and the two raised their son in Chattanooga, Tennessee before eventually moving to Atlanta, Georgia. Jonetta Patton recognized her son’s singing talent early on and by the age of 12 she began recruiting him for local singing competitions. At one of those competitions, Usher caught the eye of a LaFace Records official who recognized the talent in him and decided to nurture him.
In 1994, Usher released Usher and burst onto the music scene. However, it was his 1997 album My Way that caught his attention. My Way gave him his first US Billboard Hot 100 number one single in the song “Nice & Slow”. The My Way album’s song “U Don’t Have To Call” also earned him a first Top 3 single and the album sold 8 million copies worldwide and earned the now famous singer two Grammy Awards in 2002 and 2002 2003 for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. His 2004 Confession album capped his rise as one of the best-selling artists of the 2000s. So far, the album has been certified Diamond by the RIAA.
Married, wife, children
Usher has been making consecutive Sexiest Man Alive lists since he got on the music scene. He’s been dubbed everyone’s favorite ex-boyfriend after dating such celebrities as model Naomi Campbell and TLC’s Chilli Thomas. Despite his ever-evolving dating life, he has only given up his single relationship for two women. He was married to Tameka Foster on August 3, 2007. Tameka Foster was Usher’s personal stylist for years before their relationship turned romantic in November 2005. The two had a first wedding in Atlanta on the above date, followed by a larger ceremony at the Chateau Elan Winery & Resort outside of Atlanta on September 1, 2007.
Tameka Foster joined Usher with three sons from previous relationships. Usher therefore became a stepfather before he and Foster had two sons of their own whom they named Usher “Cinco” Raymond V and Naviyd Ely Raymond, born in November 2007 and December 2008 respectively. Unfortunately, two months after giving birth to her son in February 2009, Foster suffered cardiac arrest. She had traveled to São Paulo, Brazil, and was under anesthesia in preparation for cosmetic surgery when cardiac arrest occurred. Usher canceled a performance and flew to his wife. However, in June 2009, he filed for divorce from her in Atlanta. The divorce was finalized on November 4, 2009 and the two began a very public custody battle over the two sons they had together.
Tragedy struck on July 8, 2012, when one of Foster’s sons and Usher’s former stepson, Kile Glover, were pronounced brain dead at the age of 11 after being hit by a personal watercraft on Lake Lanier. He died on July 21, 2012. It was just over a year later that Usher’s eldest son was hospitalized after an accident in a pond at his home, where he got stuck in a drain. Foster filed an application for temporary basic care after the accident, citing her son’s near-death accident as evidence that the children were not properly supervised. The lawsuit was dismissed at the hearing on August 9, 2013.Usher married his longtime girlfriend, Grace Miguel, who also acted as a manager, when the two vacationed in Cuba in September 2015. The marriage was quiet and their status as husband and wife was only a subject of speculation for a while after a photo on Instagram showed Usher wearing a gold wedding ring. He later confirmed their marriage while on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
The couple informed US Weekly of their split on March 6, 2018, though they claimed they are still on friendly terms and would support each other in the next stages of their lives.
Is he gay?
All of the people Usher has worked with in relationships over the years have been female. However, after some documents were leaked online alleging Usher infected a partner with herpes in 2012, some other accusers began taking action against the singer. One of the three accusers, represented by attorney Lisa Bloom, who indicted Usher on allegations of sexual assault, fraud and more, was a man. The male plaintiff chose to remain anonymous, making it difficult to verify whether Usher ever had relationships with a man.
Height
Usher stands at a height of 5 feet 7 inches. The widely accepted ladies man has a body to die for, so he carries his size superbly with impeccable abs and weighing in at just around 75kg. Usher puts in a lot of work both in the gym and through diets to make sure he always looks as good as he does.
Wealth (income and earnings)
In 2011, Forbes magazine ranked Usher #32 on their Celebrity 100 list. The singer was reportedly worth $46 million after his OMG tour, which also made him a list of the 25 highest paid musicians in the world. This isn’t surprising considering the singer has sold over 23.8 million albums and 38.2 million digital songs in America alone. He also owns a record label with famed talent manager Scooter Braun called Raymond-Braun Media Group (RBMG). The label includes Justin Bieber, who helped Usher break into the music business. Currently, the singer’s net worth is $180 million.
