In this article, you will read about the life history and biography of Usher Raymond including everything you need to know about the American singer.
Usher Raymond is an American-born singer, dancer, actor, songwriter, and businessman. He is currently a single Daddy with 2 sons and a daughter from his past relationships.
Continue reading the biography of Usher Raymond to learn more about his songs and albums, relationships, awards, and other facts.
Family Background and Education
Usher Raymond was born on October 14th in 1977 by Jonnetta Patton and Usher Raymond III. He was born in Dallas, Texas but raised in Chattanooga in Tennessee.
Usher’s father left his mother when he was a year old, so, he was raised by his mother. He grew up with a step-father, Lackey, and a half-brother in Tennessee even though the family later moved to Atlanta in Georgia.
When Usher Raymond was 9 years old, his grandmother discovered he can sing and he made him join a choir in church. In Atlanta, Georgia Usher Raymond attended North Springs High School.
Career
Usher Raymond joined the R&B local group “Nubeginings” at the age of 10 years old where he recorded 10 songs with the group in 1991. In a local talent show in Atlanta, Georgia, Usher at the age of 13 years met A.J Alexander, the bodyguard of Bobby Brown.
A.J Alexander took it upon himself to show Usher around and make him perform in parking lots. He also makes sure he performed in the talent show by writing to Bryant Reid, a representative from LaFace Record.
He asked them to allow Usher to participate in the talent show which he performed well. After the talent show, he was signed to LaFace Record by La Reid courtesy of A.J Alexander.
During this period, Usher’s mother abandons her Medical Technician career to become his son’s manager. Usher was introduced to the public by the record label via a soundtrack album he recorded which was titled “Call Me a Mack”.
Usher lost his voice while preparing for his first album which makes La Reid skeptical about his contract with them. At this point, he was finding it difficult to adjust his voice after going through puberty.
La Reid was confused about what to do with Usher since he can’t sing and he thought of dropping him. Usher had to beg him not to which he conceded to and later send him to live with P’Diddy.
In 1994, he started living with P’Diddy, following him to his musical concerts and other activities. He had to adapt to his lifestyle.
On August 30, 1997, Usher released his debut album which he titled “Usher” with the help of P’Diddy flavor Camp executive production. The album consists of 3 singles titled “Can U Get With It”, “Think of You”, and” The Many Ways”.
Even though about 500,000 copies were sold and it peaked at #25 on the R&B chart on Billboard. It wasn’t as successful as they anticipated. The album also received a lot of backlash and criticism as he sang about sex and he was just 15 years old. The public was surprised such a song was coming from a young boy of his age.
In 1995, Usher’s mother decided to take control of his son’s career helping him to grow a larger fanbase by putting in local talent shows and competitions. With his increased fan base, LaReid’sd confidence in Usher began to grow back.
During this time, Usher was still in high school. He later graduated and continue developing himself as a musician and stage performer.
He was doing this by featuring on different shows including LaFace’s version “Let’s Straight It Out” in 1995, Duet with Monica in the Atlanta teen Recording. He also featured on “Dreamin” in the album Rhythm of the Games. He also recorded the soundtrack “I Swear I am in Love” for the film “Kaazam” in 1996.
In 1997, Usher released his second album titled “My Way” with the lead single and other singles topping the UK Billboard chart. The album was commercially successful and he gained a lot of fans as he became more popular. He also won an award from soul Train music award as the Best Male R&B singer.
He also started going on series of tours with P’Diddy including his “No Way Out” tour with Mary J. Blige and others. He also had many concert live albums released after and his first album was released in 1999 featuring a lot of artists.
In 2001, he decided to release another album which he titled “All About You” with the first single “Pop Ya Collar” which was released in 2000. The single was ranking on the UK hot billboard chart as number #2 but didn’t perform well on US Billboard.
It was below his expectations and because some of the tracks in the album also got leaked before release. He had to push it back. He later renamed it “8701” and it was released on August 7, 2001.
On March 23, 2004, his 4th album titled Confession with 2 to 3 singles was released. This album was one of his best as it made over 1.1 million debut sales and over 15 million copies were sold worldwide. This album made him more popular and brings him collaborations with awards.
He collaborated with Alicia Keys, an American female singer on her duet titled “My Boo”. His album “confession” was also supported by a tour which he named “The Truth Tour”. He featured a lot of artists and celebrities including Kanye West, Rico Love, Monica, Christiana Millan, and others.
Since he continues to drop successful albums including “Here I Stand”, “Raymond Vs Raymond” and others.
Apart from being a singer and musician, Usher is also a famous actor. He makes his first appearance in the film industry by showing on a TV series titled “Moesh” which earned him his first role in the movie “The Faculty”. Since then, he has acted in numerous movies including “She’s All That”, “Light it Up”, “Chicago” and so on.
Albums
Without mentioning the album he has produced, the biography of Usher Raymond won’t be completed. Below is his full list of the album released since the beginning of his career;
- Usher
- My Way
- 8701
- Confessions
- Here I Stand
- Raymond v. Raymond
- Looking 4 Myself
- Hard II Love
Relationship and Personality
At a young age, as he began his career, Usher has depicted himself as an international sex symbol. He is regarded as one of the hottest celebrities who had his way with women. He is seen as paving way for other hot celebrities and singers including Chris Brown, Trey Song, Justin Bieber, and others.
In 2001, Usher started dating Chilli Thomas, one of the TLC members and their relationship continues for 2 years. They later break up in December 2003 after Usher’s album, “Confession”. Most of his fans thought the song’s theme of infidelity and pregnant mistresses were his stories and the reason for their breakup. But it wasn’t Usher Raymond’s story but another Collaborator’s, Jeremiah Dupris.
In February 2007, Usher started dating and get engaged to Tameka Foster who worked as a personal stylist for years. They got married later in Atlanta in a civil ceremony and went ahead to have a lavish ceremony later in September that same year.
Usher Raymond becomes a step-father to Tameka’s 3 sons from her previous relationship. They also had 2 sons together namely; Cinco Raymond and Navid Ely Raymond.
Tameka Foster and Usher Raymond later divorced in June 2009 in Atlanta but it finally gets finalized in November 2009. After 3 years of dispute over who will take custody of their children, Usher Raymond was granted custody of his two sons on August 24, 2012.
Usher remarried and started another relationship with his longtime girlfriend Grace Miguel silently while on a vacation in Cuba. But the marriage was short-lived as they get divorced on March 8, 2018.
In September 2020, Usher Raymond had another daughter from his relationship with Jenin Jenn Goicoechea who gave birth in September.
Awards and Recognition
Usher Raymond is an award-winning singer and songwriter. He is ranked as the 10th most awarded singer with 306 awards from 582 nominations. Since the beginning of his career to date, he has won 8 Grammy Awards, 34 ASCAP Awards, 9 Soul Train Music Awards, 18 Billboard Music Awards, and so on. He was also inducted into Georgia Music Hall of Fame with other awards outside music.
Investment and Deals
Raymond Usher apart from being an actor and singer is also a businessman with different endorsement deals and investments.
Being a popular singer, he has worked with different brands including Mastercard, Vodka, Microsoft Dance Central, Samsung, Pepsi, and others.
He also has a lot of investment in many businesses in different sectors including Mass Appeal Magazines, Hungry(a catering startup), Tidal and so many others.
He also owned a restaurant, a fragrance line as well as a record label, a Vanity record label to which artists like Justin Beiber, Rico Love, Rayan, and others are signed to.
Net Worth
Usher Raymond’s net worth estimate is currently unknown. Even though he is one of the most talented American artists.