By Cameron Lee
October 23, 2024
Photo: Myicha Drakeford / CLTure
When you’ve amassed over 50 Billboard-charting songs, nine No. 1 hits, six platinum-selling albums, and one Diamond-certified album (Confessions) that defined a genre, you get to have a victory lap tour. When your career spans over 30 years and you’ve been singing and dancing since ten, the performance will be worthy of a Broadway theater or warrant a near three-year sold-out residency in Las Vegas, along with a Super Bowl halftime performance.
Usher Raymond IV, whose first name and voice has been embedded in the minds and hearts of 2000s R&B fans across the world, brought a lavish performance to Charlotte for the first of two nights at Spectrum Center. The tour, branded as a time capsule of sorts, took fans through his career as a pop star, singer-songwriter, and dancer, which seems to be a declining breed in today’s music landscape.
A giant LED cubed screen navigated attendees through the evening’s setlist with images of his life and career. His solo career remarkably began in 1993 with the song, “Call Me A Mack,” from the John Singleton-directed Poetic Justice soundtrack. The track would lead to his self-titled debut album in 1994, and eventually his first big hit, “You Make Me Wanna…,” from the platinum-selling 1997 album, My Way.
With lights cascading down from the roof of the arena, Usher emerged from a cloud of smoke donning an all-black leather ultra-modern suit and shades. He performed the title track from his latest album, Coming Home before following it with “Hey Daddy” from 2010’s Raymond v. Raymond. There was no chronological progression for the evening’s jukebox of hits spanning the now 46-year-old megastar’s catalog.
With his troupe of dancers performing tightly choreographed moves and his skilled live band tucked stage left, it was evident from the beginning that this was going to be a grand production. Early in the set, the choreography was reminiscent of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” for “BIG,” making it feel like a Las Vegas show at times.
Usher asked “How many day ones were in the house?” before a younger AI-genereated version of himself appeared on the massive screen. With the year “1997” flickering on the monitor and dancers somersaulting across the stage, his first wardrobe change came with the hit “My Way.” The performance mimicked the Clockwork Orange-meets-Vaudeville music video, which featured a dance competition between him and Tyrese. Transitioning the colossal screen structure into a two-level inverted studio contraption for “You Make Me Wanna…,” he took a casual stroll around the U-shaped stage with a female dancer for “You Remind Me.” He stuck with 2001’s 8701 and the energy livened for the dancy Neptunes-produced track, “You Don’t Have To Call,” featuring his posse of street dancers.
The evening’s first song from Confessions was “Caught Up,” which was one of the best dance and song performances of the night, complete with kicks, spins, and cartwheels. Usher also showcased his proficient roller skating skills for his 2019 collab with Ella Mai, “Don’t Waste My Time.” That led to a full-on roller rink/derby interlude that paid homage to the late hip-hop hype man Fatman Scoop, during which they played snippets of Juvenile’s “Back That Azz Up” and Ludacris’s “Move B*tch.” Whether it was a nod to his teenage years growing up in Atlanta or a way to showcase another one of his many talents, it was a spectacle rarely seen at a concert.
The night turned intimate as blue lights bathed the audience for the sensual song, “Lovers and Friends,” with the crowd swaying and singing along to the chorus. He seduced the audience for “Nice & Slow,” changing the lyrics to “I gotta real pretty, pretty little thang in Charlotte with me” to loud screams, before belting the heart-wrenching love song, “U Got It Bad.” Wrapping up the sentimental portion of the show, he bellowed the lyrics to “Let It Burn” sitting on a couch, proving that, while the theatrics make him one of the most captivating performers in music, his voice alone can also carry a show.
After the hypnotizing beat for “Confessions Part II” dropped, many screamed at the hand-to-eyes gesture, made famous by his NPR Tiny Desk performance. The controversial song about impregnating a mistress, was rumored to be the reason he and his then girlfriend Chilli of TLC broke up. While Usher refuted that speculation, the song and album launched his career into the stratosphere.
Taking some time to soak in the love, he started strolling down the side of the stage in a bright red fur coat, connecting with as many fans as possible with “There Goes My Baby.” He serenaded adoring fans up close and personal halfway through his trek, then fed cherries to fans as he walked up the steps to the smaller platform to loud cheers and laughs. Usher bucks flew in the sky as he and his curvaceous dancers created an Atlanta strip club fully equipped with poles to DaBaby’s “Suge.” Performing “My Boo” in front of a swarming crowd before moseying back to the main stage, he catwalked with his vixen “supermodel” for “Bad Girl” in a sea of red lights.
With the evening’s final wardrobe change back in modern street clothes, the transfixing synths for “Yeah!” brought out a cavalcade of dancers and roller skaters performing an impressive routine, although the crowd didn’t really seem into it. Maybe the over-commercialization of the song in the mid-to-late 2000s has finally taken its toll. Nonetheless it was entertaining, as was Usher’s two-hour long set. It was a victory lap worthy for one of the greatest performers since Michael Jackson, and a marvel in modern day music.
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