Raised by his mother, who also manages him, Usher Raymond, currently 18, and his little brother moved to Atlanta from Tenneesee when Usher was 12. Usher started singing in the church choir under the direction of who else but his mom who was also the choir director. "I've learned that this business is very demanding and stressful, but my mother's been a great teacher. She keeps me grounded."
Once in Atlanta Usher started entering local talent shows where he was spotted by a LaFace Records representative and was asked to audition for L.A. Reid. Soon after that Usher was signed to the label and began recording his debut album. In addition to recording two albums, Usher has also lent his voice to several different projects. In 1995, he was tapped by Coca-Cola, USA to record a national jingle for the holiday season. He joined forces with several of the industry's top male artists to form Black Men United to record the gold single "You Will Know," featured on the Jason's Lyric soundtrack. His single "Dreamin'" was the first release off LaFace Records' 1996 Olympic Album Rhythm of the Games and he did a duet on Arista recording artist's Monica's debut platinum album remaking the hit "Let's Straighten It Out."
Usher has also made several television appearances and performances including The Oprah Winfrey Show , The American Music Awards, and Moesha.
A few of Usher's Favorite Things:
) Favorite flower: Orchid
Dream car: Bentley
Fave Pro team: Atlanta Hawks
Fave Rapper: The Notorious B.I.G.
Fave Movie: The Five Heartbeats
All-time Fave City: Atlanta
Fave Foods: Soul and Seafood
Fave Men's Cologne: Amen
Fave Women's Cologne: Spring Fever
Fave Perfume: Spring Fever
Fave Words: Nasty, Nice 'N Slow
Fave Thing About Being Famous: Performing and meeting fans all over the world
All-time Fave song: "As We Lay" by Shirley Murdock
Absolute Fave Singers: Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, R. Kelly, and Donny Hathaway
