Arts & Entertainment, Music
Usher's Career Journey
Lesson time 13:22 min
Discover the Usher you've never seen before. Follow his life story, and get exclusive insight into one of entertainment's most successful careers, spanning over 25 years.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: Usher’s early goals • How Usher was discovered • Debut album • My Way • Here I Stand • Raymond vs. Raymond • What’s next • How Usher is making a legacy
Preview
Yeah. I was born in Texas-- Dallas, Texas. A single parent-- my mother, we moved back to Chattanooga, Tennessee, which was where I lived for about 12 years. Trying to find that thing, that spark, that thing that was of interest for me, it was a bit difficult because there wasn't a great deal of opportunity in comparison to Atlanta at the time. Of course, you had all the things that you would get into-- your sports, academic. You had maybe music, maybe band, all of these things. But the passion of what I wanted to do-- though I tried sports, I tried baseball, I tried football, I tried basketball-- wasn't tall enough, wasn't fast enough-- that wasn't my thing. But I found a connection in music that felt relevant. I admired the artists that I watched on television. I was lucky enough to be able to see videos at the time and just have an idea of where to aim. Of course, listening to music, cook outs with my parents, or being around people who just love music, I found that connection too. But for the first time, once I lifted my voice and realized, oh, wow. This is what I want to do. This is what I'd like to do with my life. I don't know what age you begin to kind of go after what's going to take care of you and what's going to take care of-- what you're going to use to take care of your family. But music and performance was a thing that I hoped that I would be able to use. And I spoke to my mom about it. This is really what I want to do. I actually was a part of a group in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which gave me kind of a cheat sheet, because being a part of a five-guy group, it's not just about you. It's about the entire effort. And while we were doing something positive, that wasn't quite enough. I wanted more. Once we severed our ties, I moved to Atlanta. And I started to pursue my own career. [MUSIC PLAYING] When I first started off, I created goals for myself. It was to be recognized, to be heard, for someone to believe what I felt about myself. Because far too often I would tell everyone, I'm going to be someone. And even if they didn't know me, I'd say, one day I'm going to have fans. One day I'm going to be someone. And I never stopped saying it, no matter how many times my mother told me, hey, listen. You shouldn't tell everybody that. Why not? It's the truth. It's what I feel. And as long as I feel it, than that means it could be a reality. And the longer that I say it, the more I say it, the longer time I spend on making that a reality, it becomes my reality. Later on, to be respected and to be compared was the next goal. So I had an idea. I wanted to study the people who influenced me. But I also too wanted to study the people that they study so that I could get the source and the true foundation of what gave them the fire that's behind them. At some point, I had the idea that I want...
About the Instructor
Usher, winner of 8 Grammy Awards, reveals the technical skills, career lessons and breakthrough advice that he has used to captivate audiences for over 25 years. For the first time ever, learn how Usher approaches performance and wins over audiences from the studio to the stage. There has never been a class like this before.
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