Usher at 47: A Career Built on Hits, Innovation & R&B Legacy

Today’s Usher’s birthday — take a look back at his albums, his biggest milestones, and 10 Usher songs that changed R&B forever.

Usher has been a driving force in R&B and pop for decades now. From his debut in the mid-’90s to headlining the Super Bowl, he’s never let relevance fade. Over his career, he’s sold over 65 million albums worldwide and more than 33 million in the U.S. alone, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time.  His 2004 album Confessions alone is legendary — it debuted at over 1.1 million copies sold in its first week, spawned four Hot 100 #1 hits (“Yeah!”, “Burn”, “Confessions Part II”, “My Boo”), and eventually earned diamond status with more than 20 million copies sold globally. 

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But his rise was steady and built on consistency. His second album, My Way (1997), was the breakthrough — turning singles like “You Make Me Wanna…” and “Nice & Slow” into cornerstones of modern R&B.  His 8701 album (2001) gave us “U Remind Me” and “U Got It Bad,” both hitting #1 on the Hot 100, and that project pushed Usher’s status from rising star to headline mainstay.  Even beyond Confessions, albums like Here I Stand (2008), Raymond v. Raymond (2010), and Looking 4 Myself (2012) showed his ability to adapt—embracing more pop, electronic, dance elements while keeping that core R&B voice. 

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Through those phases, Usher’s influence on R&B and pop is undeniable. He proved you could be a singer and a dancer, a vocalist and a crossover star. His voice, falsetto runs, control, and ability to ride a hybrid beat influenced younger artists like Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, and many more. And in songs like “Love in This Club” or “OMG,” he flirted with more mainstream pop/dance sounds without losing his soulful identity.  Every era has its Usher moment, and through it all, he remained a reference point: every new R&B artist is measured, in part, against what Usher did.

10 Usher Songs That Shaped Modern R&B

1. You Make Me Wanna… — The breakaway hit from My Way that introduced Usher’s smooth vocals to radio.
2. Nice & Slow — A sultry ballad that became one of his first #1s, proving his romantic side.
3. U Remind Me — A narrative heartbreak track that showed emotional depth in R&B.
4. U Got It Bad — A soul ballad that many still cite as the standard for modern love songs.
5. Yeah! (feat. Lil Jon & Ludacris) — A crossover banger that bridged R&B and club rap culture.
6. Burn — Emotional, raw, and one of his most personal slow-jam hits.
7. Confessions Part II — The song that drove the Confessions narrative and made his confessional style iconic.
8. My Boo (with Alicia Keys) — A duet that still gets play in throwback sets for its chemistry and melody.
9. OMG (feat. will.i.am) — A chart smash that proved Usher could go full pop and still dominate.
10. Climax — A modern classic, minimal production and vocal intensity showing his adaptability.

Usher’s journey is a masterclass in evolution within R&B. From My Way to Confessions and beyond, he’s never been afraid to push the envelope while staying true to his sound. These 10 songs are more than hits—they’re benchmarks in what R&B could be in the 21st century. Happy birthday to the one who taught us how to dance, love, and sing at the same time.