The Year in Music 2024: Usher’s ‘Caught Up’ in the headlines

Usher‘s been the talk of the town for years, with a career resurgence that seemed to kick off after he started a Las Vegas residency in 2021. Clips of the show constantly showed up on social media, making way for a year in which all eyes were on the singer. Here’s a recap of some of Usher’s most notable moments:

On Feb. 9 Usher released Coming Home, his ninth album, first studio album in eight years and first independent full-length project. It featured 20 songs, including 21 Savage and Summer Walker on “Good Good.” Burna Boy, Latto, The-Dream, H.E.R., Pheelz and Jung Kook also guested on the album.

Usher’s highly anticipated Super Bowl halftime show went down two days later, with a set that lasted 13 minutes. The performance found him skating, singing and dancing all while paying homage to Black culture. He was accompanied by H.E.R., Alicia Keys, Lil Jon, Jermaine Dupri, will.i.am and Ludacris, as well as members of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Jackson State University’s marching band and students from Jonesboro High School’s band. It’s now the most-watched halftime show in Super Bowl history.

Usher then followed with the news that he got married to music executive Jennifer Goicoechea at The Fast Lane, a drive-thru wedding tunnel, in Las Vegas. When he returned to Atlanta, he was presented with the Phoenix Award, the city’s highest honor, and the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame revealed his emblem. Clark Atlanta University also threw him a party, where he received the Outstanding Georgia Citizen award from Georgia state Sen. Sonya Halpern and had a day named after him in Fulton County. The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus even gave him an award, specifically its Music Legacy Award, and Amazon gifted his New Look Foundation, which is celebrating 25 years, with $25,000.

In March, Usher won a few awards at the NAACP Image Awards, most notably the President’s Award. He received the key to his old hometown of Chattanooga in April, followed by the Icon Award presented to him at The Apollo Theater’s spring benefit concert in June. That same month, the American Society of Composers and Publishers gave Usher the Voice of the Culture Award, and he was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards.

After canceling his Lovers & Friends Festival, Usher headlined the Essence Festival in July, bringing to the stage a one-night-only performance in honor of 20 years of Confessions, which he also celebrated with the release of a special anniversary edition of the album.

He also dropped a concert film, Rendezvous in Paris, which captured his eight-night residency in France.

Known for his skating, Usher opened up a rink, Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace, in Las Vegas.

Much like his Vegas residency, his Past Present Future tour, which kicked off after a delay in August, has been making its way to social media, highlighting a segment where he feeds fans cherries and the hometown legends he’s brought out as guests in their respective cities. 

The tour will wrap up its North American leg in December before it picks up in London in March 2025.

Usher’s December also included the launch of the Usher Raymond IV Spark Lab at the Boys & Girls Club of ATL, as well as an Entertainment Industry Club and Content Studio, both of which will provide tools and resources to the next generation of creatives.