By that time, Arista went inactive [49] [50] and following its parent, BMG's merger with Sony Music, [51] his previous label, LaFace, was revived under the Jive/ Zomba Group banner, bringing Usher back to the fold. On August 30, 1994, LaFace released Usher's self-titled debut album behind the co-executive production of Sean "P Diddy" Combs. Alexander, who at the time was Bobby Brown's bodyguard, would take Usher around and have him perform in parking lots and talent shows. Sharpton admitted she tested negative and Bloom stated she did not know if the singer had the disease. The album Hard II Love was released on September 16, 2016, and received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics.

Alongside a successful music career, Usher is also acclaimed for involvement in humanitarian causes and is the founder of Usher's New Look foundation.

InStyle have rated him both in their "Hottest Celebrity Abs" collection, [277] and "37 of the Most Stylish Dads" list. Usher's extracurricular activities outside of the recording industry gathered momentum over the following year, as he was cast in the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.

But this is the work that inspires me, empowering young people to become active in their communities". LA Reid became skeptical of Usher and put his album on hold; he thought about dropping him from the label. The catering company partnered with J's Kitchen Culinary Incubator, a business owned by Usher's mother Jonetta Patton. This is actually pretty decent but what turned me off from this was the sandalwood note is just too much and of course the longevity and projection could have been bit better.

In 2007, Usher worked with Richard Herpin and Honoring Blanc for the fragrances Usher He and Usher She. Together, they launched the Usher Debit MasterCard, a sleek black card that features Usher's face and was handed out to concertgoers during his The Truth Tour. On September 8, 2011, Usher appeared on Romeo Santos' second single " Promise" from his debut studio album Formula, Vol.

Raymond and more, collectively selling over 23 million albums in the US and 43 million albums worldwide. It reached number-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 in its third week of release, and became the first time Usher has had two top-ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 at the same time since his album Confessions. His role in the game was to bring his iconic talent and lend out his authentic choreography of his dance routines to his hit songs "Scream" and " OMG".He also appeared on LaFace's version of "Let's Straighten It Out", a 1995 duet with fellow Atlanta teen recording artist Monica; [27] and on "Dreamin'", from LaFace's 1996 Olympic Games benefit album Rhythm of the Games. On March 8, 2022, it was announced that Usher had parted ways with RCA Records after ten years and five months with the imprint following the RCA and Sony Music Group merger. All three were represented by attorney Lisa Bloom, who said on August 8, 2017, that one of her three clients had contracted genital herpes allegedly from him. This performance was teaser for the Let's Go Crazy: The Grammy Salute to Prince concert at the Staples Center scheduled for January 28, 2020 on CBS featuring performances from Alicia Keys, John Legend, Chris Martin, H.