American singer Usher has released nine studio albums, ten compilation albums, eight extended plays, and 81 singles (including 19 as a featured artist). His music has been released on the LaFace, Arista, Jive, RCA, and gamma record labels. Usher has sold more than 33 million albums in the United States alone and over 65 million albums worldwide.[1][2] With over 150 million total records sold worldwide, he is one of the best selling music artists of all time.[3] He has nine number-one singles (all as a lead artist) and 18 Hot 100 top-ten singles on the US Billboard Hot 100.[4][5] In 1994, Usher released his self-titled debut album in North America, which went onto sell 500,000 copies,[6] and produced the singles "Can U Get wit It", "Think of You", and "The Many Ways". The former two peaked in the lower half of the UK and US charts. His follow-up 1997 album My Way sold over 8 million copies worldwide, becoming his breakthrough album.[6] It is certified seven-times platinum in the US,[7] and spawned three successful singles, including his first UK number-one song, "You Make Me Wanna...", and first US Hot 100 number-one song, "Nice & Slow". Usher's success continued in 2001, with his third studio album, 8701. It debuted at number four on the Billboard 200.[8] The album produced two number-one singles, such as "U Remind Me" and "U Got It Bad". In 2002, the album was certified five-times platinum in the US for sales of 5 million copies.[7][9] As of 2010, its worldwide sales stand at over 8 million.[6]
Usher's success increased in 2004, with the release of his fourth studio album, Confessions. It was his first US number-one album and had the highest first-week sales for an R&B artist, with 1.1 million copies sold.[10] It spawned four Hot 100 number-one hits, such as "Yeah!", "Burn", "Confessions Part II", and "My Boo". "Yeah!" and "Burn" stayed atop the Hot 100 for a combined 20 weeks and were the best-selling singles of 2004, ranking first and second, respectively.[11]Confessions received a diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),[7] and as of 2012, the album has sold over 20 million copies worldwide.[12]Confessions is the best-selling R&B album of the 21st century and is also the best-selling album by a black artist this century. The album ranked second on the 2000–2009 Billboard 200 Decade-end chart.[13] In 2008, Usher issued Here I Stand. Its lead single, "Love in This Club", topped the Hot 100, marking Usher's eighth number-one on the chart. Follow-up single, "Love in This Club Part II", charted within the top 20, while the album's fourth and fifth singles, such as "Trading Places" and "Moving Mountains", charted below the top 40 in the US. Elsewhere, the lattermost reached number six in New Zealand. Here I Stand was certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[7][14] Its worldwide sales stand over 6 million copies, making it one of the most successful R&B albums of 2008.[15]
In 2010, Usher released Raymond v. Raymond and it became his third consecutive number-one album.[16] The album produced five singles: "Papers", "Hey Daddy", "Lil Freak" and "There Goes My Baby" all reaching the Hot 100's top 40, while "Papers" and "There Goes My Baby" topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The album's two other singles, "OMG" and "More", achieved worldwide success, with "OMG" topping the Hot 100 to give him his ninth number-one single, and making Usher the first artist with Hot 100 number-one singles in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. Raymond v. Raymond was certified three-times platinum by the RIAA,[7] and as of March 2012 has sold 1.3 million copies in the US.[17] By the end of the year, it sold over 2 million copies worldwide and ranked as the ninth best-selling album of the year in the US.[18][1] In the same year, a follow-up set entitled Versus was released, and became Usher's sixth top ten album.[19] The EP's lead single "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" reached the top ten in many countries and peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. To date, Raymond v. Raymond, including its EP Verzuz, has sold an estimated 5 million copies worldwide, and nearly 2 million copies in the US, making it one of the best-selling albums in the 2010s decade by a black artist. Usher's seventh studio album Looking 4 Myself was released in June 2012 and became his fourth number-one album in the US.[20] Its first single "Climax" peaked in the top twenty on the Hot 100, and topped the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for eleven weeks.[21] The song also won him a Grammy at the 55th Grammy Awards for Best R&B Performance. The album's second single "Scream" reached the top ten in various countries, including the US, Canada and the UK. In 2014, Usher released "Good Kisser", "She Came to Give It to You" and "I Don't Mind" as successes in the UK, with the latter reaching the top 15 of the Hot 100 and topping the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs to give him his 13th number-one on that chart, tying him with Michael Jackson and Marvin Gaye.
Usher released his eighth studio album, Hard II Love (2016), in which went on to become his seventh top-five album on the Billboard 200.[22] It was led by the Hot 100 top-40 hit "No Limit" and Australian top-ten hit "Crash". In 2018, Usher collaborated with Zaytoven to release his first collaborative extended project titled A. It debuted and peaked at number 31 on the Billboard 200 chart, with the song "Peace Sign" released as the only single.
In February 2024, Usher released his ninth studio album, Coming Home. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 and was supported by the top-40 single, "Good Good", in which peaked at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100.[23]
Albums
Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
^"Confessions Part II" and "My Boo" were released as a double A-side single in the UK.
^"Here I Stand" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number six on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[76]
^"Scream" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 18 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[77]
^"Good Kisser" was originally intended to be the lead single from Usher's eighth studio album, Hard II Love (2016), but was cut from the standard edition track listing, only being included on the Japanese edition of the album.[87]
^"She Came to Give It to You" was originally intended to be the second single from Usher's eighth studio album, Hard II Love (2016), but was cut from the standard edition track listing, only being included on the Japanese edition of the album.[87]
^"Too Much" did not enter the Swedish Singles Chart, but peaked at number 17 on the Swedish Heatseeker chart.[127]
^"Every Breath You Take" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number six on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[129]
^"Bedtime" (live) did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number two on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[77]
^"Whatever I Want" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number nine on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[77]
^"Bad Girl" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number six on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[77]
^"Red Light" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 11 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[77]
^"Hush" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 20 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[76]
^"Better on the Other Side" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 13 on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[77]
^"My Life Your Entertainment" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 19 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[77]
^"In My Bag" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number seven on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[77]
^"Monstar" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number seven on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[76]
^"She Don't Know" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number seven on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[77]
^"Hot Thing" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number three on the Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart.[77]
^"Wait for It" did not enter the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, but peaked at number 16 on the R&B Digital Song Sales chart.[131]
^"Risk It All" did not enter the Billboard Hot 100, but peaked at number 25 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart.[76]
"First Dance" and "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)": "Justin Bieber Chart History: Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
^ abPeak chart positions for singles and other charted songs on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart:
