1st Week Album Sales |
Usher Soul Story - June 3, 2008
HITS Daily Double reports:
445,150 copies sold
Rolling Stone reports:
443,974 copies sold
Billboard reports:
433,000 copies sold
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Soul Story: Usher - June 10, 2008 9pm (eastern)
Click on the photo to enlarge
Usher (and Rihanna) Lead The Way On U.K. Charts
Source: Billboard Date: June 2, 2008
Usher scored an instant No. 1 yesterday (June 1) on the new U.K. album chart
with "Here I Stand" as Rihanna's "Take a Bow" started a second week atop the
singles survey.
"Here I Stand" is the American R&B star's third studio album in a row to debut
at the top of the British chart, following "8701" in 2001 and "Confessions" in
2004.
Usher: "Stop Playin" ft. MJ (Snippet) - June 1,
2008
Usher on GMA - May 30, 2008
No. 1 Album Despite Sales Plunge |
Usher Covers Vibe
Usher set for No. 1 album despite sales plunge
Date: May 29, 2008
R&B star Usher's new album will easily claim the No. 1 spot on the U.S. pop
chart next Wednesday, but its sales will be about one-third those of his
previous chart-topper, according to preliminary data.
"Here I Stand" sold about 146,000 copies during its first day of release
Tuesday, according to a selection of leading retailers who report their data to
tracking firm Nielsen SoundScan. Billboard estimates the nine merchants, which
include Best Buy, Borders and iTunes, account for about 80% of all U.S. album
sales.
The first-day figure for Usher is near the 154,000 that Mariah Carey's "E=MC2"
began with in April. She finished the week with 463,000, though that number was
amplified by an aggressive promotional campaign that included stops on "Oprah
Winfrey" and "American Idol."
Usher's debut might be more in line with that of Jack Johnson's "Sleep Through
the Static" earlier this year. It sold 121,000 copies on its first day and
finished the week with 375,000.
Usher's last album, 2004's "Confessions," debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200
with first-week sales of 1.1 million copies and spent nine weeks at the top.
With U.S. sales to date of 9.5 million, "Confessions" is the biggest release by
a male solo singer since Garth Brooks' 1991 album "Ropin' the Wind," which has
shifted 9.6 million.
The current chart-topper is Mississippi rock band 3 Doors Down's self-titled
fourth album, which sold about 154,000 copies during its first week.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Usher Covers Vibe Magazine - July Issue
Usher News for May 28, 2008
Usher's Album Illegally Downloaded 1/2 Million Times
Usher's new album was illegally downloaded more than half a million times before
its release this week, costing the star a fortune in royalties.
Here I Stand appeared online in its entirety a week before it was officially
launched, and internet programs managed to track the number of times it was
downloaded, reports CMU Music.
The album was downloaded a total of 554,716 times
via BitTorrent, (a peer-to-peer file sharing program), alone.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Usher: Here I Stand (Part One)
Usher: Here I Stand (Part Two)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MTV Article: Usher Slams Rumor-Mongers On TRL
By James Montgomery
Within hours, many of the sites Usher targeted were already comparing his
tantrum to Mariah Carey's infamous 2001 "TRL" meltdown, in which she bum-rushed
the show, handed out frozen treats from an ice cream cart and performed and
impromptu striptease, all while then host Carson Daly looked on in befuddlement.
Still others — primarily fansites like
UsherForever.com — called the tirade another
example of Ush's wife Tameka having him under her thumb.
"What a damn fool. If he is a grown-a-- man like he say he is then he needs to
shut the f--- up," one commenter wrote.
"Ursh STOP defending ur wife, it's getting old," another added. "The more you
talk bout haterz the more your album will be collecting dust on the shelves. But
this is the man you've become or should i say the man ur wife has made you into.
You'll end up eating all your words soon than later."
Ellen: "What surprised you most about this new little baby in your life
right now?"
Usher: "What surprised me about him….that I had him…"
Ellen: "Really, that was a big surprise…"
Usher: "That was a big surprise (laughing). Actually everyday learning more and
more about the beauty of fatherhood. As an African American to be there for my
child is so important when their are so many young African American kids without
their fathers. Everyday I’m charged with that responsibility so I’m doing this
for a generation coming as well as the ones from the past. I just want him to
grow up to be as wise, as smart as he possibly can be, be kind, open hearted.It’s
changes everything about me. My approach of life…he is my reason for living —
outside of my wife, obviously, for helping me have him."
Ellen: "Yeah."
Usher: "I couldn’t of done it without her."
Ellen: "She did most of the work actually. … And, speaking of your wife,
the press seems like they’ve been very hard on your marriage."
Usher: "Some what. The opinion is that maybe this wife has come in and
torn something down … she’s built it up even more now the foundation of who and
what I am is even more. This stands for more what I want to see more of … I want
to see more men standing with their women. I want to see more men be open and
honest about where they are in life and that’s a lot of what I chose to talk
about in my music not necessarily just about my relationship just about being
vulnerable being honest … that’s the reality."
"Moving Mountains" Video
Sony Ericsson Amps Up North American With Usher
Sony Ericsson announced today that
Usher will headline Sony Ericsson’s Walkman music phone campaigns in North
America. The partnership covers the United States and Canada, in addition to
more than twenty countries in Europe and will include title sponsorship rights
for Usher’s North American tour later in the year. Sony Ericsson will engage in
joint marketing activities with exclusive wireless operator, AT&T in the United
States.
Usher will discuss the details of the partnership and make a surprise
announcement at a press conference at the Sony Club at the Sony Building in New
York City on May 28th.
Note: When more reviews come out,
they will be posted here.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stuff.co.nz Review:
Here I Stand reaches its nadir early with the downright awful will.i.am duet
What's Your Name, while This Ain't Sex finds Usher crooning, "We're not having
sex, we're making moments that will outlast the world."
For starters, the first taste of Here I Stand that we
get is the first single "Love In This Club," which is essentially exactly the
same thing we have heard Usher doing his entire career: dancing and getting some
sex. Now, the Polow-produced track is fire, and the song is an easy smash with a
killer melody. The song itself is great, but if the intention is to articulate
growth and development, why would Usher start the album talking about the same
shit everyone else on the radio is talking about?
The same can be said for the will.i.am - produced "What's Your Name," which features Usher picking up a girl
and looking for sex, with a hook that merely asks, "What's your name, I wanna
know you are." Once again, the production is bananas, but the lyrics are so
uninspired and unoriginal that they could be a Chris Brown leftover. Quite
frankly, Usher is too good for that. But sadly, the lyrics on Here I Stand are
its weakest point, keeping the album from being truly amazing.
In addition,
aside from the deep and vulnerable Intro track, the first three songs are really
only about sex. Now the songs themselves are fantastic, but to start the album
with them doesn't really tell us as listeners anything of substance about the
album's direction. other than that Usher may possibly be positioning himself to
follow in R. Kelly's horny footsteps.
So how does one
follow up the biggest album of his or her career? On May 27th, Usher will
attempt to answer that question as he releases his fifth studio album, Here I
Stand, his first since 2004's 9.5 million selling Confessions. A success like
Confessions, which spawned three number one singles and went on to become the
biggest selling album of 2004, places a massive amount of pressure on Usher, who
must decide which route to take in creating its successor. Last month, Mariah
Carey faced a similar dilemma with releasing the follow-up to the biggest
selling album of 2005 and one of the most successful of her career, The
Emancipation of Mimi. Ms. Carey took the if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it
approach, recording essentially the sequel to Mimi. Usher, however, has gone
through a great deal of personal growth and change in the four years since
Confessions was released, and is instead choosing to create an album that
reflects that. Since Confessions, he has starred in movies, done Broadway, got
married, and had a son. With Here I Stand, Usher's main goal is to both
chronicle the changes he has gone through and establish where his head and
emotions are at currently. A risky goal indeed- to intentionally deviate from
the formula that brought him unparalleled success, yet, one must admire Usher's
artistic objective to grow. That said, the results are not always as promised.
Last night, the VH1 blog got a sneak listen to the brand new Usher album, Here I Stand (which, starting Tuesday, you all will be able to listen to a full week before it’s release). With his first release in four years, following a baby, babymama and some serious drama, Usher bounces between the polls of undying fidelity and absolute tom-catting, but all of its quality. Though he’s been away for a minute, Usher communicates that he’s still very much a force in R&B. Here’s a track-by-track breakdown of our impressions of the album.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Usher on Ellen:
Usher will be on The Ellen DeGeneres Show May 23.
Video Contest |
Westwood | Sony
Ericsson Signs Usher
LITC Video Contest: Usher wants to see happy young
couples who met and found love in the club.
Upload a short video (must have a YouTube account) explaining how you
and your man, or woman, met in the club! Make it interesting because Usher will
be watching and picking the one couple with the most entertaining story! The
winning couple will receive a $500 gift card from Travelocity and a signed CD
from Usher!
Sony Ericsson has signed US R&B singer Usher as its new brand ambassador. He
will feature in the mobile company's marketing from next month and will
spearhead the launch of the latest Walkman phone.
As part of its marketing plans fans will have access to competitions, including
the opportunity to meet Usher on the set of a video shoot and the chance to win
tickets to his European concerts.
Sony Ericsson will have headline sponsorship rights for a European tour. Sony
Ericsson's marketing activities will revolve around the W350 Walkman phone and
the W980 Walkman phone, to be launched later in the year.
Usher will kick off the partnership with a performance at an exclusive show
hosted at London's Indigo venue docklands on May 22.
Billboard Covers Usher (Literally) - May 13, 2008
Usher
on "The Hills" Season Finale - May 12, 2008
Usher To Play Special Show
|
T4 Special
Usher will make a special one off appearance at the
Indigo2 in London later this month.
The performance on May 22nd will be the US R&B singer’s first solo show in the
UK since 2004.
Accompanied by a full band, Usher will perform for an energy packed 80 minutes showcasing tracks from his eagerly anticipated album ‘Here I Stand'
Fans will only be able to register for tickets via a ballot system on the
singer’s website.
(enter a ballot to purchase 1 or 2 tickets from Monday 12th May at 9am until
Midday on Friday 16th May.)
Only a lucky 1500 fans will be selected at random to have the opportunity to purchase
tickets, which will cost £50 each.
Usher will be hoping the he remembers where he is during the concert, after
saying “Hello Manchester” to a crowd in Kent last weekend.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ T4 Special
Make sure you tune into T4 on 24th May for an Usher special - it was recorded on
Saturday and is set to be a very special television event. You can find out more
info on T4 by
clicking
here.
Radio 1's Big Weekend - May 10, 2008
(This Ain't Sex - U Make Me Wanna)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(U Remind Me - U Don't Have To Call
- Moving Mountains)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Confessions - U Got It Bad - Burn
- Here I Stand)
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(What's Your Name - Yeah - Love In
This Club)
(check the comments for
photos)
Usher on DWTS
| FiFi Awards
| Usher on
Jimmy Kimmel
Usher will perform on the May 20th Season Finale of
Dancing With The Stars 5. Tune in to DWTS for a pair of performances by Usher as
a new Dancing champion is crowned.
The Fragrance Foundation announced the top 5 finalists in each of 20 award
categories.
Usher was one of the top five finalists for the following categories:
National Advertising Campaign – TV
Usher He – Liz Claiborne
Fragrance of the Year – Men’s Luxe
Usher He – Liz Claiborne Cosmetics
The winners will be presented at the 36th Annual FiFi Awards & Celebration event on Tuesday, May 20th at the Park Avenue Armory (643 Park Avenue between 66th and 67th Streets) in New York City.
