A funny thing happened to Usher Raymond on the way to becoming the next King of Pop. Along the way, Raymond woke up to a world that no longer found him cool. Maybe it was the marriage to and subsequent divorce from former stylist Tameka Foster Raymond. Maybe it was the Here I Stand album, which was largely dedicated to his marriage. Or maybe it was those leather capri pants he wore to the 2010 NBA All Star game. (OK, probably not the last one.) Whatever the source, fans around the globe have lost their zeal for both Raymond the person and the artist.
The change in public sentiment was stark. One could argue that in 2004, there was no bigger sex symbol on the planet than Raymond. With the release of his Confessions album, and his insistence on ripping his shirt off at every opportunity, Raymond’s popularity reached an all-time high. Confessions would go on to be certified diamond in the U.S. (10 million albums sold), while selling over 20 million albums worldwide.
But then Usher fell in love, and his adoring public seemed to simultaneously fall out of love with him. When pictures surfaced of Raymond cavorting on the beach with his out of shape stylist, the blogosphere erupted with a universal “wtf?!” Women everywhere wondered aloud how a man with that much sex appeal could settle down with a “woman like that.”
The criticisms of Foster Raymond were both unfair and superficial, but they were what they were. For many fans, their disbelief in what was going on in his personal life, translated into their disinterest in his professional life.
The album sales for Here I Stand paled in comparison to the damage done with Confessions. Fans and critics began to wonder if Usher the husband and father had lost his mojo. In a sense, he had.
While Usher struggled with reconciling his personal life, artists like Trey Songz stepped in to take his place as the resident R&B heartthrob.
Can Usher regain that lost swagger? Well on the music side, all signs point to yes. His latest release, Raymond v. Raymond, has already been certified platinum, while churning out No. 1 hit “OMG,” top 25 hit “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)” and the top 40 hits, “Lil Freak” and “There Goes My Baby.”
As far as the personal side goes, Raymond may never return to the sex symbol status he enjoyed during his mid to late 20s, but that may have been inevitable. In a society where the next thing is always the best thing, Raymond’s moment as “the man” may have come and gone. –dewayne rogers
