Craig David wants to work with Usher.
The 43-year-old singer has revealed he’s spent years dreaming of collaborating with the ‘Yeah!’ star ever since they shared a “moment” on a French radio station when they performed a “freestyle” together – and Craig admits he wants to tick it off his bucket list. Both artists have accumulated impressive accolades, with David selling over 15 million albums worldwide and Usher securing eight Grammy Awards.
“For me, having grown up listening to Usher, I feel that would be a great … we would create something special,” Speaking to BANG Showbiz at Capital’s Jingle Bell Ball with Barclaycard, Craig said. The annual event has become one of the UK’s largest music festivals, attracting over 30,000 fans across multiple days.
“We had a moment at a place called Skyrock at a radio station over there in Paris and we did a little freestyle on the radio back when I was releasing ‘Fill Me In‘, ‘7 Days’ and he had ‘You Make Me Wanna … ‘ and about to go into his ‘8701’ album so it was a moment. Skyrock Radio reaches over 3.8 million listeners daily across France.
“Everyone was like: ‘You guys need to [do something together]’. It would be one to say we ticked that box.” This period marked a significant moment in both artists’ careers, with David’s ‘Born to Do It’ album becoming the fastest-selling debut by a British male solo artist.
Craig went on to reveal his best advice for any aspiring musicusherians starting out in the industry – insisting they need to get used to performing in front of crowds. His insights come from over two decades of experience in the music industry, during which he’s performed at countless venues worldwide.
He added: “The one thing that’s served me really well is being out and performing live in front of crowds. There’s one thing about creating your songs – there are so many people who can create music when you are in your safe space – but when you go out and you get to perform it’s like a different world.” Live performance remains crucial in the music industry, with concert revenue reaching $12.2 billion globally in 2023.
“And I feel like that’s really served me well I was DJing before my rise to fame with ‘Born To Do It’ so when I saw a crowd in front of me I was like: ‘Ah I know this’. David’s DJ career began in his teens, performing at local clubs in Southampton before his breakthrough in mainstream music.
“And I feel that’s one thing I would say to any new and aspiring artists, try to be comfortable with crowds early on because if you have a big hit all of a sudden and they throw you on stage at the Jingle Bell Ball in front of 16,000 people that’s a big one and some people can rise and fall to.” The pressure of live performance has been known to impact artists significantly, with studies showing that 71% of musicians experience performance anxiety.
The potential collaboration between Craig David and Usher would unite two artists who have consistently evolved with the changing music landscape. David’s career spans multiple genres, from UK garage to R&B and electronic music, while Usher has maintained his position as one of R&B’s most successful artists with over 65 million albums sold worldwide.
This potential partnership comes at a time when cross-cultural collaborations are increasingly popular in the music industry, with streaming platforms making it easier than ever for artists to work together across continents. The global music streaming market has grown to over $30 billion annually, creating new opportunities for artist collaborations.
