Usher Proves Why He Is The King of R'n'B at His Sold O2 Arena Show

Usher, Usher Raymond, The King of R’n’B, 8 time Grammy Award winner and any other names you choose to describe this man, Usher is a generational talent, who deserves all of his flowers and more. The singer-songwriter and all round performer brought every single aspect of his infamous Vegas residency to London’s O2 Arena and delivered UK fans their very own 10 night extravaganza, as he rightfully paid homage to his career and award winning back catalogue, which spans over 30 years, performing everything from ‘My Boo’ to his adored single ‘Pop Ya Collar’, Mr Raymond did not disappoint. 

To kickstart the night I entered just in time for the performance of ‘Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)’, a single taken from Usher’s sixth studio album ‘Raymond vs Raymond’, which also features ‘There Goes My Baby’, ‘Lil Freak’ and ‘OMG’, all tracks that were performed on the night. Sticking with the theme of Past Present Future and embracing modern times, in between each performance AI visuals of Usher would appear on the screen, which felt like a time capsule from Usher to Usher, while simultaneously being a gift from Usher to his fans, it was quite futuristic at times, but most definitely gave us all the nostalgic feels with messages from Usher past and present.

Each performance felt like fans were being transported back to a particular time and to a specific music video, whether that was for the colourful ‘You Make Me Wanna’, the iconic ‘U Remind Me’ which featured Usher’s solo dance and handstand moment or the sensual vibes of ‘Nice & Slow’, each track was brought to life, even the mesmerising guitar solo in ‘U Got it Bad’ was seamlessly replicated on stage. 

Usher’s fourth studio album ‘Confessions’ will always stand out to me, it’s a timeless project with all hits and no skips, hearing ‘Burn’, ‘Superstar’, ‘Caught Up’, ‘Bad Girl’ and title track ‘Confessions’, instantly filled my younger and current self with pure joy. To break up the show a little, Usher was joined by his backing singers, where they all went back and forth with one another, harmonising a medley of records. 

Usher didn’t really need any guests to accompany him, however this one was the cherry on top to an already show stopping night, at the halfway point of the show, Usher was joined by Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter and rapper Estelle, who performed her global hit single ‘American Boy’. 

Heart rates and temperatures were raised after Usher and Estelle’s duet, as the singer turned things sensual with his infamous cherry feeding tradition, ‘Can U Handle It?’ played in the background, as Usher glided through the crowd hand picking fans to take part, greeting them with his luxurious fur coat on and ripped abs on show. The fun didn’t stop there club Usher began, turning the O2 into it’s very own strip club, which included money spraying, pole dancing and ‘I Don’t Mind’ playing in the back. 

Usher has undoubtedly been the soundtrack to my life, seeing him perform live definitely felt like a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so thankful that I was able to witness such greatness. Considering this particular show was 5 days into his residency, Usher still had so much energy and swagger as he sang with vocals identical to the original records, there was truly something for everyone during the two-hour long show, whether you’re a fan of Usher on skates, his melodic R’n’B ballads, his pop anthems or his playful cherry segment, this was a night to remember!