Usher Comes Back For His Crown: A VMA Cheat Sheet

The 'OMG' singer overcame personal drama and proved his staying power on the charts over the past year.
By Mawuse Ziegbe


Usher
Photo: Brad Barket/ Getty Images

Usher has reigned as Pop & B royalty since he hit the scene as a teen crooner in the '90s. Back when his 16-year-old protégé, Justin Bieber, was still a toddler, the ATL singer was making the ladies faint with hits like "You Make Me Wanna" and "Nice & Slow." But his early success was just a prelude to the music-world domination he's achieved with club bangers and deeply personal slow jams in the years since.

Usher's divorce from Tameka Foster was the latest personal development to fueled his 2010 chart-topping album Raymond v. Raymond. Now the singer is set to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards, and his smash "OMG" will battle it out for a Moonman in three categories: Best Male Video, Best Dance Video and Best Choreography. Here's a look at how the singer's recent success has steered him toward VMA accolades:

Following the release of the divorce-themed "Papers," his more upbeat video "Hey Daddy (Daddy's Home)" premiered in January 2010. The clip followed the romantic superstar as he tried to juggle the demands of his professional and personal life.

In March, Usher talked to MTV News about incorporating that balance into Raymond Vs. Raymond. "I think this is the one time where I'm able to put it all in, emotionally and the good times — super-freaky and then also super-emotional."

So, it wasn't a big surprise that when Raymond Vs. Raymond finally landed on shelves after several delays, it landed at #1 on the Billboard 200 with over 300,000 scans during its first week.

He went from romantic to racy, busting out his signature, fluid, hip-swiveling moves in the video for "Lil Freak," featuring Nicki Minaj. The star didn't hold back in the visuals or the lyrics, which both detail a freaky rendezvous with some very game ladies. Usher revealed that this track, like many of his other hits, was inspired by real-life experiences.

The club anthem "OMG" featured Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.I.Am and revealed the R&B kingpin's more club-friendly side. The accompanying video showcased Usher's easy swagger and ever-sharp dance skills.

Raymond was such a hit that in August the singer released Versus, an extension of the smash album featuring songs like the Jay-Z collabo "Hot Tottie."

Usher, who has a history of tearing up the VMA stage, will return to the main event this year. He recently reminded his fans that live television paired with his onstage wizardry can result in some seriously unforgettable moments. "You never know what's gonna happen on an MTV VMA stage," he said. "I look forward to making it a night to remember."

The star has also made one of the most savvy moves in recent pop music history by signing teen phenom Bieber, who has gone on to induce global tween hysteria and set YouTube records.

The 27th annual MTV Video Music Awards will be broadcast live from the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles on September 12. The party starts with MTV News' VMA Pre-Show at 8 p.m., followed by the main event at 9 p.m. ET. Fans can go to VMA.MTV.com (or text VMA to 97979 if they are Verizon subscribers) to vote for Best New Artist from now through September 12.

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Lady Gaga Adds Monster Ball Tour Dates

Additional dates extend Gaga's tour through April 2011.
By Gil Kaufman


Lady Gaga
Photo: Derek Storm/ Splash News

Lady Gaga just won't stop. The singer, in the midst of her already massive Monster Ball Tour, has added another dozen dates to the outing, which will now keep her on the road in North America through late April 2011.

The new shows begin with a March 1 date in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and include stops in Omaha (March 17), San Diego (March 29), Orlando (April 15), Tampa (April 16) and Cleveland (April 27).

Perhaps staying on the road will help the VMA-winning singer deal with the death of her beloved grandfather, Joseph Germanotta, who died on Friday at age 88. Gaga remembered him in writing on Sunday, tweeting, "Having a Perfect Manhattan, for my perfect guy. Love you Giuseppe."

In May, Lady Gaga opened up to fans about her then-sick grandfather during her Monster Ball Tour show in Nottingham, England. "I don't always talk about my personal life but my grandpa's sick," she revealed. "And I'm really close with my grandpa and he's really sick and he's in the States and my dad's with him. So I was, like, crying all day, really sad. So I thought I might just be honest and tell you that's what's going on."

But in true Gaga fashion, the singer put her emotions into her music by dedicating her ballad "Speechless" to the elder Germanotta. "So it's been one of those tough things that my grandpa's too old to come to my show, but I suppose if we sing loud enough, he'll be able to hear us. So this one's for you Grandpa," she said after breaking down in tears.

Though a release date has not yet been announced, it's possible that Gaga's second full-length studio album, Born This Way, could be released while she's still on the road. Producer RedOne, a frequent collaborator of Gaga's, told MTV News that the upcoming disc is Gaga's "freedom album," though he declined to say much more as the project is too "precious" for him to spill the beans on.

New Lady Gaga tour dates:

» March 1 - Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
» March 4 - Buffalo, NY @ HSBC Arena
» March 6 - Ottawa, ON @ Scotiabank Center
» March 12 - Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
» March 17 - Omaha, NE @ Qwest Center
» March 29 - San Diego, CA @ Viejas Arena
» April 15 - Orlando, FL @ Amway Center
» April 16 - Tampa, FL @ St. Pete Times Forum
» April 22 - Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
» April 23 - Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
» April 25 - Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
» April 27 - Cleveland, OH @ Quicken Loans Arena

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Usher Opens Up About Marriage To Tameka Foster

'It just was never going to work out 100 percent,' the singer says.
By Mawuse Ziegbe


Usher and Tameka Foster
Photo: Getty Images/ Frank Micelotta

Usher's personal life — or public speculation about what has happened behind closed doors — has often figured prominently in the singer's work. Fans ate up the 2004 Confessions LP, which dropped amid rumors that Usher had stepped out on ex-girlfriend Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas. Similarly, the singer had endured whispers about his reportedly rocky marriage to stylist Tameka Foster before his latest album, Raymond v. Raymond, debuted at #1 this year.

On the heels of the release of Versus, an extension of Raymond, the R&B crooner opened up about why he wasn't able to make it work with Foster.

"We're two different people and we have two different goals," Usher told People. "It just was never going to work out 100 percent."

Just like he did with his monster album Confessions, the ATL singer turned the heartbreak into hits. "My music is about where I am at the time," Usher explained. "In Raymond v. Raymond, I was going through a lot of things, and it came out in my music. My marriage fell apart and I was suddenly a single father."

Continuing his tradition of mining his personal life for inspiration, Usher said that Versus is "about being a dating father."

Earlier this year, the buzz surrounding his relationship with Foster ramped up when Usher's track "Papers," a song about ending a marriage by signing off on divorce documents, hit airwaves. However, Usher told MTV News in March that while the track wasn't inspired by a real-life situation, it unfortunately became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

"When the song was recorded, I wasn't divorced," Usher said. "It was some reality in the contrast of trying to make it all work, having to balance a career and having a normal life. Coming in at six in the morning and arguing was a reality when you have those type of relationships. I felt that in a way, the story did touch on certain things at the time. I didn't know how realistic it would become. I didn't know I would become divorced. I did know it spoke on the contrast between trying to balance this world of being married and having this responsibility that's like a marriage at the same time. The song spoke to that place. Unfortunately, it did become a reality."

What do you think of Usher's explanation for the end of his marriage to Tameka Foster? Let us know in the comments below!

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