There was a time when Usher’s music was inescapable in Las Vegas. “Yeah!” his massive 2004 hit with Lil Jon and Ludacris, played through every club’s sound system in the post-millennium nightlife scene along with Kanye West’s “Gold Digger” and Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love.” The voices behind those DJ favorites have never fallen off, with Usher making the most moves among those three musical titans to cultivate a presence in Vegas.
By December, Usher had wrapped his My Way residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM, where he spent part of the show performing on roller skates, and could count some 100 concerts as a Strip headliner. In February, two days after the release of his ninth studio album, Coming Home, he performed a 12-song set at the Super Bowl LVIII halftime show along with special guests Alicia Keys, Lil Jon, Ludacris and will.i.am.
In August, he set out on his Usher: Past Present Future Tour, which ends this December with three concerts in Miami and resumes March 29 in London, where his eight scheduled shows for the O2 Arena are sold out. In a pop culture climate that finds many of Usher’s early ’00s contemporaries having difficulty adjusting to a streaming economy and eras-themed tours, Usher seems to be doing all right.
In interviews during the previous 12 months with podcasters such as Shannon Sharpe and Zane Lowe, Usher comes across as relaxed and ready to move into his next phase. Coming Home reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Top 200 and was favorably reviewed as a return to form, with its 20 tracks complemented by marathon Past Present Future concerts. It was his fifth No. 1 on Billboard’s Sales Chart, a streak that began with his 2004 No. 1 Confessions.
Usher continues to bring the music of his past and present to the world until May, then the future begins. It will likely entail a new residency in his adopted hometown and a higher profile. Where does one go in Vegas after playing the Super Bowl halftime show and having a successful residency? It’s a new trail to blaze. Usher seems more than up to the task.
T-Mobile Arena, 8 p.m. Nov. 15-16, starting at $107 plus tax and fee. axs.com
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