Usher
interviewsofrecordingartists.com
Last year, when LaFace Records' teen sensation Usher, took a break from two years of working virtually nonstop, there was a reason for his hiatus, that until now, he kept secret. Caught up on a roller coaster ride of constant international air travel, performing and promotional appearances, all the while working sometimes as much as 18 hours a day, Usher Raymond IV revealed during a recent interview, that during his hiatus a year ago, his promising career as a recording artist quite possibly could have come to an abrupt end. "I really wasn't paying attention to my body," he said," so, I was getting really sick, because I wasn't taking care of myself." While he shuns drugs and alcohol, Usher is a devout Christian, Usher was suffering from exhaustion and to complicate matters, he had been ignoring the early symptoms of exhaustion. Frequent colds and being constantly tiered. So, as the symptoms worsened, he decided to take some time off and go back home to Atlanta to seek medical attention. "When I came off the tour with Puffy (Sean Puff Daddy Combs)," Usher said," I had been always traveling on planes, traveling on tour buses, living in hotels. Well I really got sick and I had to take some time off and go back home to Atlanta and see the doctor." In Atlanta, he was under doctor's orders to take slow the pace down for some much needed rest and relaxation. After a few weeks, Usher says he made a complete recovery. Looking back, Usher discovered valuable insight into his own personal beliefs and the methodology behind his motivation. "You know," the 19-year-old singer said," what I learned is I'm really a workaholic and the reason for that is, I really wanted to see positive things happen with my career. I mean, when I went home after the tour with Puffy, I hadn't slept one night in my own bed back home for like nine months. That's why I took some time off. Looking back, I'm really glad I did. I feel better than ever today and I'm really on top of my game." There was another aspect of Usher's life that he noticed had taken a dramatic change during the two years he'd been on the road. The smooth soul singer had become the hottest talent in the Urban and R&B musical genres. Usher's current album "My Way", is still one of the top selling Urban / R&B discs of the summer and the program directors at the all important MTV cable channel had fallen in love with Usher's splashy and sensuous videos. So when he took stock of the situation he was confronted with back in the fall of last year, Usher realized that everything in his life and career was dramatically different. The lessons he learned at that point Usher believes helped to take him to the next plateau in his career. "I realized," he said," 'Oh my goodness, things have really changed here and I've got to keep up!' I mean I had been working so hard on the road when I came home I didn't even know my record was the number one on the R&B charts as well as the most played record on radio. I realized that I was really doing something and having and impact, but I just didn't know how much of an impact (he laughs). Because I guess that's really how it should be for a recording artist, in that you should work hard for your achievements. After having the success I had," he continued," and seeing the some of the people in the business, who turned their back on me early on because they thought I wasn't going to be someone in the business, I really learned early on just how phony those kind of people are. And that really helped me to pick my friends in my personal life as well as in business." While stories abound in the Urban and R&B genres, of recording artists who, at a young age, become multimillionaires virtually overnight with one smash hit single, only to bottom out both financially and personally a year later, Usher is considered by many music industry insiders to be one of the most business-savvy artists in industry. "At the end of the day," Usher said," when the ball drops, it's on you and what are you going to do. The whole cycle stops on you and what are you going to do with yourself and your business? Are you going to fight for what you want to do, or are you going to let somebody else ruin your whole thing for you?" Watching other recording artists careers suddenly stall or disappear altogether because of what Usher refers to as "The Three Big Mistakes", is something the singer says he will not fall prey to. "I feel that the leading cause of problems and trouble in Black music and with many Black recording artists is money, drugs and promiscuous sex," he said. "One of those three will get you. So I try to stay away from those three things and move positively in the opposite direction. After all, I'm a Libra and Libra's are very humble. If I thought of myself as a superstar things would be very different."
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