Usher Raymond IV, who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American recording artist and actor. He rose to fame in the 1990s, releasing the multi-platinum album My Way (1997) and 8701 (2001). His success continued with Confessions (2004), which has sold over ten million copies in the United States, and been certified diamond by the RIAA. To date, he has sold over 40 million albums worldwide and has won five Grammy Awards.
In 2008, Usher was ranked as the 21st most successful Hot 100 Singles Artist of all-time by Billboard magazine. He ranked higher than any other artist of his generation. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Usher has sold over 21.5 million albums in the United States. Billboard Magazine ranked Usher the #1 Hot 100 artist of the 2000s decade. He was also ranked as the 2nd greatest artist of the decade behind only American rapper Eminem. His 2004 album Confessions was ranked as the best solo album and second best overall album of the last decade. All ranked by Billboard Magazine.
Taylor Swift’s album “Fearless” (Big Machine) enjoyed its seventh week atop the album sales chart, Billboard reported, the first time that a record has done so since 2004, when Usher’s “Confessions” spent nine weeks at No. 1. “Fearless” sold 63,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan, a decline of 11 percent from the previous week. Beyoncé’s “I Am … Sasha Fierce” (Music World/Columbia) moved back into second place, with 49,000 units sold, while the Nickelback album “Dark Horse” (Roadrunner) fell to third, with 46,000 units.
