Claim: Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s after the release of his second album.

Usher Raymond IV -LRB- born October 14 , 1978 -RRB- is an American singer , songwriter , dancer , and actor . Born in Dallas , Texas but raised and lived in Chattanooga , Tennessee until moving to Atlanta , Georgia . At the age of 12 , his mother put him in local singing competitions , before catching the attention of a music A&R from LaFace Records . In 1994 , he released his self-titled debut album , Usher . He rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his sophomore album My Way -LRB- 1997 -RRB- , which spawned his first U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one single , `` Nice & Slow '' , amongst top-two singles `` You Make Me Wan na ... '' and `` My Way '' . 8701 -LRB- 2001 -RRB- produced the number-one singles `` U Remind Me '' and `` U Got It Bad '' , and top-three single `` U Do n't Have to Call '' . It sold 8 million copies worldwide and won his first two Grammy Awards as Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 2002 and 2003 .   Confessions -LRB- 2004 -RRB- established him as one of the best-selling musical artists of the 2000s decade , selling 20 million copies worldwide . Bolstered by its four consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number one singles ; `` Yeah ! '' , `` Burn '' , `` Confessions Part II '' , and `` My Boo '' , it has been certified Diamond by the RIAA . Here I Stand -LRB- 2008 -RRB- and Raymond v. Raymond -LRB- 2010 -RRB- , debuted atop of the Billboard 200 , and produced the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles `` Love in This Club '' and `` OMG '' . The EP , Versus , also produced the Hot 100 top-five single `` DJ Got Us Fallin ' in Love '' . Looking 4 Myself -LRB- 2012 -RRB- , also debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart and produced the Hot 100 top-ten single `` Scream '' . Raymond v. Raymond and Looking 4 Myself received Grammy Awards for R&B singles `` There Goes My Baby '' and `` Climax '' . Hard II Love -LRB- 2016 -RRB- peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 albums chart .   Usher has sold 23.8 million albums and 38.2 million digital songs in the United States . To date , his worldwide sales stand at 43 million albums and 75 million records overall , making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time . Usher has won numerous awards and accolades including 18 Billboard Music Awards and 8 Grammy Awards . At the end of 2009 , Billboard named him the second most successful artist of the 2000s decade , the number-one Hot 100 artist of the 2000s decade , and ranked Confessions as the top solo album of the 2000s decade . Billboard also placed him at number 6 on their list of `` Top 50 R&B / Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years '' . Usher has attained 9 US Hot 100 number-one singles . Considered an icon and sex symbol , he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and Hollywood Walk of Fame . In 2008 , he started his own record label Raymond-Braun Media Group -LRB- RBMG -RRB- ; a joint venture with talent manager Scooter Braun that includes Canadian singer Justin Bieber .