Some music fans may have moved on from Usher’s music, but the numbers don’t lie – the R&B singer was one of the biggest artists of the 2000s.
When Usher was 10 years old, he joined a local R&B quintet called the NuBeginnings, where he made his first official recording in 1991. However, the experience was an overall negative one and his mother took him out of the group.
It wasn’t until Usher met with L.A. Reid, the co-founder of LaFace, that his career began to truly take shape. After an audition performance where Usher sang the Boyz II Men hit record “End of the Road,” Reid signed him on the spot and Usher’s mother subsequently quit her medical technician job to manager his recording career.
It was the right move. Since signing with LaFace, Usher has released eight stdio albums and sold over 23 million copies in the US alone. Usher’s fourth album, Confessions , became his biggest release to date with over 10 million copies sold in the US and over 15 million copies worldwide. It is the best-selling R&B album of the 21st century by a male artist.
From his 1994 debut album, Usher, to his latest release timed with his 2024 Super Bowl performance, COMING HOME, here are the rankings for Usher’s first week album sales.
A (with Zaytoven)
Released: October 12, 2018
Label: RCA
First week album sales: 15,000
Billboard 200 position: 31
Singles: “Peace Sign”
Features: Future and Gunna.
Hard II Love
Released: September 16, 2016
Label: RCA
First week album sales: 38,000
Billboard 200 position: 5
Singles: “No Limit”, “Crash”, “Missin U”, “Rivals”
Features: Young Thug, Future.
My Way
Released: September 16, 1997
Label: LaFace
First week album sales: 66,000
Billboard 200 position: 15
Singles: “You Make Me Wanna…”, “Nice & Slow”, “My Way”
Features: Lil’ Kim, Monica, Jermaine Dupri.
Looking 4 Myself
Released: June 11, 2012
Label: RCA
First week album sales: 128,000
Billboard 200 position: 1
Singles: “Climax”, “Scream”, “Lemme See”, “Numb”, “Dive”
Features: Rick Ross, Pharrell Williams, Luke Steele.
8701
Released: August 7, 2001
Label: Arista
First week album sales: 210,000
Billboard 200 position: 4
Singles: “U Remind Me”, “U Got It Bad”, “U Don’t Have to Call”, “U-Turn”, “Can U Help Me”
Features: P. Diddy.
COMING HOME
Released: February 9, 2024
Label: Mega, Gamma
First week album sales: 91,000
Billboard 200 position: 2
Singles: “Coming Home“,”Good Good“,”Ruin“,”Cold Blooded”,”A-Town Girl”
Features: Burna Boy, Summer Walker, 21 Savage, Latto, The-Dream, H.E.R., Pheelz, Jung Kook
Raymond v. Raymond
Released: March 30, 2010
Label: LaFace, Jive
First week album sales: 329,107
Billboard 200 position: 1
Singles: “Papers”, “Hey Daddy (Daddy’s Home)”, “Lil Freak”, “OMG”, “There Goes My Baby”, “More”
Features: Nicki Minaj, Ludacris, will.i.am, T.I.
Here I Stand
Released: May 27, 2008
Label: LaFace
First week album sales: 433,000
Billboard 200 position: 1
Singles: “Love in This Club”, “Love in This Club Part II”, “Moving Mountains”, “What’s Your Name”, “Here I Stand”, “Trading Places”
Features: Young Jeezy, will.i.am, Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and Beyoncé.
Confessions
Released: March 23, 2004
Label: Arista
First week album sales: 1.096 million
Billboard 200 position: 1
Singles: “Yeah!”, “Burn”, “Confessions Part II”, “My Boo”, “Caught Up”
Features: Lil Jon and Ludacris.
