Singing heartthrob Usher talks about his new CD & love lost in June EBONY

Jet, May 17, 2004

In the June issue of EBONY, Grammy Award-winning artist Usher Raymond IV, the young man fans simply refer to as Usher, shares his thoughts about his new CD Confessions and gets candid about the recent breakup with his former love.

Usher, crowned by the media as the "King of Urban Soul," earned his new title when Confessions, his fifth CD, sold a mind-boggling million copies in its first week out, breaking an R&B sales record that's stood for more than 20 years.

"My feeling has always been that Confessions would be a landmark album for me," says the 25-year-old Atlanta resident who wants to "restore the face of R&B." "I knew this album was going to be big. I couldn't wait for it to drop."

Along with the accolades for his new project came the blaring headlines of his bitter breakup with Rozonda "Chilli" Thomas of the group TLC. Get the scoop on why the celebrity couple called it quits in the cover story "Usher's Confession On Love, Sex, Music and the Real Reason he and Chilli Split."

Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life, Prince's Purple Rain and Marvin Gaye's What's Going On are all classic albums, but would any of them appear on your all-time-great list? In honor of Black Music Month EBONY compiled a list of the "30 Must-Have Albums" made by serious listeners and musical experts. Check to see if any of these classics are on your personal list.

Legendary artist Smokey Robinson has created and sung some of music's most memorable songs ever. In "Smokey Robinson's Journey of Faith: From Fame to Drugs to 'Food for the Spirit," the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer discusses the lowest point in his life and what he did to overcome it.

The June EBONY also features 24 of the country's most eligible Brothers in the "Trop Bachelors of the Year," tips on how to turn up the heat in your relationship in "Sun, Fun & Sizzling Vacation Romance!" plus a look at "The Many Faces of Kanye West."