2023 will go down as year of Usher. Or should I say the "Yeah!" of Usher? You know, like the song. Yeah!
The R&B icon has had an unreasonably huge couple years, arguably unmatched since his aughts heyday, and 2023 represents a high point, though the Usher renaissance ain't peaking til 2024 at least.
Usher is everywhere right now, quite literally in the case of Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2024, where Usher has ben an omnipresent front row "Superstar." You know, like the song.
The main event was Chanel's Summer 2024 show, where Usher was decked-out in head-to-toe Chanel, resplendent in a tweed suit and pearls aplenty.
This is a real honor, y'know, Chanel doesn't just invite any ol' schmuck to its runway shows. Male celebs are particularly rare, and their appearance is a demarcation of especially good taste.
For reference, the sublimely stylish Kendrick Lamar was guest of honor at the last major Chanel shindig.
Usher's so big right now that he was sat next to megawatt K-Pop singer Jennie Kim of BLACKPINK fame, and it wasn't actually clear who's the more famous individual.
View Usher's Chanel co-sign as a continuation of the hot streak that began in earnest earlier this summer, when Usher sat front and center for Pharrell's Louis Vuitton runway debut.
Usher is practically an LV ambassador at this point, having flexed a full Pharrell LV look at a recent fashion week event. Not that he's turning down looks from any luxury label: Marni, Valentino, Balenciaga — Usher's worn 'em all.
Balenciaga facemask aside — hey, pobody's nerfect — Usher's pulling it all off with aplomb. Dude's a style chameleon, shifting gears as every fashion show calls for it.
Usher's personal style has also leveled up in recent years. Like, even on his days off from sold-out shows, he's remarkably capable of pulling off Rick Owens looks with gusto.
Remember that Usher graced the 2023 Met Gala's red carpet back in May, perhaps the first sign that the Usher renaissance was upon us.
Ursher, as Ludacris once called him, first stepped back into the spotlight in a major way with the red-hot Las Vegas residency he kicked off in 2021. The first few years were sell-out affairs but Usher's gigs have been on fire as of late, thanks in part to viral moments and, mostly, a catalog stacked with legitimate anthems.
Tickets for Usher's residency are so in-demand that the singer took his act to Paris, where he headlined nearly two weeks of full-house shows.
In late Summer 2023, Usher announced that on February 11, he'd be simultaneously headline the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show and release his first album in over a half-decade.
We're still many months away from the single most Usherific day in contemporary history, the well-deserved peak of the Usher renaissance.
