Usher just dropped some real talk about his career during a sit-down with ABC News and got deep about almost walking away from music right after his biggest success.
The Confessions superstar told Linsey Davis that he seriously considered quitting music in 2004. That’s wild timing since Confessions had just sold 1.1 million copies in its first week and went on to move 10 million albums worldwide.
“You sell 1.1 million units in the first week. You sell 10 million albums, you’re like, I don’t even know if I want the pressure of trying to beat that again,” Usher said during the interview.
But the pressure wasn’t the only thing eating at him. Usher opened up about missing his father during the most important time of his career. He said not having that relationship weighed heavily on his mind as he was becoming a husband and father himself.
“I did not have a relationship with my father at the time. And I was moving into a new maturity and a new level which then I would have children, I would be married,” he explained. “So all of my everything that mattered changed. My perspective changed.”
The Atlanta native said those personal struggles made him question everything. His whole world was shifting while he was at the top of the music game.
That disconnect between his public success and private pain had him thinking it might be time to step back.
“That’s kind of where that came from,” Usher said about considering retirement. “But obviously I wasn’t finished because there was more to offer. There was more to do.”
That mindset comes from his spiritual foundation. Usher talked about starting in the church choir at age 6, with his mom as the youth director. That early connection to faith shaped how he sees his whole career.
“The faith in the unseen and the fact that we’re all blessed to be vessels for some greater purpose is part of everything that we’re doing,” he said. “While faced with adversity, you could look at life as an obstacle and opportunity or an opportunity. I’ve always looked at life as an opportunity to do something no matter what I’m going through.”
Usher’s grandmother, Tina, played a huge role in shaping that giving spirit. He said she and other elders in his family taught him that being blessed means being a blessing to others.
“They wanted better for us. As a result of what they knew they offered, they wanted to bring joy,” he said about his grandmother and other family elders. “It was my nanny who instilled these moral values to help those in need. It was my mother reminding me that is who I am innately underneath all of my admiration and ambition.”
The eight-time Grammy winner said his approach to adversity comes from that foundation. Instead of seeing problems as roadblocks, he views them as chances to grow and help others.
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