Some of the biggest names in music came together to celebrate some of Usher Raymond‘s greatest hits on Sunday.
Childish Gambino, Keke Palmer, Chloe Bailey, Teyana Taylor and more performed a musical tribute to the R&B crooner as he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 BET Awards in Los Angeles.
Producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis introduced a video retrospective featuring industry peers praising Usher’s career, before Gambino serenaded the live audience with the artist’s 2002 single ‘U Don’t Have to Call’ before Palmer transitioned to ‘You Make Me Wanna…’
The tribute also featured a medley of hits like ‘Good Good’, ‘There Goes My Baby’ and ‘Confessions Part II’ from artists like Summer Walker, Coco Jones and Marsha Ambrosius.
After taking in the show front row, Usher accepted the award with a heartfelt speech. “Getting here has definitely not been easy but it has been worth it,” he began.
“This Life Achievement Award… I don’t know, man. Is it too early for me to receive it? Because I’m still running and gunning and I still love this shit like I did when I was 8 years old. But I want to thank each and every one of the performers tonight who paid tribute.”
Usher added, “We was going back to moments that some of y’all might not even know, when I was dropping my pants. So those moments that become legacy are all about expression and just having fun and finding the connection and the spark. When I first started, I had a different idea about what I thought life was gonna be. I started off as an artist in a group in Chatanooga, Tennessee, and my name was Cha-Cha. And I really was searching for some identity and I was doing that specifically because I was trying to make sense of this name that was given to me … that a man gave me that didn’t stick around because he didn’t love me. Or at least that was my perception of it because I had to live long enough to understand that you have to have a forgiving heart in order to understand the true pitfalls and hardships of a Black man in America. And my father, he was a product of that. He made a lot of decisions, he made a lot of choices. And the one that probably hurt and help me at the same time was to stay away, but that’s part of the reason why I say this is the year of the father, where all the fathers gotta stand up for their sons, their daughters and be the man that they need to be for them.”
The Coming Home artist thanked his father figures as he was surrounded by “my village” onstage. “These are the men who motivated me, who speak to me, who have spoken to me,” Usher said.
He also imparted some wisdom to his own children, whom he hugged before stepping onstage.
“But it’s all about y’all,” said Usher. “It is 100 percent all about my children and making certain that you understand that your dreams can come true if you’re truly committed to it. If you’re dedicated to something and you find passion and you stay committed to it, this could potentially be you. This could be your moment — not on this stage, because I’m the only one that’s gonna have this one. But you could have a moment like this too.
Usher thanked his “lovely wife” Jennifer Goicoechea. “Thank you so much for being my best friend,” he said. “Thank you so much for supporting me and encouraging me. For each and every person who has been part of buying an album or either coming to a show or either supporting me, I absolutely would not have been able to do this without you.”
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