At the 2025 Billboard Live Music Summit, R&B legend Usher shared insights into his career, touching on the lessons he’s learned from the music industry’s greats and how they’ve shaped his own legendary status. On stage at the 1 Hotel in West Hollywood, California, Usher and Billboard’s Gail Mitchell reflected on the singer’s 28-year touring career, his evolution as an artist, and the deep connection he feels with his audience.
Usher walked on stage to his 2001 hit “U Got It Bad” — a track he previously described in his 2024 Billboard cover story as his favourite to perform live. He spoke about the importance of making every performance special, saying, “I want to impress them. I would like to be as theatrical and use my imagination as much as I possibly can to lift the song higher than what it was when I delivered it as a piece of intellectual property.”
The singer’s latest tour, Past Present and Future, which followed his Las Vegas residencies and Super Bowl LVIII halftime show performance, became his highest-grossing and best-selling tour to date, earning $183.9 million and selling over 1.1 million tickets. His career total now stands at $422.6 million from 3.3 million tickets across 334 shows.
But Usher’s rise to fame didn’t come without hard work and experience. Before headlining his own tours, he opened for iconic acts like Diddy on the No Way Out Tour (1997), Mary J. Blige on the Share My World Tour (1997-98), and Janet Jackson on the Velvet Rope Tour (1998-99). Recalling his time as an opening act, Usher shared how Diddy encouraged him to perform during his headlining set, but Usher declined, saying, “Nah, I’m cool. I’m gonna stay right where I’m at because I wanna earn my keep. I’m here for a reason. I want to someday be where you are.”
When Usher launched his debut headlining tour, the 8701 Evolution Tour in 2002, he made sure to pay tribute to those who came before him. “I’m an artist who was inspired by the legends. If I study the legends, then hopefully one day, I will be one,” he said. During the tour, he performed covers of songs by Bobby Brown, Babyface, and Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis — legends who influenced him, especially when he didn’t yet have enough of his own hits.
Usher also hinted at a future project, teasing, “I’m in the midst of working on something that may shine a light on a very specific period of my life and around performance. Just stay tuned. There is true value in live.” He also spoke passionately about R&B, calling for more recognition and celebration of the genre’s legacy: “I want people to continue to celebrate the music and legacy that is the foundation that I am. It comes from soul music, it comes from the South… but most importantly, R&B.”
The artist went on to explain that he wants R&B to receive the same level of recognition and monetisation that other genres like hip-hop, rock & roll, and country have achieved. “That is the thing that I haven’t done yet. I want us to celebrate the legacy of what it is that we created, not just look at these nostalgic things that have come and gone, but be able to savour them and savour their legacy.”
At the conclusion of the panel, Mitchell presented Usher with the Legend of Live Award, recognising his immense contribution to live music and his ongoing influence on the industry.
Usher wasn’t the only star in attendance at the summit. Later in the day, reggaeton sensation Rauw Alejandro and Live Nation’s Hans Schafer took the stage for a conversation about Alejandro’s rise in the live music sector, further showcasing the diversity and talent present at the event.