Usher celebrated the 25th anniversary of his seven-times Platinum My Way album on Friday by releasing a special edition that includes “reimagined versions” of the album’s three monster hits: “My Way,” “Nice & Slow” and “You Make Me Wanna…”
As the eight-time Grammy winner reminisced about the phenomenal success of the original album in 1997, he remembered it led to him opening for Janet Jackson’s The Velvet Rope tour in 1998 and ’99.
“[She] taught me how to be a great headliner,” Usher told Complex of the ”Rhythm Nation” superstar.
“Anything I wanted to have onstage she made sure that I had, she didn’t cut my sound short, which a lot of times, you know, artists will do that. They won’t give you the full range of the entire speaker system, because they save it for themselves,” the “U Remind Me” singer continued.
“She showed me that, yo, if the show is great, people gonna remember the whole experience. People, ‘til this day, come to me and say, ‘Yo man, it was one of the greatest performances that I ever saw and I didn’t even know who you were. I’m there waiting to see Janet Jackson, and here you go walk out on this stage … This kid who really made me a fan,’” Usher fondly remembered. “That’s what makes me happy when I know I can earn it.”
Usher has taken what he learned from Janet and is “earning it” during his Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM, which he recently extended through July 2023.
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