Usher, in full Usher Terry Raymond IV, American musician whose smooth vocals and sensual ballads helped establish him as a rhythm-and-blues superstar in the late 1990s. As a youngster in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Usher sang in church choirs but sought entry into the mainstream music industry by entering talent shows. At age 12 he moved with his mother and brother to Atlanta, and two years later he secured a recording contract with LaFace Records.