Usher

Singer / Actor

Name at birth: Usher Raymond IV

Called an "R&B teen dream" by Rolling Stone, Usher was only 15 years old when he released his self-titled first album in 1994. (The album was executive produced by hitmaker Sean "P. Diddy" Combs.) Usher's 1997 hit single "You Make Me Wanna..." gained him international fame, and his album My Way earned him the 1998 Billboard Best Performer of the Year award. A sultry R&B singer in the old-school mode of Marvin Gaye and Luther Vandross, Usher has never been afraid to show off his muscular new-school physique. He has also dabbled in acting, with a recurring role on the teen sitcom Moesha, and roles in the films The Faculty (1998, with Jon Stewart), She's All That (1999, with Freddie Prinze, Jr.) and Texas Rangers (2001, with Ashton Kutcher). His other albums include 8701 (2001) and Confessions (2004). Confessions featured the singles "Burn" and "Yeah" (the latter a collaboration with Ludacris and Lil' Jon) and earned Usher four American Music Awards and eight Grammy nominations.

Extra credit: Usher made his Broadway debut in August of 2006, playing slick lawyer Billy Flynn in the long-running revival of Chicago for six weeks... Many sources list his place of birth as Chattanooga, Tennessee. According to his Thomson Gale biography, "Usher was born... in Dallas, Texas. Within a year of his birth, he moved with his mother to Chattanooga, Tennessee."

Other young singing stars of Usher's era include Nelly, Aaliyah and Alicia Keys.