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While many Billboard radio airplay stories focus, rightly enough, on which artists and songs are topping the charts, this week’s Adult R&B Airplay survey (dated Nov. 1) contains a potentially historic development at the anchor spot, No. 30, thanks to Xania Monet’s “How Was I Supposed to Know?”
What’s the difference between that song and the other 103 titles that have made the chart this year alone? Xania Monet (first name pronounced “zha-NI-ah,” rhyming with Shania, as in Shania Twain) is an AI-driven artist, the product of a poet named Telisha Jones, and her song’s chart arrival marks the first known instance of an AI-based act to earn a spot on a Billboard radio chart. The move also represents another step in the evolving relationship between AI tools and creators and the music industry.
“How Was I Supposed to Know?” begins on the Adult R&B Airplay chart through its plays at panel-contributing adult R&B radio stations in the United States. It improved 28% in plays for the tracking week of Oct. 17-23 compared to its Oct. 10-16 total, according to Luminate. In that window, 15 of the chart-contributing adult R&B radio stations played the song, according to Mediabase, among 57 total reporters.
The song first generated public attention as a viral track on TikTok and other social media platforms. Social growth extended to streaming services and digital retailers, prompting the song’s No. 1 debut on the R&B Digital Song Sales chart dated Sept. 20 and a No. 20 start on the multimetric Hot R&B Songs chart a week later. As awareness spread, the song and its creator ignited a discourse of both supportive and opposing perspectives, with SZA and Kehlani among the most prominent opponents.
Billboard reached out to several stations’ programming and music directors to seek comment on the song, artist and surrounding industry discussions, but none replied to our inquiries.
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For a creative situation only possible thanks to futuristic technology, a focus on radio promotion may seem an old-school approach. The team surrounding Monet, however, views it as a no-brainer. “We look at everything as a complete package,” says Romel Murphy, who manages Monet. “If you had a, let’s say, traditional, artist and were a label and marketing executive, radio would be a piece of the promotion strategy. We’re interested in bringing the music to as many people as possible.” To that end, Murphy says a full radio push is part of the equation. “Our goal is to continue to grow, continue to connect and hopefully get to No. 1.”
While Monet has generated the bulk of discussion, she isn’t the only AI-driven act making an impact on Billboard’s charts. The Emerging Artists chart has become a home for these budding acts, with several landing on various rankings the last few weeks.
Now, those concrete examples indicate the growing likelihood of AI-driven artists as a major industry transformation.
Still, Murphy asks observers to assess from a music-first perspective. “Be it a radio programming director, be it a music fan, be it our peers, colleagues, artists,” he says, “just listen to the songs. Listen to the lyrics. And then make your judgment.”
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After channelling Donna Summer and Princess Tiana in past years, Coco Jones is “Steppin to the Bad Side” with her 2025 Halloween costume.
The Grammy winner shared her glitzy get-up via her official social media pages on Thursday (Oct. 20) — and she didn’t just settle for one Dreamgirls character. Spoofing one of the posters for the 2006 film adaptation of the Tony-winning Broadway musical, Coco Jones simultaneously posed as Effie White, Deena Jones and Lorell Robinson.
In addition to a picture-perfect recreation of the poster, the “Here We Go” singer also recorded her own cover of the musical’s titular track, complete with a video of her hitting all of the iconic moves from the movie scene where Deena sings lead for the first time. All dolled up in a baby blue, figure-hugging gown seemingly straight from the Dreamgirls set, Jones absolutely nailed her costume — down to the notorious Diana Ross-inspired neck-rolling choreography Beyoncé so memorably executed in the 2006 film.
The 2006 film adaptation of Dreamgirls featured a towering cast, including Beyoncé, Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose, Jamie Foxx, Loretta Devine, Eddie Murphy and Danny Glover, with Hudson taking home the Academy Award for best actress in a supporting role. The film brought the 1981 Broadway musical of the same name — which starred Devine, Sheryl Lee Ralph and Jennifer Holliday (who won the best actress Tony) — to the silver screen, adding several new songs and expanding select storylines. Earlier this year (Sept. 15), five-time Tony nominee Camille A. Brown confirmed that she will direct and choreograph a Dreamgirls Broadway revival, with performances slated to begin in fall 2026.
Jones’ Halloween costume isn’t just a callback to a classic piece of Black cinema; it’s also a nod to her resemblance to Hudson. During a 2023 visit to the Jennifer Hudson Show, Jones and Hudson shared a hearty laugh about how often fans mistake them for one another. “Honestly, at this point, I just play into it,” Jones joked before launching into an impromptu cover of Hudson’s standout Dreamgirls number, “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going.”
Halloween festivities are just the latest update in a busy year for Jones. This year alone, she shared her debut studio album (Why Not More?), launched a headlining tour in support of the record and got engaged to basketball star Donovan Mitchell. Most recently, the R&B star opened for select dates on Brandy and Monica’s The Boy Is Mine arena tour.
Check out Coco Jones’ glamorous Halloween costume here.
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The growing prominence of faith-based/Christian hip-hop and R&B, aka Rhythm + Praise, is resonating far beyond the traditional radio airwaves. It’s making notable shifts into film, TV, sports and even the gaming world. Rhythm + Praise (R+P) artists possess the ability to marry powerful messaging with innovative sounds and, in the process, are finding their music being featured in an ever-expanding range of media — often in ways directly impacting the cultural landscape.
Sitting between gospel and contemporary Christian music (CCM), Rhythm + Praise bridges gospel with contemporary styles, offering a more modern, relatable sound for younger audiences. R+P offers an alternative to mainstream secular messages: non-traditional in format, melody, lyrics and production. Not limited to religious beliefs, these artists foster themes of hope, redemption, mental health awareness and positive living.
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According to Luminate, in the first 30 weeks of 2025, on-demand audio streams of songs in the core Christian/gospel genre — which were also categorized in the sub-genre of R&B/hip-hop —totaled 1.37 billion, up from 878 million during the same 30-week period in 2024. These figures are inclusive of user-generated content (UGC) streams.
Four-time Grammy winner Lecrae and Dove Award-winning artist NF have been paving the way in faith-based hip-hop for years. Both artists have individually accumulated billions of streams and video content views. Lecrae has 2.03 billion and NF has 13.28 billion on-demand official audio and video streams for all of their songs, over the course of their careers, in the U.S. through Sept. 25, according to Luminate. (Note: These figures do not include UGC streams.) Given the powerful reach of their music, both NF and Lecrae have successfully secured licensing and sync opportunities in the sports gaming arena, marketing their music via the NBA, ESPN and Madden NFL video game series.
Another example is emerging independent hip-hop artist Miles Minnick. He recently released his first album, Via Dolorosa, through his GLO label joint venture with EMPIRE. Minnick is also reaching beyond the church-going audience via his first sports gaming sync placement, “Lowkey Wildin,” with NBA 2K25. His growing base of more than 500,000 fans — aka GLO Nation — prompted the launches of his GLO Festival in the San Francisco Bay Area and his own clothing line, Christlike. Minnick also made history in March when he became the first Christian hip-hop artist to headline a stage at Rolling Loud Los Angeles.
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Noting that Gen-Z and millennials are demanding more uplifting content, Minnick says a major cultural shift, which he tags the “New Mainstream,” is happening. “New Mainstream isn’t just a phrase — it’s my lifestyle,” he explains. “It means putting faith at the center of culture and proving you can be bold about your beliefs while making a real impact. Whether it’s getting the stamp [of approval] collaborating with rap icon E-40, launching a label, performing at Rolling Loud or selling out tours, I’m showing the world that you don’t have to change who you are to change the world.”
Mainstream artists are also magnifying messages of faith in their music. From Drake (“God’s Plan”) and DJ Khaled (“God Did”) to Mustard (“Pray for Me”) and GloRilla, who won her first BET Award for best gospel/inspirational song (“Rain Down on Me” featuring Kirk Franklin, Maverick City Music, Kierra Sheard and Chandler Moore), these artists are helping to broaden the crossover space for faith-based music.
The same thing is happening on the label front. Co-founded with Ben Washer in 2004, Lecrae’s Reach Records is now seeing other music companies join the movement, including EMPIRE and Universal Music Group. Earlier this year, the latter relaunched legacy label Tamla with a faith-based hip-hop/R+P artist roster that includes Childlike Cici and Dante Pride. One of Tamla’s artists, Dove Award nominee Lee Vasi, performed at this year’s BET X 106 & Park Experience in Los Angeles. And gamma., home to Mariah Carey and Usher, established a joint venture with Grammy-winning producer Rodney Jerkins’ R+P imprint Alienz Alive with signees Alex Jean, Jon Keith, Aha Gazelle and nobigdyl.
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While streaming numbers are strong, streaming radio still remains an important promotional tool in expanding audience reach. And that’s thanks to shows like the Trendsetter Sense-hosted Chosen Journey on SiriusXM’s Hip-Hop Nation channel and Da Fixx on SiriusXM’s Christian hip-hop/R+P channel, Holy Culture Radio. Holy Culture owner James Rosseau Sr. partnered with SiriusXM in 2022 to cater to a burgeoning audience of more than 5 million listeners, per Nielsen Compass.
Film and TV are also homing in on the faith-based market. Producers Tyler Perry and DeVon Franklin, heavy hitters in both of those arenas, joined forces with Netflix for Ruth + Boaz. The just-released film features the original song “Faithful,” penned specifically for the project by Grammy-winning artist/producer Babyface. It also appears on the film’s five-song companion EP.
As a music supervisor starting out in faith-based television programming, I produced season 2 of the award-winning soundtrack album for the hit series Greenleaf. I’ve seen firsthand how the power of positioning faith-based hip-hop/R+P artists on a major network show (scripted or unscripted) can help break their music and expand their brand.
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In response to that and other above-referenced factors, I established the traveling roundtable series Faith + Sync in L.A. this year. I wanted to provide a unique platform to discuss how faith is influencing culture, creative direction, content placement and the future of music in film, TV and digital media. And also to offer the opportunity to connect with influential voices in those mediums who are shaping the conversation about how faith-based/R+P artists are influencing music, sync licensing and culture.
Through changing demographics, streaming power and strong independent success stories, faith-based hip-hop/Rhythm + Praise is debunking assumptions by mainstream media about its audience size, relevance and impact. As this movement gains stronger momentum, I’m committed to joining all those building the bridge to keep pushing this music forward like EMPIRE president Tina Davis. “Inspirational hip-hop/R&B isn’t new,” says Davis. “But there’s a new wave of anointed young talent across the globe raising their hands in their God’s name. And it’s needed!”
Angela M. Jollivette, founder of Moonbaby Media Inc. and Faith + Sync, is an award-winning music supervisor/producer whose credits include the major network series Greenleaf, Sunday’s Best, Black Ink Crew: New York/Chicago/L.A. and Norman Lear’s final TV production, Clean Slate.
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Grammy-winning legend Patti LaBelle has brought her estimable music catalog to Primary Wave Music. The new partnership deal includes the singer-songwriter’s artist royalties across a catalog that encompasses 18 studio albums, three live albums, 14 compilation albums and 47 singles. To date, according to Primary Wave’s press announcement, LaBelle has sold more than 50 million records worldwide.
“We are so honored to be in business with a legend such as Ms. Labelle,” said Primary Wave partner Steven Greener in a statement. “She’s a true icon and trailblazer. We are looking forward to doing great things together.”
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Among LaBelle’s memorable hits are “Lady Marmalade,” “If Only You Knew,” “New Attitude” and “On My Own.” Recorded in 1974 by the group LaBelle, “Lady Marmalade” topped the Billboard Hot 100. The song then reclaimed that peak in 2001 for five weeks when it was covered by Christina Aguilera, Mya, Pink and Lil’ Kim — whose version appeared on the film soundtrack for Moulin Rouge. “Lady Marmalade” was later chosen for preservation in the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2021.
“On My Own,” another of LaBelle’s aforementioned career highlights, is the singer’s duet with Michael McDonald. Released in 1986, the song reached No. 1 on the Hot 100, where it reigned for three weeks. Written by Burt Bacharach, it also earned a Grammy nomination for best performance by a duo or group. In addition to her No. 1s on the Hot 100, LaBelle counts 42 singles that have appeared on Billboard’s Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and she has charted 20 albums on the Billboard 200.
In addition to her two Grammys and 13 nominations, LaBelle has received several other music industry accolades. Those include an American Music Award, four NAACP Image Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Also an Emmy nominee, LaBelle has appeared in several films and TV programs (A Soldier’s Story, A Different World, The Masked Singer), written six books (most recently, the 20th anniversary edition of her best-selling cookbook, LaBelle Cuisine) and helms the successful food and lifestyle brand Patti’s Good Life.
Publishing company Primary Wave is home to a diverse roster of iconic singer-songwriters. Among its roster: Bob Marley, Prince, Stevie Nicks, The Doors, Whitney Houston and Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons.
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Kem captures the No. 1 rank on Billboard’s Adult R&B Airplay chart for the first time since 2022 as “Rock With Me” leads the radio ranking dated Nov. 1. The single, released on the singer-songwriter’s own Kemistry label after a two-decade career with Motown, jumped 4-1 and was the most played song on panel-contributing adult R&B radio stations in the tracking week of Oct. 17-23, according to Luminate.
The new champ surged 27% in plays for the tracking period compared with the previous frame, securing it the Greatest Gainer honor, which is awarded to the song with the biggest weekly increase in play count. Four stations under Connoisseur Media’s umbrella contributed the most spins for the week, with WMJM-FM (Louisville, Ky.) in first place, followed by WMJM-FM (Columbia, S.C.); WROU-FM (Dayton, Ohio) and KDKS-FM (Shreveport, La.).
“Thank you all for rocking with me for all of these years,” Kem shared in part in an exclusive reaction with Billboard, acknowledging his team, “friends at radio fans.” “It feels really good. God bless you, have a great day and keep love on the one.”
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With “Rock With Me,” Kem improves to nine No. 1s on Adult R&B Airplay. He ties Maxwell for the fourth-most leaders among male artists; the pair trail Charlie Wilson (11), Tank and Usher (10 each) in that category. Alicia Keys leads all artists, with 14 champs, dating to the list’s launch in September 1993.
Here’s a review of Kem’s No. 1 collection on Adult R&B Airplay:
Song Title, Artist (if other than Kem), Weeks at No. 1, Date Reached No. 1
“Love Calls,” two, Sept. 13, 2003
“I Can’t Stop Loving You,” seven, May 21, 2005
“Why Would You Stay?,” two, Sept. 25, 2010
“It’s You,” four, Sept. 6, 2014
“Nobody,” nine, Feb. 21, 2015
“Lie to Me,” seven, June 27, 2020
“Live Out Your Love,” feat. Toni Braxton; two, Jan. 2, 2021
“Stuck on You,” one, April 16, 2022
“Rock With Me,” one, Nov. 1, 2025
Elsewhere, “Rock With Me” advances 18-14 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart, which ranks songs by combined audience totals from adult R&B and mainstream R&B/hip-hop stations. There, the track soars to 6.2 million in audience, up 26% from the prior week’s total of 4.9 million.
Radio gains spark the single’s No. 21 debut on the multimetric Hot R&B Songs chart, which combines radio airplay figures with streaming and sales data for its calculations. It becomes Kem’s sixth entry to reach the ranking, which began in October 2012.
On August’s Boxscore recap, Chris Brown became the fourth artist to lead the monthly Top Tours chart in 2025, coming close to the nine-figure mark with $96.8 million. According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, he comes even closer on September’s report, logging a second consecutive month at No. 1 with $98.1 million and 580,000 tickets sold.
When Brown topped the charts last month, he became the 10th artist to report monthly earnings of more than $90 million since the lists launched in 2019. By immediately hitting that mark again, he becomes just the third act to do so twice. Beyoncé grossed more than $90 million in six different months, split evenly between 2023’s Renaissance World Tour and this year’s Cowboy Carter Tour. Bad Bunny did it twice, both during 2022’s World’s Hottest Tour.
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Brown’s 13 shows during September were spread across 10 U.S. cities, three of which boasted double-headers. Those – Arlington, Texas (Globe Life Park on Sept. 2-3), Inglewood, Calif. (SoFi Stadium on Sept. 13-14), and Las Vegas (Allegiant Stadium on Sept. 19-20) – broke $10 million each, grossing $14 million, $16.3 million, and $15.8 million, respectively. They all appear in the top 10 of Top Boxscores.
Brown launched Breezy Bowl XX in June and wrapped two weeks ago (Oct. 16). The entire trek earned $295.5 million and sold just under two million tickets (1.983 million) over 49 shows. Of those totals, $47.8 million and 490,000 tickets are from the tour’s European leg, and the remaining $247.8 million and 1.5 million tickets are from North American shows.
On Brown’s first stadium tour, he’s up by 39% from his previous European trek (Under the Influence Tour 2023). In the U.S. and Canada, the leap is more pronounced, up 201% from last year’s The 11:11 Tour.
Brown’s final Breezy Bowl shows push his career earnings over the half-billion mark. Across 322 reported shows, the R&B phenom has grossed $511.4 million and sold 4.9 million tickets. That includes all of his solo headline revenue, plus 50% of co-headline tours like a pair of 2007 tours with Ne-Yo and Bow Wow, 2015’s Between The Sheets Tour (with Trey Songz) and 2022’s One of Them Ones Tour (Lil Baby).
It’s not just Brown who repeats atop the monthly charts: Coldplay is No. 1 for a second straight month on Top Boxscores, with the final four of its 10 shows at London’s Wembley Stadium. The first six topped the August ranking with $78.9 million, and this month’s shows add $52.5 million. Altogether, the three-week run brought in $131.4 million and sold 791,000 tickets.
Both in terms of earnings and attendance, Coldplay’s Wembley Stadium run is the biggest single-venue engagement by a headline artist ever. That record applies to artists on tour, and does not include extended residencies, like Celine Dion at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace or Billy Joel at Madison Square Garden.
The Wembley shows were the only dates on Coldplay’s calendar in September, but they are enough to earn the band the runner-up spot on Top Tours. In addition to a record-tying seven months at No. 1, this is its sixth appearance at No. 2. Brown and Coldplay are the third duo to go back-to-back at Nos. 1-2 this year, following Shakira and Tyler, The Creator in February and March, and Beyoncé and The Weeknd in May and June.
As previously reported, Coldplay is planning more shows on the record-breaking Music of the Spheres World Tour for 2027. It’s already sold more tickets than any tour ever, and by the end of its teased 360-show run, it will likely be the biggest grosser as well.
September marks the first top 10 appearance on Top Tours for three artists. Benson Boone is No. 6 with $29 million and 238,000 tickets. He previously topped out at No. 19 in January with shows in Asia and Australia. Tate McRae is No. 9 with $21.9 million and 175,000 tickets, up from No. 14 last month.
In between, YoungBoy Never Broke Again makes his Top Tours debut, hitting No. 8 on his first chart appearance. The first 17 shows of the Make America Slime Again Tour pulled in $28.3 million from 231,000 tickets sold. He had a packed schedule, stretching from the 1st to the 29th, peaking with two shows each in Dallas ($3.9 million at American Airlines Center on Sept. 1-2) and Los Angeles ($3.8 million at Crypto.com Arena on Sept. 9-10).
Lady Gaga is no stranger to the Top Tours chart but hits a new career high on the September ranking. After bouncing in and out of the top 10 over the last five months, she is No. 3 on the current edition. Eleven shows from The MAYHEM Ball grossed $39.7 million and sold 159,000 tickets, including major-market, multi-national dates in Chicago, London, Miami, New York, and Toronto.
Just beneath her, former chart-topper Shakira is No. 4 with $33.9 million from eight shows in Mexico. Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour is already the highest-grossing Latin tour by a woman, and 17 yet-to-be-reported shows in South America could push its all-time status even further before its Dec. 11 Buenos Aires.
Rounding out the top five, Zach Bryan earned $29.4 million and sold 192,000 tickets from just two shows in September. First, he performed at Notre Dame Stadium, welcoming 79,300 fans to the South Bend, Ind. stadium. But his second date, a Sept. 27 show at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, upped the ante with 112,000 tickets sold. It is reported to be the largest ticketed concert in U.S. history.
Billboard‘s Live Music Summit will be held in Los Angeles on Nov. 3. For tickets and more information, click here.
Trending on Billboard New Edition have announced that they’ll be hitting the road in 2026 with Boyz II Men and Toni Braxton. The legendary group announced via a press release that they’ll kick off The New Edition Way Tour at the Oakland Arena in California on Jan. 29. From there, all three acts will head […]
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Halle Bailey and DDG have temporarily agreed to share custody of their son and drop domestic violence claims against each other, putting a halt to the musicians’ messy legal battle after months of back and forth.
Bailey and DDG (Darryl Dwayne Granberry Jr.) had been fighting in family court since this summer over custody of their nearly two-year-old child, Halo. The proceedings got ugly, with Bailey accusing the 28-year-old streamer and rapper of physical abuse and DDG claiming the 25-year-old singer and actress is mentally unstable.
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But the two artists have put their differences behind them, at least for now. A settlement docketed on Monday (Oct. 27) sets forth a temporary custody arrangement lasting for the next four months, and Bailey and DDG agree to mediate in “good faith” to reach a more permanent plan afterwards.
The settlement also sees both Halle and DDG dropping their competing requests for domestic violence restraining orders (DVROs) against each other. However, both sides reserve their rights to revive these allegations “upon a further incident of abuse.”
“Each party further agrees that should a future incident of abuse occur that postdates the dismissal of the instant DVRO requests, the fact that the parties dismissed her/his DVRO request shall not be prejudicial to the party seeking new orders,” reads the agreement. “The dismissal is for settlement purposes only and may not be used as evidence against the party(s) seeking new orders.”
Reps for Bailey and DDG did not immediately return requests for comment on Tuesday (Oct. 28). This is not surprising, as the settlement mandates that “the parties shall not publicly discuss the terms of this stipulation or the litigation between them.”
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Bailey and DDG dated between 2022 and 2024, and Halo was born at the end of 2023. Their court dispute began this past May, when Bailey filed a petition claiming DDG had physically attacked her multiple times in Halo’s presence. In one such instance, Bailey alleged that DDG pulled her hair, slammed her face on a car steering wheel and chipped her tooth.
DDG denied these claims and brought a counter-petition of his own in June, alleging that Bailey was actually the abusive one and had repeatedly threatened self-harm as a means of emotional manipulation. Bailey responded that she struggled with her mental health in the past but now has these issues under control.
Bailey was given court-ordered custody of Halo while the litigation played out. She’s retaining primary custody under Monday’s settlement agreement, while DDG gets the child twice a week and two weekends a month. They will split holidays.
The former couple agrees in the settlement not to post any photos or videos of Halo online. There are also a number of guardrails to govern their relationship; neither one is allowed to disparage the other in the child’s presence, they can only communicate via a special co-parenting app, and Halo should always be dropped off with the other parent at a public park.
“All exchanges shall be peaceful and polite, with the custodial parent handing the child to the non-custodial parent. (A polite hello and goodbye is acceptable),” reads the settlement.
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“I work for every bit of applause I get,” Usher told Billboard on the eve of his first Las Vegas residency in 2021. “I try my hardest to give people an incredible experience.”
That philosophy has propelled Usher’s 28-year touring career, which has taken him to arenas, residencies and the world’s largest stage: the Super Bowl. As a 19-year-old wunderkind in the late ’90s, he scored his first opening gigs for Mary J. Blige, Sean “Diddy” Combs and Janet Jackson. Fast forward to this year, when the 47-year-old superstar completed his most recent arena tour, Usher: Past Present Future.
The eight-time Grammy winner’s latest outing was the highest-grossing and best-selling tour of his career, according to Billboard Boxscore, grossing $183.9 million and selling 1.1 million tickets over 80 shows. All told, Usher has a reported career gross of $422.6 million from 3.3 million tickets over 334 shows. That’s a whole lot of singing and dancing — both of which are an innate part of Usher’s DNA.
Usher will appear in conversation during Billboard‘s Live Music Summit, held Nov. 3 in Los Angeles. For tickets and more information, click here.
Drawing comparisons to Michael Jackson while honing lithe dancing skills and his supple tenor, Usher graduated from opener to solo headliner in 2002 with his 8701 Evolution Tour in support of his third studio album, 8701. Two years later, The Truth Tour, in support of his smash-hit album Confessions, became one of the period’s highest-grossing outings, with $31.4 million earned. Usher more than doubled that return with the 2010-11 OMG World Tour, which grossed $75 million; the trek landed in seventh place on Billboard’s Top Tours chart in 2011.
But it was a post-pandemic foray into Las Vegas’ residency scene — suggested by manager Ron Laffitte well after Usher’s last tour in 2014 — that reintroduced and reinvigorated the R&B star’s musical legacy this decade. The first residency, Usher: The Las Vegas Residency, at Caesars Palace, did $18.8 million and sold 84,000 tickets over 20 shows (2021-22). The second, My Way: The Vegas Residency, staged at the Dolby Live theater at Park MGM, garnered $95.9 million and sold 394,000 tickets over 80 shows (2022-23). Those successes sparked a chain reaction that culminated in Usher’s critically acclaimed Super Bowl LVIII halftime performance and Past Present Future.
Usher performs during the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, 2024 in Las Vegas.
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images
Usher performs at the grand opening of Usher’s My Way: The Vegas Residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM on July 15, 2022 in Las Vegas.
Denise Truscello/Getty Images
Usher’s singular status as a dynamic performer has led to his recognition as Billboard’s 2025 Legend of Live. For him, however, it’s the connection with his audience that counts most — and fuels his ongoing passion for performing.
“When it all comes together — the song, the connecting message to the audience, the dance — it almost feels like classical music,” Usher said ahead of his Super Bowl performance last year. “I just want to love what I do, make what I love, allow people to come to my space and see what I have to offer.”
This story appears in the Oct. 25, 2025, issue of Billboard.
Trending on Billboard Grammy-winning artist Kali Uchis, five-time Grammy nominee Kehlani, and KPop Demon Hunters’ songwriter, lead vocalist and rising star EJAE will be honored at the 17th annual ASCAP Women Behind the Music. The event is set for Wednesday, Nov. 12, in Los Angeles. Kehlani, a five-time Grammy nominee, received the Rule Breaker Award […]
