90s State of Mind #30: "Usher: My Way"

Welcome to Episode #30 of the 90s State of Mind podcast - a collaborative project between 4ever in Electric Dreams and Blue-in-Green:RADIO. This podcast series sees Imran (London, UK) and Rhonda (California, USA) delve into some of their favourite releases from the 90s and for this episode, the pair celebrate the second full-length album from Usher, 'My Way'.

Released on 16th September, 1997, through LaFace Records, Usher's sophomore release saw him follow-up on his self-titled debut from 1994 earning him mammoth breakthrough and international recognition.  Spearheaded by the singles 'You Make Me Wanna', 'Nice and Slow' and 'My Way', the album achieved a seven-times platinum certification, and has sold over seven million copies worldwide.  'You Make Me Wanna' earned Usher a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance while 'My Way' also received a Male Album of the Year nomination at the 1998 Billboard Music Awards. To further promote the album, Usher served as an opening act for Mary J. Blige on her Share My World Tour and for Janet Jackson on The Velvet Rope Tour. 

Imran & Rhonda delve deep into the album's make-up exploring the singles and collaborations plus discussion veers into Usher's debut release, the difficulty of teenage artists finding their identity and breaking through plus we discuss the transition of Usher's work with Sean Combs to Jermaine Dupri and ponder the what if of a Babyface-helmed Usher album.

4everInElectricDreams · 90s State of Mind #30: "Usher: My Way"