Usher Was Upset With Talent Shows Like ‘American Idol’ for Ruining Music

Usher didn't believe talent shows like 'American Idol' made true long-lasting stars.

Music artist Usher is one of the most successful singers in his genres, with his hits accumulating a net worth of $180 million. So he knew what it might’ve taken to truly make it in the music industry. But it was because of his experience that he looked down on talent shows like American Idol at one point, doubting their ability to produce real stars.

Usher felt talent shows were a lie

Usher achieved success at a very early and young age. As a teenager, he initially had a difficult time finding what he was good at until singing fell into his lap.

“I tried a myriad of other things until I realized maybe there’s something there ‘cause I feel a spark, I feel happy. I feel like I would do this even if no one paid me… I enjoy doing this. And this is something that can lead to something incredible,” he once told Revolt.

Usher’s sudden passion for music led him to landing a spot on the national talent show Star Search. From there, he signed to LaFace records, which officially started his music career.

Still, getting a record deal didn’t mean Usher’s career was made just yet. It took a lot of hard work and some help from mentors like Diddy to mold Usher into the star he became. But because of this, he might’ve seen modern reality talent shows as unfulfilling shortcuts to the top.

According to Contact Music, the multi-platinum artist blamed talent shows like American Idol for stagnating true music.

“The true art form of music is being lost, because it seems so easy that everyone can do it, and that it can happen overnight. Television is a lie. It can’t happen overnight. The artist who thinks that it can just comes and goes,” he said.

He believed that these talent shows set bad examples that were leading to the death of Usher’s genre.

“The reason why great singers cannot exist in this time is maybe because they’re not properly managed, and maybe they don’t understand the full gamut of what being an entertainer is,” he said. “We’re dealing with an industry that is slowly but surely dying, every day. There’s the record companies that are mass-producing these versions of these people; versions of this broken art. While it works, because it sells records, it damages the business.”

Usher thought about walking away from music

Despite his successes, even Usher thought about turning his back from the music industry for good. But this was less because of the state of R&B, and more about his own relevance as an artist. Usher wasn’t sure he’d be able to repeat the past successes he’d had with records like Confessions.

“I hadn’t had a successful record as successful as [the 2004 album] Confessions and there was this analyzing [thought], like, ‘Man, should I continue to do this, or should I pivot and become an actor?’” he said in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

But this changed thanks to his two Las Vegas Residencies. He performed at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in 2021. Then he performed at Park MGM’s Dolby Live for his second residency. Combined, they grossed $114.6 million. The successes of those shows helped encourage the singer.

“I went to Las Vegas with no promise in a time when the world was not going anywhere because we were in a pandemic, and I had the hope that I could arouse people enough to come to Las Vegas and celebrate with me,” Usher said. “And it turned into, not only the most successful moments of Las Vegas history, but one of the most successful moments in my life.”

Usher still believes in R&B music

It seems Usher might have a more optimistic outlook on music in his older years. Recently, some have wondered if R&B has run its course. But Usher doesn’t buy the notion that the genre is dying. He feels there are plenty of newer artists still keeping it alive.

“I’m very happy that there’s a new installation of R&B artists who care to be authentic to what they are creating, inspired by artists of the past. Everybody who has ever said to me that R&B is dead sounds crazy. Especially when I know the origins of R&B are in all other genres of music,” he told Billboard not too long ago.

But he did think R&B was changing, which it needed to in order to thrive in this day and age.

“I think it just needs expansion. We’re moving toward a standard where people are looking at snippets — TikTok, Instagram and other things — and when fans get it, they take it and do something with it,” he added. “But if we start to think of it that way and create from that place, the standards for R&B will change. You won’t be able to compare it in an old-versus-new way. It’ll just be what it is.”