Usher seduces London’s O2 with near-flawless show – and does the unthinkable
Usher delivered a near-perfect show at London’s O2 on the first night of his Past Present Future tour (Picture: Redferns) The moment I watched Usher cheekily wink at The O2 audience while seductively feeding a woman cherries was when I knew what his Past Present Future tour was really about. After 30 incredible years at the top of his game, this show wasn’t about proving anything to critics and his peers or just going through the motions to make easy money. It was all about having fun in Usher’s way as he deserved to having enjoyed a pretty perfect and non-stop career for three decades, while also celebrating all that’s been and all there is to come. Seeing Usher, 46, perform at London’s O2 arena on the first night of his UK tour was a full circle moment for me as it was 20 years ago that I saw him at Wembley as my first-ever concert. Sitting in my floor seat with the best view, I remember watching in awe at Usher’s showmanship and thus my love for live music began. I’ve been fortunate to see him again twice since then but, dare I say, his performance last night at The O2 proved he’s better than ever. The comparisons between the R&B superstar and ‘king of pop’ Michael Jackson have long been said and Usher wasted no time in addressing this, ascending on stage from below and slickly swivelling around under a spotlight while wearing a glittering Jackson-esque outfit. From there, the energy barely let up for the next hour as Usher pumped through a selection of his early hits, taking us down memory lane with U Make Me Wanna (accompanied by a stage version of the music video’s iconic choreography) and making us two-step nostalgically to U Remind Me and U Don’t Have To Call.
The moment I watched Usher cheekily wink at The O2 audience while seductively feeding a woman cherries was when I knew what his Past Present Future tour was really about.
After 30 incredible years at the top of his game, this show wasn’t about proving anything to critics and his peers or just going through the motions to make easy money. It was all about having fun in Usher’s way as he deserved to having enjoyed a pretty perfect and non-stop career for three decades, while also celebrating all that’s been and all there is to come.
Seeing Usher, 46, perform at London’s O2 arena on the first night of his UK tour was a full circle moment for me as it was 20 years ago that I saw him at Wembley as my first-ever concert. Sitting in my floor seat with the best view, I remember watching in awe at Usher’s showmanship and thus my love for live music began.
I’ve been fortunate to see him again twice since then but, dare I say, his performance last night at The O2 proved he’s better than ever.
The comparisons between the R&B superstar and ‘king of pop’ Michael Jackson have long been said and Usher wasted no time in addressing this, ascending on stage from below and slickly swivelling around under a spotlight while wearing a glittering Jackson-esque outfit.
From there, the energy barely let up for the next hour as Usher pumped through a selection of his early hits, taking us down memory lane with U Make Me Wanna (accompanied by a stage version of the music video’s iconic choreography) and making us two-step nostalgically to U Remind Me and U Don’t Have To Call.
