Ex Sells

Image credit: Chilli and Usher: Paul Smith/Feature Flash/Retna

CHILLI RECEPTION Usher admits to cheating on ex-girlfriend, TLC's Rozonda Thomas CHILLI RECEPTION Usher admits to cheating on ex-girlfriend, TLC's Rozonda Thomas

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Confessions

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Until recently, that was not a word often associated with Usher Raymond IV. Born in Chattanooga, Tenn., he started singing in church and at age 13 landed on ''Star Search,'' where L.A. Reid, cofounder of LaFace Records, discovered him. Though he scored urban-radio play with his debut single, 1994's ''Think of You,'' his cookie-cutter first album made barely a blip on the R&B radar. For the 1997 follow-up, Reid tapped kid-friendly producer Jermaine Dupri (Kris Kross, Bow Wow) to beef up Usher's somewhat anonymous sound. ''Usher needed that album to set him apart,'' says Dupri. ''So I came up with 'My Way' and 'Nice and Slow.''' The combination of Usher's crisp voice and Dupri's assured songwriting was a winner, giving Usher a string of hit singles.

Still, he had trouble standing out. 2001's ''8701'' solidified his rep as a spectacular dancer with washboard abs and a white-hot smile, but in interviews he seemed enigmatic, even insubstantial -- a clean-living, infuriatingly polite mama's boy with plenty of talent but little star quality. ''He never believed you have to go to certain restaurants and let the paparazzi take pictures,'' says Dupri. ''He was always sitting around his house saying 'Why don't I have [articles in magazines]? My last album sold 5 million records.' But there's a bunch of people with that story.''

Now ''Confessions'' has moved Usher into the major leagues. It's not just the controversy: Musically, the CD's a step forward. ''It's classic R&B,'' insists Usher. ''That's what people should focus on.'' As the title suggests, it's full of intimate relationship tales that have fans wondering how true the lyrics might be. So why the sudden urge to share? ''I've always felt you shouldn't make your personal life public,'' he says. ''It's the only thing you have when this is all done and you want some peace. Yet it takes that to get people intrigued. They want to know you're real.''

Question is, How real is the new Usher? Q100's Jeff Dauler, cohost of the Atlanta show on which Chilli first bashed her beau, isn't buying it. Not long after telling EW he was done discussing his split, Usher appeared on Dauler's program to do just that. ''He accused us of ending his relationship,'' says Dauler. Though Usher sounded irate during the broadcast, Dauler maintains the mood was an illusion and the star thanked the morning team repeatedly for helping him sell CDs. ''The entire time he was in with us,'' Dauler says, ''he was smiling.'' Not surprisingly, Usher denies playing up the controversy. ''This is not a PR move,'' he insists. ''My ex went on the radio and talked about how I did 'the ultimate no-no.' [Otherwise] I wouldn't even be having this conversation right now.''

And the conversation isn't ending anytime soon. At New York's Hot 97 a few hours before the rehearsal, Usher glumly submits to an interrogation by DJ Angie Martinez, who lobs barbed questions like ''What did you dooooooo, Usher?'' He seems miserable. Perhaps rehashing the ruined romance still makes him sad, or maybe he's just tired of the question. But the dark mood doesn't last: Later that night, on stage at the rehearsal space doing what he loves, he perks up. In fact, he's grinning ear to ear -- singing, dancing, and sweating through his T-shirt, the soaked image of Michael Jackson harking back to a different era, a time when it seemed like making great music was all you had to do to sell records.