Current:Home > MarketsUsher premieres Paris concert film at the Apollo with roses, 'Ushbucks' and sensuality -NextFrontier Finance
Usher premieres Paris concert film at the Apollo with roses, 'Ushbucks' and sensuality
View
Date:2025-04-16 11:14:24
NEW YORK — It's showtime at the Apollo, and Usher is in the building.
Usher's alter ego came out to play in the concert film "Usher: Rendezvous In Paris," which was directed by Anthony Mandler and will release in partnership with AMC Theaters Distribution. It premiered Thursday night at the iconic Apollo Theater in Harlem.
"So happy to be able to be here tonight," Usher said on stage before the screening. "I'm fired up, who fired up? What I really love is the effort (of) each and every person that had anything to do with this film, the passion and time and commitment that we all put in is nothing short of amazing."
48 hours with Usher:Concert preparation, family time and what's next for the R&B icon
The film was shot last year at the La Seine Musicale during Paris Fashion Week and "incorporates the essence" of Usher's Vegas residencies, according to a release. Broken into four parts, it cycles through his biggest hits including "Confessions Part II," "Love In This Club" and "Yeah!"
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
"Sometimes we have to take that small space, to be able to appreciate each other so we can continue to do great things together," Usher said. "This is only the beginning. Are you ready?"
The night leaned heavily into the grown and sexy at the famed New York landmark, critical in the careers of Black icons including Usher himself, who was honored earlier this year with the Apollo's Icon Award at the venue's 90th anniversary celebration.
Red roses dotted the entrance way and were given out post-show along with chocolate covered strawberries, which Usher has been known to feed to screaming fans at his Las Vegas residency. Attendees enjoyed popcorn Usher's way, complete with a side of jalapeños to keep things spicy, as well as Rémy Martin cocktails with names like "Burn" and "Make It Rain."
Usher even cheekily recreated Nicole Kidman's AMC Theaters commercial, mixing in Usher-isms and reworking some of the lines in the ad: "Somehow, sweaty feels good in a place like this, where ushers feel like heroes," he jokes. "I brought the A to AMC."
The singer's infamous "Ushbucks," faux money emblazoned with his face, also made an appearance throughout the night, with Team Usher members and the audience throwing the paper dollars into the air during hype moments of the film's performances. The crowd whooped and sang along at top volume throughout the entirety of the movie.
Usher grinds on tour:Here's how he really does it
The singer, 45, praised director Mandler and their 25-year relationship, also thanking his family and wife Jenn Raymond "for being the glue that makes it stick."
He made his way onto the floor seats of the Apollo at the film's conclusion, met with a standing ovation and chants of his name.
How to watch 'Usher: Rendezvous In Paris': Tickets
"Usher: Rendezvous In Paris" will have a limited run in theaters starting Sept. 12.
Usher setlist:All the songs on his innovative Past Present Future tour
Usher concerts in New York: Past Present Future Tour hits the Big Apple
The singer is staying in New York for a little longer, trading in Harlem for Brooklyn's Barclays Center to kick off his slate of tour dates there. Concerts are set to take place Friday, Saturday, Monday and Tuesday.
Contributing: Brendan Morrow
veryGood! (42)
Related
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- How ending affirmative action changed California
- Britney Spears Condemns Security Attack as Further Evidence of Her Not Being Seen as an Equal Person
- Jenna Dewan and Daughter Everly Enjoy a Crazy Fun Girls Trip
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Pump Up the Music Because Ariana Madix Is Officially Joining Dancing With the Stars
- All My Children Star Jeffrey Carlson Dead at 48
- RHONJ: Find Out If Teresa Giudice and Melissa Gorga Were Both Asked Back for Season 14
- The Super Bowl could end in a 'three
- For Many, the Global Warming Confab That Rose in the Egyptian Desert Was a Mirage
Ranking
- New data highlights 'achievement gap' for students in the US
- Q&A: How White Flight and Environmental Injustice Led to the Jackson, Mississippi Water Crisis
- Drifting Toward Disaster: the (Second) Rio Grande
- Why Florida's new immigration law is troubling businesses and workers alike
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- This $41 Dress Is a Wardrobe Essential You Can Wear During Every Season of the Year
- Texas Is Now the Nation’s Biggest Emitter of Toxic Substances Into Streams, Rivers and Lakes
- Our first podcast episode made by AI
Recommendation
Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
Wayfair’s 60% Off Back-to-School Sale: Best Deals on College Living Essentials from Bedding to Storage
Occidental is Eyeing California’s Clean Fuels Market to Fund Texas Carbon Removal Plant
Shell plans to increase fossil fuel production despite its net-zero pledge
Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
A University of Maryland Center Just Gave Most State Agencies Ds and Fs on an Environmental Justice ‘Scorecard’
Just Two Development Companies Drive One of California’s Most Controversial Climate Programs: Manure Digesters
Logan Paul and Nina Agdal Are Engaged: Inside Their Road to Romance