Usher’s Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Songs

Even among the many riches of the 1990s R&B boom – ripe with legendary male and female vocal groups, a wave of solo superstars and endless, now-classic crossover hits – Usher’s rise stands out as bringing forth one of the era’s most impactful careers. Shortly after his 1997 breakthrough, Usher had become a near-automatic hitmaker, culminating in a catalog that has led many critic and cultural commentators to position him as a frontrunner for the “King of R&B” title.

The hits, however, didn’t automatically flow. Usher’s self-titled debut, executive produced by Puff Daddy, arrived in 1994 when the singer was just aged 15, and though it sent two songs onto the Billboard Hot 100 – “Can U Get Wit It” and “Think of You” – neither cracked the top 50. For his sophomore effort, My Way, in 1997, the singer switched to another crew of proven hitmakers, collaborating mostly with Jermaine Dupri and Babyface, which started his path to the top of the charts. The album’s lead single, “You Make Me Wanna…” and title track both reached No. 2, while “Nice & Slow” went one further, becoming the first of Usher’s nine Hot 100 champs.

And they just kept coming. 2001’s 8701 sparked two more No. 1s – “U Remind Me” and “U Got It Bad,” and the blockbuster Confessions launched four leaders – “Yeah!,” featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris, “Burn,” “Confessions Part II” and “My Boo,” a duet with Alicia Keys – from its standard and deluxe editions in 2004. Usher continued to pump out more hits in the ensuing years, and proving his longevity, became the first artist to top the Hot 100 in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s, thanks to “OMG,” featuring will.i.am, in 2010.

As the superstar prepares to headline the Super Bowl XLV halftime show and mark 30 years in the business, Billboard recaps Usher’s biggest Hot 100 hits. Like the multi-talented singer, actor and dancer himself, his top 30 hits illustrates his range, with uptempo dancefloor jams, searing ballads and guest spots on pop, dance and hip-hop hits all in the mix.

Usher’s biggest Hot 100 hits are based on actual performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 (through Feb. 3, 2024). Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. Due to changes in chart methodology over the years, eras are weighted to account for different chart turnover rates over various periods.