NPR said there hasn’t been a male R&B superstar since Usher. Is this true?

[Cakebatter]

Jason Derulo had his time in the sun as well as Ne-Yo. NPR clearly doesn't listen to R&B.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

I would say Bruno is a pop artist. That's how he blew up making bland pop shyt. He has switched it up his last two efforts but his OG label is still sticking.
Weekend is emo R and B. It has a strong appeal to a limited amount of people. I like him tho.

That boy done been crossed over to pop and for like 2-3 years had the most followers on Spotify. I don’t even listen to breh no more, but Weeknd has broad appeal

 

[DJSmooth]

Because you can use that argument for a majority of artists. You think Chris writes all his music? Lol

You said all of his songs outside of R&B are forced which isn’t true. I fw CB so I’m not trying to rank one over the other.

Unfortunately Chris Brown writes much more of his music than Usher and it's not even close at all.

 

[JealousOnesEn_V]

Unfortunately Chris Brown writes much more of his music than Usher and it's not even close at all.

So he also uses songs written by other people and reference tracks?

 

[Black Panther]

Drake

"These rap cats is soft like R&B singers" --4-Ize

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

I'm taking in terms of current popularity and status. Not where he was previously

Plenty of r&b heads still have r Kelly as king. But he was never the crossover pop star usher was and isn’t the same type of performer. He wouldn’t be having the moment usher is having. Usher’s later music is wildly inconsistent but his previous hits and performing ability allowed him to creep back up into the limelight. A controversy free Kellz still wouldn’t be able to do that. At best, he could be having the moment Babyface has been having the past few years by writing, producing and featuring on tracks with some of the new acts

 

[AnonymityX1000]

That boy done been crossed over to pop and for like 2-3 years had the most followers on Spotify. I don’t even listen to breh no more, but Weeknd has broad appeal

Had, he's trending in the other direction:
5 RIAA certified studio album –
'Kiss Land' (Gold),
'Beauty Behind the Madness' (6x Platinum), 'Starboy' (4x Platinum),
'After Hours' (3x Platinum),
'Dawn FM' (Platinum).

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Let's be real how many of these were reference tracks given to him?

Who cares? Soul, r&b, disco, pop, even country are all genres where it’s common for the talent to be given a song. This ain’t hip hop where the talent is you penning a track

 

[zayk35]

I tend to agree. I don't care who was on their way, they didn't get there for whatever reason or another. Usher has been around literally for 30 yrs and accomplished everything that makes a "Superstar" with a Diamond to boot. Had ppl going to Vegas in the middle of the summer for the sole purpose of seeing him. That's some Elvis shyt, Chris Brown is a great artist but he still got that lil kid type voice. Plus the landscape is fractured so ppl really only listen to things in their bubble. Usher comes from the old school record label situation which yes behind the scenes it may have been some fukkery but they knew how to push an artist in those days.

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Had, he's trending in the other direction:
5 RIAA certified studio album –
'Kiss Land' (Gold),
'Beauty Behind the Madness' (6x Platinum), 'Starboy' (4x Platinum),
'After Hours' (3x Platinum),
'Dawn FM' (Platinum).

Yes, he’s following the arc almost every star does, they are new, build to their peak for a few years, and eventually become old news/start selling less until they become a legacy act. Literally all of the people we’re talking about in this thread have experienced the same - kellz, Chris, usher, even Bruno

 

[dora_da_destroyer]

Jason Derulo had his time in the sun as well as Ne-Yo. NPR clearly doesn't listen to R&B.

Definitely don’t consider Derulo r&b, but I also don’t know his music past singles so maybe he was making r&b on album cuts

 

[™BlackPearl The Empress™]

Chris Brown is not as big as Usher, but he was superstar status and he has enough hits to do the half time show if he wasnt considered toxic

Chris Brown is bigger than Usher

 

[™BlackPearl The Empress™]

Here we go with the bu bu bu bu Chris Brown shyt

For the slow ones, pop and r&b is not the same

Usher does a lot of pop music as well

 

[Cakebatter]

Chris Brown is bigger than Usher

Usher just released his latest album on Feb 9. When those initial sales figures come in, we'll know for sure who is bigger.

 

[KnowledgeOfSelf17]

Chris Brown is bigger than Usher

Nah uh, CHRIS is blackballed. His gangsta bullshyt dropped his stock.