The UR Experience was the fifth concert tour by American artist Usher. Visiting North America and Europe, the tour played over 40 concerts in 2014 and 2015.

Background

The tour was announced on September 2, 2014.

"With 'The UR Experience', I want to give my fans an ever-changing live show full of surprises and special guests", says Usher. "I am really excited to be with my fans and give them an Usher experience like they've never seen or heard before."

To promote the tour, Raymond released a 30-second black and white video of him training, dancing and preparing for the upcoming tour. Prior to the tour Usher began working with fashion designer

Kerby Jean-Raymond Kerby Jean-Raymond is a Haitian American fashion designer who is the founder of the menswear label Pyer Moss. Career Kerby Jean-Raymond first came into the spotlight for his presentation of Pyer Moss' Spring 2016 Menswear Collection during Ne ...

For the tour, they created a custom Pyer Moss bike jacket that he wore over a mess shirt with black cargo pants. Completing the outfit he wore

Martin Margiela Martin Margiela (born 9 April 1957) is a Belgian fashion designer, artist, and founder of French luxury fashion house Maison Margiela. Throughout his career, Margiela has maintained a low profile, refusing to grant face-to-face interviews o ...

chain embellished red suede sneakers. The November 30, 2014 concert, held at Rexall Place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; was livestreamed via Yahoo Live!.

Critical reception

The tour was met with positive reviews. Jon Paroles from ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote: "He has established himself as one of R&B's supreme performers and craftsmen, following through on what he learned from

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

in particular." Ashley Lee of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote: "His routines were sharp, effortless and even playful at times, and he didn't need to rely on constant gyrating to entertain. Usher also shined vocally when he took the time to do so: bouncing his gold mic stand during 'Caught Up', hitting the top of his range on 'Climax', adding extra runs to 'U Remind Me', impressively closing 'Burn' a cappella." Robbyn Mitchell of the ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single y ...

'' wrote: "Usher reminded fans constantly that they've been supporting him for 20 years in the music industry -- an unfathomable stat whenever he paused to smile his charming schoolboy girl". A.R. Shaw from ''Rolling Out'' commented: "With new age R&B acts such

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. According to '' Billboard'', Brown is one of the most successful R&B singers of his generation, having often been referred to by many contempo ...

and

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

building their presence in music, some may forget Usher's overall impact on the genre. But the 'UR Experience Tour' proves, again, that Usher's legendary status remains intact.". Gerrick D. Kennedy of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' wrote: "An Usher show has long been an exhilarating affair packed with high-octane choreography held together by sleek, masterful showmanship." François Marchand of ''

The Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published si ...

'' states, "Usher can embody the cybernetic physicality of a MJ and the pure funk swagger of a JB (as on party jam Twisted — 'Hit me one more time!'), and you can applaud an artist who doesn't rely so much on tape playback and shows just how much blood and sweat he leaves out there on the stage." David Smyth from the ''

London Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' gave the performance in London 4 out of 5 stars. He said: "Usher himself was quite the mover and shaker, invoking his idol Michael Jackson as he slid and shimmied about the stage in gold trainers. During one triumphant spell, including 'Twisted' and 'Caught Up', his band became an old-style soul revue, horns blasting while the lights blazed. There were snippets of

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

and, more surprisingly,

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is often regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s list of ...

Opening acts

DJ Cassidy Cassidy Durango Milton Willy Podell (born 1981), known as DJ Cassidy, is an American DJ, record producer and MC. With his trademark boaters, cricket sweaters, bow ties, color-blocked tuxedos, and 24-carat-gold microphone, Cassidy became known f ...

August Alsina August Anthony Alsina Jr.(April 8, 2013)R&B Singer August Alsina Talks Working With The Dream, Preps Def Jam Debut, ''Life + Times'' (confirms middle name; other sources confirm he is a "junior") (born September 3, 1992) is an American singer f ...

Nico & Vinz Nico & Vinz are a Norwegian duo consisting of Kahouly Nicolay "Nico" Sereba from Holmlia, Oslo and Vincent "Vinzy V" Dery from Lambertseter, Oslo. They formed in 2010 as Envy but changed their name to Nico & Vinz by the end of 2012. They are comm ...

Setlist

The following setlist was obtained from the concert held on November 1, 2014; at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It does not present all concerts for the duration of the tour. #"

My Way "My Way" is a song popularized in 1969 by Frank Sinatra set to the music of the French song "Comme d'habitude" composed by Jacques Revaux with lyrics by Gilles Thibaut and Claude François and first performed in 1967 by Claude François. Its E ...

" #" OMG" #" Love in This Club" #" You Make Me Wanna..." #"Video Sequence" #"

Nice & Slow "Nice & Slow" is a song from American singer-songwriter Usher's second album, ''My Way'' (1997). Released on January 6, 1998, the song became Usher's first number-one single on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in February 1998. The song was w ...

" #"

U Remind Me "U Remind Me" is a song by American singer Usher. It was written by Edmund "Eddie Hustle" Clement and Anita McCloud and produced by Clement for Usher's third studio album ''8701'' (2001). A mid-tempo R&B track, the song is about a man who meets ...

" #"Twisted" #" Caught Up" #"

She Came to Give it to You "She Came to Give It to You" is a song by American singer Usher, featuring Nicki Minaj and uncredited vocals from Pharrell Williams. It was released on July 8, 2014, through RCA Records. RCA Records sent the song to US rhythmic contemporary an ...

" #"Video Sequence" #"

Climax Climax may refer to: Language arts * Climax (narrative), the point of highest tension in a narrative work * Climax (rhetoric), a figure of speech that lists items in order of importance Biology * Climax community, a biological community th ...

" #"Seduction" #"That's What It's Made For" #"Confessions Part I" / "

Confessions Part II "Confessions Part II" is a song by R&B singer Usher, produced by Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox for Usher's fourth album '' Confessions''. Written by Usher, Dupri and Cox, the song is a confession of a man to his woman about his impregn ...

" #"Instrumental Sequence" #"

Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

" #" There Goes My Baby" #"

U Got It Bad "U Got It Bad" is a song by American singer Usher, released through Arista Records as the second official single from his third studio album ''8701'' (2001). It was written by the rapper/producer Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox, and co-prod ...

" #"

Superstar A superstar is someone who has great popular appeal and is widely known, prominent, or successful in their field. Celebrities referred to as "superstars" may include individuals who work as actors, musicians, athletes, and other media-based profe ...

" #"Video Sequence" #"Bad Girl" #"

Good Kisser "Good Kisser" is a song by American singer Usher. The single was released on May 5, 2014, by RCA Records. The accompanying music video debuted the same day. The song was written by Andrew "Pop" Wansel, Bobby Bloom, Jeff Barry, Ronald "Flippa" Col ...

" #"

U Don't Have to Call "U Don't Have to Call" is a song by American singer Usher. It was written by Pharrell Williams and produced by the Neptunes for Usher's third studio album, ''8701'' (2001). The song was released as the third US single from the album and the fifth ...

" #"

DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love "DJ Got Us Fallin' in Love" is a song by American singer Usher, featuring guest vocals from American rapper Pitbull, who co-wrote the song with the producers Shellback and Max Martin, with additional writing from Savan Kotecha. It was release ...

" #" Yeah!" #"Video Sequence" #" Without You"

Tour dates

Box office score data

Personnel

*Lead Artist *Lead Vocals/Guitar/Drums/Percussion: Usher Raymond *The Funk Rock Orchestra *Guitar/Keyboards/MD: Natural *Drums/Percussion: Aaron Spears *Percussion/DJ/MPC/Sampling/String Programmer/Hype Man: Iz Avila *Keyboards/Organ/Synthesizer/MD: Buddy Strong *Keyboards/Keybass/Keytar/MD: Valdez Brantley *Additional Musicians *Bass Guitar/Playback Engineer: Andre "Dre" Bowman (on certain dates) *Horns: Rashawn (Trumpet), Rob (Sax), Sean (Trumpet), and Kevin (Trombone) *Vocalists *Backing vocalists: Kristal Lyndriette,

Gene Noble Gene Noble (Born James Eugene Roston III) is an American singer and songwriter, based in New York and Los Angeles. He is best known for the 2016 song " Only Love" which received airplay on radio stations around the world. He has written songs f ...

and Neka Brown *Dancers *Choreographer: Jamaica Craft *Dancers: QuitaBee, Eyal Pipo Layani ,Kento Mori, Josh Smith, Jessica Digi (Europe only), Yusuke Nakai, Marc Marvelous,

Ashley Everett Ashley Chrisha Marie Everett (born April 19, 1989) is an American dancer and actress. She is best known as lead backup dancer and dance captain for Beyoncé, and has worked with such artists as Usher, Jennifer Lopez, Ne-Yo, Tina Turner, Ciara, S ...

, Antonio Hudnell and Naeemah McCowan

Notes

References

{{Usher 2014 concert tours 2015 concert tours Usher (musician) concert tours