Musician Usher gets star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Usher was honored with the 2,588th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Wednesday (September 7), ahead of the release of his latest album,”Hard to Love,” and film, “Hands of Stone.”

The ceremony, right off of Hollywood Blvd., was attended by other musicians including Stevie Wonder, will.i.am, Miguel, and Kelly Rowland, but it was those who went before them to whom Usher paid tribute.

“Namely Prince – I wish he could have been here. Michael (Jackson), I wish he could have been here. James Brown, I wish he could have been here. Because they were so important, and Luther Vandross, I wish he could have been here as well, they were so important in shaping who I am as an entertainer,” Usher told the crowd.

Usher is an eight-time Grammy winner, including one in 2013 for best rhythm and blues performance for “Climax.”

Usher has sold more than 65 million albums. His 2004 album “Confessions” was the best-selling solo album in the first decade of the 21st century and brought him one of his three Grammys in 2005 for best contemporary R&B album.

Born Usher Raymond IV in Dallas, Texas on Oct. 14, 1978, he was raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and later moved to Atlanta. His mother entered him in local singing competitions when he was 12 years old. He then caught the attention of L.A. Reid from LaFace Records.

Usher also has an acting career, including portraying boxing champion “Sugar” Ray Leonard in the recently released Roberto Duran biopic “Hands of Stone.”