Usher is joined by surprise guest Big Sean as he kicks off two-night Detroit stand at LCA
In a concert season rife with nostalgia for the 1990s and 2000s, Usher arrived in Detroit on Thursday night as one of the more intriguing retro prospects of the moment.
Ten years after his last U.S. tour — and seven months after a Super Bowl halftime performance that thrust him back into the national eye — the suave, much-decorated R&B superstar kicked off a two-night stand at Little Caesars Arena as his Past Present Future tour rolls on.
The capacity crowd had come primed for an evening devoted to their much-loved singing-dancing sensation, but it turned out not to be Usher’s night alone: Detroit rapper Big Sean drew a roar from the hometown crowd when he emerged onstage 70 minutes in, capping Usher’s performance of “Superstar” with his own new song sampling that 2004 single, “Who You Are (Superstar),” from his just-released album “Better Me Than You.”
Indeed, Usher handed over his show to the rapper for another 10 minutes, as the two made their way through the LCA crowd to a satellite stage complete with cocktail bar, while Usher poured drinks and Big Sean served up a six-song set of career staples like “Blessings” and “Bounce Back.”
For Big Sean, it was his second Thursday evening show: Hours earlier, he’d played a 30-minute Lager House set supporting the cryptocurrency advocacy group Stand with Crypto. At LCA, he called Usher a “national treasure,” thanked him for licensing the “Superstar” sample, and said the two have vowed to make new music together.
More: In visit to Detroit, Usher praises Boys & Girls Club after-school programs
It certainly wasn’t hard to convince this audience of Usher’s treasured status. In his heyday, Usher delivered concerts known for igniting breathless pandemonium among enraptured, estrogen-heavy audiences. And while Thursday’s show may not have elicited quite that frenzied reaction, Usher did manage to prompt shrieks with each flash of abs or athletic dance move.
The Past Present Future Tour is a hits-heavy show straddling Usher’s musical eras — from his pure R&B days to his dance-oriented years and up through his latest record, “Coming Home,” his first new work in eight years.
The first half of the 1 hour, 45 minute set was oddly disjointed and lacking spark, exacerbated by a puzzling sound mix that washed out the vocals and left much of the singing in the hands of the crowd. It was clear, too, that many of these old-school fans weren’t too acquainted with Usher’s new material.
He played into the tour’s Past Present Future branding with a retrospective approach, including date stamps on the video screen behind him as he revisited milestone moments in his career, joined by a troupe of dancers along with a live band flanking the stage. He headed “all the way back to 1993” early on, dancing along to a young version of himself beamed onscreen to the sounds of “Call Me a Mack.”
The show tightened up as it went. The stage became a roller rink as Usher, decked out in a sequined outfit and skates, made his way through “Don’t Waste My Time” and “Love in this Club.” He took things to the bedroom with “Nice & Slow,” and later to the club with 2010 dance-pop fare like “OMG” and “DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love.”
Like Usher’s recent Las Vegas residencies, the show brought a set list heavy on material from “Confessions,” the blockbuster 2004 album that remains his crowning achievement. At LCA, his best moments came when he tapped that early-2000s period, often manning the stage alone, letting his limber voice make its impact. Few singers in the past quarter-century of popular music can sell a song like Usher — and Thursday’s concert had an audience eager to buy, only to be left short for much of the night.
Detroit is the seventh city on a transatlantic tour that will run through next spring, and the 45-year-old Usher hit LCA with seasoned showmanship, and seemingly recovered from the neck injury that delayed the tour’s launch in August.
The Little Caesars Arena show, which wrapped with a festive performance of “Yeah!,” capped a busy day for the veteran singer: His concert movie, “Usher: Rendezvous in Paris,” kicked off a weekend-long worldwide run, including showings at cinemas across metro Detroit. The morning had brought an official release date was announced for the 20th-anniversary edition of “Confessions,” due Nov. 1.
And he spent Thursday afternoon on Detroit’s west side in support of Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Michigan, speaking about the value of after-school programs.
Usher will do it all again at Little Caesars Arena Friday night. Scattered seats and resale tickets are available via Ticketmaster. (Note: Usher took the stage at LCA Thursday just after 9 p.m.)
Contact Detroit Free Press music writer Brian McCollum: 313-223-4450 or [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Usher joined by surprise guest Big Sean as he opens LCA doubleheader
