News Every Day | Yesterday, 22:02

Supercharged Usher defies time in first of three Chicago shows

That cautionary note before Usher’s Super Bowl LVIII halftime show back in February could have come in handy Monday night at the United Center. “This show is Rated U: May cause singing, dancing, sweating, gyrating, possible relationship issues” is a message that still tracks on the R&B King’s saucy, sensual and brilliantly choreographed Past Present Future Tour.

It’s Usher’s first tour in eight years and comes off an in-demand, two-year residency in Las Vegas, with much of that pomp and showmanship carried over into the latest extravaganza, now settled in Chicago for three sold-out dates.

The Past Present Future Tour serves its purpose as an all-encompassing retrospective celebrating 30 years since the Atlanta talent released his self-titled debut in 1994, dominated the 2000s musical landscape, and emerged as a bonafide sex symbol to many of his fans. He’s still able to elicit the screams at opportune moments in his set, whether it’s appearing shirtless in a fur coat or getting close-up shots in the camera to make it feel like he's singing “My Boo” right to you — and only you.

The two-hour throwback featured cherry-picked song selections (35 total) from across Usher’s nine-album suite — from his first teenage-era single “Call Me A Mack” in 1993 to his Grammy-winning single “Yeah!” in 2004 to works from his latest album “Coming Home,” released just days before that Super Bowl showdown.

But the music — often truncated into one long medley — was, at times, merely a soundtrack for the over-the-top stage show. One that included synchronized roller skating, strip club shenanigans at a VIP section in the stadium called the G Spot, throwing out piles of his Ushbucks "cash," hand-feeding maraschino cherries to women in the stands and even an on-stage marriage proposal for one of the members of Usher’s dancing troupe. “There is ‘love in this club’ for real,” Usher exclaimed, beaming with his signature grin at the couple's happy moment.

Usher performs the first of three Chicago shows at the United Center on Monday night.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

If there was a theme to it all, it was one that relied on high-tech futurism to bring us into a time-machine purgatory. From the moment the show started, an omnipresent robotic narrator asked from within giant LED video walls, “What if you could relive the past?” and the show effectively did so over two hours.

In 2024, "eras tours" have become an industry norm, but few artists have actually defied physics and brought back time the way Usher does on this trek. . Using a mix of AI and hologram technology that could make Elon Musk blush, Usher was able to interact with versions of himself from years past, from the smiling little tot full of promise to the young teenage protégé making a name for himself to his “Confessions”-era hyper persona. The years have been very good to Usher — leading to more than 150 million albums sold (one of the biggest commercial artists of all time), eight Grammys, 18 Billboard Music Awards and a recent BET Lifetime Achievement Award.

Usher and his backup dancers perform at the United Center on Monday.

Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Times

In a way, he’s able to preserve his multi-faceted abilities over the continuum. At 46, Usher can still bust out handstands and fancy footwork that defy gravity, breathlessly sing at the top of his register, and change into a dozen costumes without ever faltering. Of course, his accompanying seven-piece band (with full horn section), three backup singers and 12 unbelievable dancers made it all look easy, too. A true standout of the night was the unified effort on “U Got It Bad” — as Usher belted the lyrics while down on his knees and a guitar solo swallowed up the stadium, all while several of the dancers acted out scenes behind him, evocatively interpreting the lyrics as real-life scenarios.

There were also some cringey moments, such as unearthing a few songs from the ever-problematic Chris Brown, or drawing out the “There Goes My Baby” cherry-feeding bit into 20 long minutes; it would’ve been more entertaining to hear full versions of Usher’s songs than watch scores of women play tongue wars with the fruit.

As video boards ran messages that asked, “Are you sure you want to relive these memories? If you could do it all over again, would you?,” there’s no doubt the answer was a hearty yes, from both Usher and the throngs of fans assembled.

NOTE: Usher returns to United Center for two more shows, October 29 and 31.

Usher performs to a sold-out crowd at the United Center on Monday night in Chicago.

Theo Wargo/Getty Images