Usher Brings Out Boyz II Men, LL Cool J in Los Angeles: Concert Review

As Usher ticked towards the end of his second of four nights at Los Angeles’ Intuit Dome, Boyz II Men’s Shawn Stockman, who emerged alongside bandmate Wanya Morris to perform a soul-stirring rendition of “End of the Road,” paused to give the evening’s star some high marks.

“This man has been in business a long time,” said Stockman of Usher, who stood next to him in a floor-length black fur coat. “This man has amassed a lot of hit records. This man has sold out stadiums and arenas across the entire planet Earth. There’s no one, in my opinion, that has come close. First, there’s Michael. Michael inspired us all. First, there’s Michael. Then there’s Usher.”

That’s a lofty designation to bestow upon any performer, but Usher makes a strong case. After all, just this year, the 45-year-old has continued to hit new career highs more than 30 years after his debut. With tens of millions of records sold and a dedicated space etched into the pop firmament, he commanded the Super Bowl stage, fresh on the heels of his ninth studio album “Coming Home.” He crossed the $100 million threshold for his “My Way” residency in Las Vegas, and swiftly embarked on his current “Past Present Future” tour, which kicked off in Atlanta last month.

But it all boils down to talent, a muscle that Usher has worked for decades. During his nearly two-and-a-half-hour show at Intuit Dome, he toured his discography with professionalism and ease, revisiting the smashes that have stacked over the years. He hit choreographed dance moves with precision, glided across the stage on rollerskates in a rhinestone-adorned outfit, and landed every vocal run with invigorated flair. The non-stop spectacular was an assault on the senses in the best way, something both singular to Usher and in lockstep with the legends that came before him.

At its core, the “Past Present Future” tour is a testament to how fluidly Usher has adapted to and defined the times. Throughout the evening, he took attendees on a journey spanning back to the start of his career — he even played a clip of his 14-year-old self dancing to his debut single “Call Me a Mack” — revisiting his various music eras, from suave R&B (“My Way,” “You Make Me Wanna”) and stark balladry (“Confessions Part II,” “Burn”) to of-the-moment EDM (“DJ Got Us Fallin’ in Love”) and timeless pop bangers (“Yeah!”).

He set the show against an interactive stage setup, with a two-story LED cube touting a garage door-like opening at its base. Usher came and went from the stage between fistfuls of songs, changing into a stream of new outfits to match the vibe of the tracks at hand. At the Intuit Dome, a new Los Angeles venue that Bruno Mars helped open last month, he made the most of its layout, trotting to the back of the arena midway through to sprinkle some Atlanta flavor on the VIP section, which counted attendees Jennifer Hudson and Angel Reese. As dancers worked the poles on either side of him, he dangled cherries in a few patrons’ mouths — a saucy complement to his 2014 single “I Don’t Mind” — bringing Magic City to the West Coast.

At one point, Usher gave brotherly love to another living legend LL Cool J, who appeared before Boyz II Men to run through “Luv U Better” and “Doin’ It.” Usher handed over the reins to the rapper for a mini-set that culminated in “Hey Lover,” LL’s duet with Boyz II Men that of course segued into the group’s classic ballad “End of the Road.” As Stockman and Morris sang alongside Usher, the crowd belted the song with passion in chorus.

Timeless music has that sort of effect on fans, and Usher’s discography continually showed for it. By the time he rounded out the 30-plus song set with his feature on David Guetta’s “Without You,” he had the audience in a rapt vice grip — decades-long careers don’t happen by chance, and Usher once again proved why he’s stuck around this long.