Tribute: Usher – Singin’ In The Rain

Usher – “Singin’ In The Rain” –  A Tribute to Gene Kelly.

Back in 2007, at one of the many pinnacles of his career, the multi-talented Usher Raymond delivered a stellar tribute performance of the legendary Gene Kelly’s iconic 1952 “Singin’ In The Rain” performance. This was created for and shown at the “Movies Rock: A Celebration of Music in Film” held at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles, CA. This tribute was executed eloquently with Usher’s own flavor, while keeping true to the original.

Gene Kelly (RIP) was a GOAT in his craft and beyond talented as a singer, actor, producer, choreographer, director, and so on. His “Singin’ in The Rain” performance illustrates his perfectionism and dedication to the craft of performing. A definite legend. I think this is what made Usher’s tribute to Gene Kelly and this musical so cool, he’s clearly a fan of art and respects the evolution of dance and performance where he is now considered one of the greatest entertainers among the likes of Michael Jackson and Chris Brown.

In his concert DVD’s (yes, those old things) you can experience his dedication to showmanship and learning every aspect of his shows to deliver high quality entertainment. Having been to many of his concerts, he goes all out, even in 2025 for his latest tour.

His nod to the hip hop culture has been cool too. In one of his first music videos for the song “My Way,” he featured solos from hip hop legend Mr. Wiggles of Rock Steady Crew, among other uncredited BBoy’s as stunt doubles and soloists. The climax of the video is a street style battle sequence on a linoleum dance floor between the two crews lead by Usher and Tyrese. I might add the video opens with a smooth jazz musical intro too. Then for his 8701 album, in the music video for “You Remind Me,” Usher performs a dance solo that ends with a baby “sort-of” hollow-back freeze. I appreciate his attempt and to his credit in later years, he added more lean and arch to it. Not long after, another legend BBoy and locker Flo-Master became one of his principal tour dancers, collaborator, and friend.

All of this to say, dance is everything, Usher is a legend, Gene Kelly was an OG, and both of these performances are worth watching multiple times.

ENJOY!!!

BONUS – with a brief cameo from the late Heavy D:
Usher – The Making of “Singin’ In The Rain”

*The header image is a screen shot from the bonus link above, Usher – The Making of “Singin In The Rain.”