Straying from his usual soulful crooning about ladies and love, Usher is tackling politics in his new music. The R&B singer attended President Barack Obama's inauguration and told http://MTV.com that he dedicated a new song (which will appear on his forthcoming new album) to the voter-registration process. Usher took the stage at the “We Are One” inaugural concert in Washington D.C. the Sunday prior to the inauguration of our 44th president and said his political experience over the past few years has positively impacted his music, revealing more about the song: “I did a song that I dedicated to the voter-registration process called ‘Hush.' [It is] primarily a saying, ‘If you're not going to do anything about it, then hush.' Consider it community service—you physically taking time out of your day to go stand on a line. Because a lot of people, it was hard for them. But making that choice to go and vote could make a difference.”



Usher was first plucked out of Atlanta obscurity (a talent show) by a La Face record exec and asked to audition for La Face co-founder L.A. Reid when he was just 14. Born Usher Raymond, the fledgling singer stripped down his name to simply “Usher” and released his eponymous debut album in 1994. P. Diddy (who went by Sean Combs back then) was on the production team and the album's lead single “Think of You” garnered Usher instant recognition. Usher recorded a national Coca-Cola holiday jingle and released a duet with Monica all before graduating from high school and then issued his sophomore album My Way in 1997.”You Make Me Wanna,” the lead single from My Way, was a hit and “Nice & Slow” and “My Way” followed suit, making Usher R&B's ‘It Boy.' Around this time, Usher tried his hand at acting with roles in 1998's The Faculty and 1999's Light It Up while continuing to deliver to his music audience with the concert recording Live in 1999. His third full-length album 8701 followed in 2001 and three years later Usher scored with the club anthem “Yeah!,” which featured Ludacris and was produced by Lil Jon.

In 2004 Usher received a Grammy for Best Contemporary R&B Album for his fourth album Confessions, a decade after he first appeared on the music scene. The dreamy singer-turned-actor starred in the 2005 film In the Mix before releasing his most recent album, 2008's Here I Stand. “Hush” will appear on Usher's in-the-works album, which is the follow-up to 2008's platinum-selling effort Here I Stand. Usher previously told http://Billboard.com that he wants his next album to be a “worldwide entertainment experience,” revealing that he wants to record with artists in studios across the globe. Thus far, Usher has clocked studio time in Las Vegas and has confirmed collaborations with Pharrell Williams and Maroon 5's Adam Levine. Usher's second son, Naviyd Ely Raymond, was born in December; he is married to stylist Tameka Foster. Check out http://www.stubhub.com/usher-tickets for Usher tickets.