ATLANTA — Usher was given a conquering hero's welcome home in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Following his legendary Super Bowl LVIII halftime show performance, Grammy Award-winning artist Usher was celebrated both by the city and for the release of his new album, "Coming Home."
First, he was at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where he was given the city's highest honor, the Phoenix Award, at the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame outside the stadium.
The superstar was in a celebratory mood fresh off his Super Bowl halftime performance, saying, “This is officially the United States of Atlanta dammit.”
“That was part of the reason why I selected the people whom I did for the Super Bowl because I wanted the rest of the world to understand the amazing culture Atlanta has to offer – no different than NYC, Los Angeles, London, Paris," Usher said.
He added he "wanted the world to understand the importance of this, the importance of preserving our legacy."
"This is the beginning of something that’ll continue to grow," he said, "When I’m dead and gone, these paved roads will mean so much more to so many people because of what this city produces. We open our arms to the world to come here and understand our culture, celebrate our historical Black colleges.”
Another event, co-hosted by Amazon and Clark Atlanta University, celebrated the 25-year journey of his New Look Foundation (UNL), a nonprofit that tackles the systemic barriers preventing teens from graduating from high school and college. In addition, Amazon is donating $25,000 to Usher's New Look Foundation.