Usher Reacts to Viral Meme from His Tiny Desk Performance | Video

Usher performs during The 2022 Beloved Benefit, Credit Ivan Thomas
Usher performs during The 2022 Beloved Benefit – Credit Ivan Thomas

*Usher is speaking out about his viral moment from his Tiny Desk concert over the summer. 

The stellar performance received a meme makeover from Black Twitter and the singer took notice. 

“I was blown away, I was shocked,” Usher said to Twitter Music of his viral success, per Hip Hop DX. “I think I was in Los Angeles somewhere and they were like, ‘Yo you know you going viral?’ I’m like, ‘It’s good right?”…then I looked on and I saw a few people do it. Then I saw more people doing what I had done and it just kept going and kept going and I was like wow this is amazing. This is something special.”

As reported by Complex, the meme-worthy moment from the performance came when Usher kicked off his hit single “Confessions Part II,” which features him saying “watch this.” The viral meme shows Usher using his open fingers to motion over his eyes as he whispers, “Watch this.” See the meme via the Twitter post below.

READ MORE: Usher Comes for Diddy: ‘R&B is Dead’ Debate is ‘Blasphemous’ | VIDEO

“I don’t know where the inspiration sometimes comes from,” said Usher about the pose. “It could have been anything. It could have been Prince. Somebody had speculated that Prince had done something like this before. I don’t know, but I do know that I felt like that was the right thing to do in that moment that would just kinda like give people a good time. It just happened, I didn’t plan it. It just happened.”

Usher’s Tiny Desk concert prompted fellow crooner YK Osiris to dub the R&B crooner the “King of R&B.”

“I mean, you call me that, I’ll definitely carry it,” Usher responded to the compliment on Thursday (August 25) while a guest on Bevy Smith’s show Bevelations.

“I’m a tilt my crown knowing that I’m standing on the shoulders of all of the icons of our time. It is Michael [Jackson] that I stand on the shoulders of, it is James Brown that I stand on the shoulders of, it is Ronald Isley I stand on the shoulders of, it is Luther Vandross, it is Barry White, it is Teddy Pendergrass,” he added. 

“It is all of these incredible artists like Marvin Gaye that will never be forgotten as long as there’s a breath in my body to breathe. It’s all of them. And as a result of that, yeah, you wanna give me that crown, you tell me who gon’ do it better,” Usher continued.

Watch his full Tiny Desk performance below.

YouTube video

We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!

End DEI - via Grok AI
Tori Martin - screenshot
Anthony Michael Hobbs
Gugu Mbatha-Raw via Apple TV+
Connie Boss Alexander - screenshot
A$AP Rocky during trial - screenshot
Drake (Getty)
Tamika Mallory - Getty
D'Angelo - Getty
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3
Cherelle Parker - screenshot
Read More
Kanye West and Bianca Censori on Grammy Red Carpet - screenshot
Read More
Beyond the Gates
Read More
Damon Wayans
Read More
Denzel Washington - Gladiator II
Read More
Learjet after crashing - via Grok AI
Read More
Sunny Hostin
Read More
Amtrak
Read More
Will Smith (AI character from 'I Am Legend 2'
Read More
Bevelyn Beatty Williams
Read More

POPULAR

Zero Day/Robert De Niro
Netflix Drops Official ‘Zero Day’ Trailer Starring Robert De Niro and Angela Bassett
Taco Bell customer and security guard who slapped her
Crunch Slap Supreme: Taco Bell Security Guard Caught Brutally Slapping Black Woman in Viral Video | WATCH
Beyond the Gates
CBS to Air Special on New Daytime Soap Opera 'Beyond The Gates'
Kendrick Lamar (Getty Images - CNN Newsource)
Who is Worthy to Follow Up Kendrick Lamar At 2026 Super Bowl Halftime Show?
Denzel Washington - via Grok AI
Wait. Whaat?! Denzel Washington Forced to 'Slow Down' After Nearly Biting His Tongue Off
Raising Kanan Fourth Season
New Trailer for 'Power Book III: Raising Kanan' Hints at Intense Season 4 | Watch
Jalen Hurts - Getty
Jalen Hurts' Mother Confronts Fox Sports Analyst Nick Wright over Criticism
Taco Bell customer and security guard who slapped her
LA African American Leaders Call for Justice Following Slap Attack on Black Woman at Taco Bell Cantina - Presser Called for 5pm Today!
Irv Gotti - Getty
Irv Gotti's Family Expects a Packed Church for His Funeral at Greater Allen A.M.E. Cathedral