Truth Tour

The Truth Tour[1] was the second concert tour by American recording artist Usher. Visiting Africa, North America and Europe, the tour accompanies his fourth studio album, Confessions. The tour commenced on May 21, 2004 in Johannesburg and concluded on October 15, 2004 in Hartford. It was ranked as one of the highest-grossing tours of 2004 in North America, grossing $29.1 million.[2]

Truth Tour
Tour by Usher
Promotional poster for the tour
Associated albumConfessions
Start dateMay 21, 2004
End dateOctober 15, 2004
Legs3
No. of shows72
Usher concert chronology

Background

This was Raymond's second tour. He stated to the Daily Press: "before I get ready to put my shows together, I always go to New York. I go to Vegas. I go to Atlantic City, and I sit down at the shows, and I get some inspiration from there", Usher said. He also looks at tapes of old "Soul Train" TV shows to get ideas for choreography.[3] Raymond enlisted stylist Tameka Foster to create his wardrobe for the tour.

Concert synopsis

The tour set featured a small stage up on top of the main stage, where the band played. Usher was occupied by his eight supporting dancers. Attached to the smaller stage was a mini platform which lowered to the main stage attached by two big staircases on both sides of it. To the left, a group of circular staircases climbed to the top, and to the right, there was a fire escape replete with steps and an elevator. Usher's entrance was a short movie showing him getting dressed and walking to the concert venue, following on with him performing the opening song "Caught Up", with Usher dressed in all white while wearing an all-white glove. The second song performed was "You Make Me Wanna...", where two dancers stayed on the top stage with Usher while two male dancers came out to the lower level with two chairs each in their hands. Each dancer threw one chair up to the top, with Usher already in hand with his own chair, following a set dance routine from the video. Following this, Usher performed "U Remind Me", where he danced by himself during a breakdown of the track doing his signature handstand that makes the initials "UR".

Next he performed "My Way" dressed in the attire from his video doing similar routines after the song begun a dance break where Usher and his dancer began breakdancing. He changed wardrobe and appears on the small stage wearing a black dress shirt, black fedora a and white studded pants singing "Follow Me". This leads "That's What It's Made For", before he goes into his next song he shows gratitude to his audience. He begins singing excerpts from "Superstar" with the help of his background singers while on top of the small stage. He walks over to the circular staircase where his mic stand is and he begins singing "Nice & Slow". The mini platform lifts him in the sky as he begins to sing "U Got it Bad". Next he introduces his eight dancers into him singing "U Don't Have to Call".

Just Blaze playing tour DJ appears on the top platform plays the next song "Throwback" that he produced. Usher walks out in Michael Vick's Atlanta Falcons jersey to sing his verse, Rico Loves joins him on stage rapping his verse. Following on with the song "Bad Girl", where Usher was dressed up in a lavender suit and came out in a chrome chair. During the song, Usher picked out a female from the crowd, transitioning to "Superstar", singing to the fan. Usher continued singing to the fan, performing "Can U Handle It?", closing the song by kissing the fan who then left the stage. A video interlude played then Usher came out sitting in a chair performing with Confessions then Kanye West joins him rap his verse from Confessions Remix. Completing another wardrobe chain he comes out in his signature outfit an Atlanta Braves fitted cap, Blazer, and Jeans singing "Burn". He finishes his performance doing the hit single "Yeah!".

Broadcasts and recordings

The concert was recorded on October 2 and 3, 2004 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, GA.[4] Showtime broadcast the show during a special titled One Night, One Star: Usher Live at Coliseo de Puerto Rico.[5] Raymond during this concert special brought out special guests Lil Jon, Ludacris, Daddy Yankee, Fat Joe, and Beyoncé to perform a dance routine to "Bad Girl" choreographed by Frank Gatson, Jr..

On September 16, 2005, the DVD of The Truth Tour: Behind The Tour was certified 7x Platinum by RIAA.

Personnel
  • Musical director: Valdez Brantley
  • Drums: Aaron Spears
  • Guitars: Juan "Johnny" Najera
  • Keyboards/MD: Arthur "Buddy" Strong
  • Background vocalist: Sy Smith, Di Reed, BJ Sledge, Brandon Rodgers, Ryon Lovett

Opening acts

Setlist

The following setlist was obtained from the concert held on August 5, 2004, at the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.[8]

  1. "Video Sequence"
  2. "Caught Up"
  3. "You Make Me Wanna..."
  4. "U Remind Me"
  5. "My Way"
  6. "Follow Me"
  7. "That's What It's Made For"
  8. "Nice & Slow"
  9. "U Got It Bad"
  10. "Video Sequence"
  11. "U Don't Have to Call"
  12. "Throwback"
  13. "Bad Girl"
  14. "Can U Handle It?"
  15. "Superstar"
  16. "Do It to Me"
  17. "Confessions (Interlude)" / "Confessions Part II"
Encore
  1. "Video Sequence"
  2. "Burn"
  3. "Yeah!"

Tour dates
Date City Country Venue
Africa
May 21, 2004 Johannesburg South Africa The Dome at Northgate
May 23, 2004 Cape Town Bellville Velodrome
May 25, 2004 Durban ICC Arena
May 27, 2004 Johannesburg The Dome at Northgate
Europe[9]
June 4, 2004 Stuttgart Germany Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle
June 5, 2004 Oberhausen König Pilsener Arena
June 6, 2004 Frankfurt Festhalle Frankfurt
June 8, 2004 Copenhagen Denmark Forum Copenhagen
June 9, 2004 Stockholm Sweden Stockholm Globe Arena
June 11, 2004 Bremen Germany Stadthalle Bremen
June 12, 2004 Hamburg Color Line Arena
June 13, 2004 Berlin Velodrom
June 14, 2004 Munich Kulturhalle Zenith
June 16, 2004 Marseille France Le Dôme de Marseille
June 17, 2004 Münchenstein Switzerland St. Jakobshalle
June 19, 2004 Forest Belgium Forest National
June 20, 2004 Paris France Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
June 21, 2004 Rotterdam Netherlands Rotterdam Ahoy Sportpaleis
June 23, 2004 Manchester England Manchester Evening News Arena
June 24, 2004 London Wembley Arena
June 25, 2004
June 28, 2004
June 30, 2004 Manchester Manchester Evening News Arena
July 1, 2004 Birmingham NEC Arena
July 2, 2004 Glasgow Scotland SECC Concert Hall 4
July 3, 2004 Dublin Ireland Point Theatre
July 5, 2004 Lyon France Halle Tony Garnier
July 6, 2004 Lille Zénith de Lille
July 7, 2004 Nottingham England Nottingham Arena
July 8, 2004 London Wembley Arena
July 9, 2004
North America[10]
August 5, 2004 Hampton United States Hampton Coliseum
August 6, 2004 Baltimore 1st Mariner Arena
August 7, 2004 Raleigh RBC Center
August 9, 2004 Toronto Canada Air Canada Centre
August 10, 2004 Cleveland United States CSU Convocation Center
August 12, 2004 Dallas American Airlines Center
August 13, 2004 Houston Toyota Center
August 14, 2004 New Orleans New Orleans Arena
August 17, 2004 Cincinnati U.S. Bank Arena
August 19, 2004 Philadelphia Wachovia Center
August 20, 2004 Washington, D.C. MCI Center
August 21, 2004 East Rutherford Continental Airlines Arena
August 22, 2004 Boston FleetCenter
August 25, 2004 Columbus Value City Arena
August 30, 2004 Los Angeles Staples Center
August 31, 2004 Glendale Glendale Arena
September 2, 2004 Los Angeles Staples Center
September 3, 2004 Oakland The Arena in Oakland
September 4, 2004
September 5, 2004 Las Vegas Mandalay Bay Events Center
September 9, 2004 Minneapolis Target Center
September 10, 2004 Rosemont Allstate Arena
September 11, 2004 Auburn Hills The Palace of Auburn Hills
September 12, 2004 Milwaukee Bradley Center
September 17, 2004 Memphis FedExForum
September 18, 2004 St. Louis Savvis Center
September 19, 2004 Kansas City Kemper Arena
September 23, 2004 Miami American Airlines Arena
September 24, 2004 Tampa St. Pete Times Forum
September 25, 2004 Jacksonville Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena
September 28, 2004 Tallahassee Tallahassee-Leon County Civic Center
September 30, 2004 Charlotte Charlotte Coliseum
October 1, 2004 Greenville BI-LO Center
October 2, 2004 Birmingham BJCC Arena
October 3, 2004 Atlanta Philips Arena
October 6, 2004 Pittsburgh Mellon Arena
October 7, 2004 Philadelphia Wachovia Center
October 9, 2004 Greensboro Greensboro Coliseum
October 12, 2004 Albany Pepsi Arena
October 13, 2004 New York City Madison Square Garden
October 14, 2004
October 15, 2004 Hartford Hartford Civic Center
Cancellations and rescheduled shows
June 6, 2004 Frankfurt, Germany Jahrhunderthalle Moved to the Festhalle Frankfurt
June 8, 2004 London, England Wembley Arena Rescheduled to June 28, 2004
June 9, 2004 Copenhagen, Denmark Valby-Hallen Rescheduled to June 8, 2004 and moved to the Forum Copenhagen
June 23, 2004 Grenoble, France Summum Cancelled
June 24, 2004 Lille, France Zénith de Lille Rescheduled to July 6, 2004
June 26, 2004 Dublin, Ireland Point Theatre Rescheduled to July 3, 2004
August 14, 2004 Columbus, Ohio Value City Arena Rescheduled to August 25, 2004
August 25, 2004 New Orleans, Louisiana Louisiana Superdome Rescheduled to August 14, 2004 and moved to the New Orleans Arena
August 26, 2004 Houston, Texas Toyota Center Rescheduled to August 13, 2004
August 31, 2004 Oakland, California The Arena in Oakland Rescheduled to September 4, 2004
September 15, 2004 Dallas, Texas American Airlines Arena Rescheduled to August 12, 2004
October 6, 2004 New York City, New York Madison Square Garden Rescheduled to October 13, 2004
October 7, 2004 New York City, New York Madison Square Garden Rescheduled to October 14, 2004
October 7, 2004 Hartford, Connecticut Hartford Civic Center Rescheduled to October 15, 2004

Box office score data
Venue City Tickets sold / Available Gross revenue
1st Mariner Arena Baltimore 11,061 / 11,061 (100%) $584,657[11]
RBC Center Raleigh 13,272 / 13,272 (100%) $583,238[11]
Air Canada Centre Toronto 14,678 / 14,678 (100%) $1,007,323[12]
CSU Convocation Center Cleveland 10,092 / 10,092 (100%) $510,753[13]
American Airlines Center Dallas 12,374 / 12,374 (100%) $653,882[14]
Toyota Center Houston 11,950 / 11,950 (100%) $695,100[14]
New Orleans Arena New Orleans 13,498 / 13,498 (100%) $734,708[14]
U.S. Bank Arena Cincinnati 10,413 / 10,413 (100%) $521,382[15]
Wachovia Center Philadelphia 24,837 / 24,837 (100%) $1,572,338[14][16]
MCI Center Washington, D.C. 13,271 / 13,271 (100%) $883,562[14]
Continental Airlines Arena East Rutherford 14,383 / 14,383 (100%) $918,219[14]
FleetCenter Boston 13,870 / 13,870 (100%) $870,305[14]
Value City Arena Columbus 9,986 / 9,986 (100%) $521,625[15]
Staples Center Los Angeles 27,831 / 27,831 (100%) $1,633,339[17]
Glendale Arena Glendale 11,671 / 11,671 (100%) $638,135[17]
The Arena in Oakland Oakland 23,474 / 23,474 (100%) $1,293,184[17]
Mandalay Bay Events Center Las Vegas 9,232 / 9,232 (100%) $711,328[17]
Target Center Minneapolis 12,317 / 12,317 (100%) $645,493[18]
Allstate Arena Rosemont 12,818 / 12,818 (100%) $746,564[18]
The Palace of Auburn Hills Auburn Hills 15,226 / 15,226 (100%) $900,727[18]
Bradley Center Milwaukee 10,334 / 10,334 (100%) $594,763[18]
FedExForum Memphis 12,725 / 12,725 (100%) $660,255[18]
Savvis Center St. Louis 11,724 / 11,724 (100%) $673,086[18]
Kemper Arena Kansas City 13,447 / 13,447 (100%) $700,303[18]
American Airlines Arena Miami 12,203 / 12,203 (100%) $697,882[13]
St. Pete Times Forum Tampa 11,184 / 11,184 (100%) $637,280[13]
Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena Jacksonville 10,450 / 10,450 (100%) $614,287[13]
Charlotte Coliseum Charlotte 10,082 / 10,082 (100%) $417,336[19]
Pepsi Arena Albany 10,133 / 10,133 (100%) $520,590[12]
Madison Square Garden New York City 26,658 / 26,658 (100%) $2,026,698[12]
Hartford Civic Center Hartford 10,192 / 10,192 (100%) $618,297[12]
TOTAL 425,386 / 425,386 (100%) $24,786,639

References
  1. Dinsdale, Nathan; Hepola, Sarah; Roberts, Randall (August 11, 2004). "Ursha Speaks". Riverfront Times. Euclid Media Group. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  2. "THE TOP 25 TOURS OF 2004 (North American dates only)". Pollstar. December 2004. Archived from the original on December 30, 2004. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  3. MacDonald, Sam (August 1, 2004). "Usher tells 'The Truth'". Daily Press. Tribune Company. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  4. "The Remix of Usher: Red-Hot R&B Superstar Still Sizzling". Jet. Johnson Publishing Company. 107 (6): 61. February 7, 2005. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  5. "International Superstar Usher to Perform on Showtime Live From San Juan, Puerto Rico Saturday March 5" (Press release). Beverly Hills, California: Showtime Networks. Business Wire. January 6, 2005. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  6. Smiley, Lauren (June 21, 2004). "JoJo is 13, going on superstar". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  7. "Usher takes 'The Truth' on U.S. tour -- Oakland stop scheduled for Sept. 3". San Francisco Chronicle. Hearst Communications. July 3, 2004. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
  8. Reid, Shaheem; Calloway, Sway (August 6, 2004). "Usher Proves He's 'The Truth' At Tour Kickoff". MTV News. MTV Networks. Archived from the original on August 10, 2004. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  9. "Usher adds another date to UK tour". Music-News.com. Music News Ltd. June 4, 2004. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  10. Sources for tour dates in North America:
  11. "Billboard Boxscore: Concert Grosses". Billboard. Nashville, Tennessee: VNU Business Media, Inc. 116 (35): 31. August 28, 2004. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  12. "Billboard Boxscore: Concert Grosses". Billboard. Nashville, Tennessee: VNU Business Media, Inc. 116 (44): 17. October 30, 2004. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  13. "Billboard Boxscore: Concert Grosses". Billboard. Nashville, Tennessee: VNU Business Media, Inc. 116 (41): 20. October 9, 2004. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  14. "Billboard Boxscore: Concert Grosses". Billboard. Nashville, Tennessee: VNU Business Media, Inc. 116 (36): 18. September 4, 2004. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  15. "Billboard Boxscore: Concert Grosses". Billboard. Nashville, Tennessee: VNU Business Media, Inc. 116 (37): 33. September 18, 2004. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  16. "Billboard Boxscore: Concert Grosses". Billboard. Nashville, Tennessee: VNU Business Media, Inc. 116 (43): 19. October 23, 2004. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  17. "Billboard Boxscore: Concert Grosses". Billboard. Nashville, Tennessee: VNU Business Media, Inc. 116 (39): 39. September 25, 2004. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  18. "Billboard Boxscore: Concert Grosses". Billboard. Nashville, Tennessee: VNU Business Media, Inc. 116 (40): 18. October 2, 2004. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
  19. "Billboard Boxscore: Concert Grosses". Billboard. Nashville, Tennessee: VNU Business Media, Inc. 116 (45): 28. November 6, 2004. Retrieved February 6, 2019.
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