Album 8701 went straight to number one in the UK

It was the follow-up, 1997's My Way, which propelled him to the international stage and established him as a serious artist.

The album sold seven million copies and spawned the single You Make Me Wanna, which was his first UK number one and his first song to top the American R&B chart.

He toured with Combs, Janet Jackson and Mary J Blige before turning his hand to the big screen, landing roles in Light It Up and The Faculty.

'Real soul'

His third album, 8701, has earned him his recent UK awards success.

He has said he wants to represent "real soul music", continuing the legacy of Marvin Gaye, James Brown and Michael Jackson, and that he has made "a record which has songs that everyone can listen to".

8701 was described variously as "sometimes scintillating, sometimes soporific" and "respectably state-of-the-art, but without pushing the art form along to the next step" by UK critics.

But the music-buying public were more impressed - it went straight to number one while singles Pop Ya Colla and U Remind Me have both been top three hits.

'Incredible entertainer'

Usher has kept his clean-cut image, not being caught up in the controversies that dog his rap counterparts, and he has also set up his own record label, Us Records, plus a production company and rehearsal facility.

His Mobos success has been timed well for the release of the third single from 8701 - You Got It Bad is out on Monday, 8 October.

"At 13, when he was auditioning in my office, I thought then Usher was an incredible entertainer," LA Reid told an Atlanta newspaper.

"I'm shocked to learn all these years later that he's also a great singer."