As Usher for Real checked out Usher in Wax, the celebrated entertainer’s wife looked on with an approving smile.
“They got it right,” Jennifer Goicoechea said Wednesday afternoon at Madame Tussauds wax museum at The Venetian’s Grand Canal Shoppes.
Usher’s figure was unveiled during a media event at the exhibit space, which opened in 1999 as the first Madame Tussauds in the U.S. Usher in Wax donned the actual “Vauson”-labeled jacket, with the infamous upside down “n” typo for the Vanson designer company.
The new figure also wore the same leather pants and shirt the headliner wore during his “My Way” show at Caesars. He even sported a pair of red-sequined roller skates, in which Usher spun on stage during the medley of medley of “Don’t Waste My Time,” “Love in This Club,” and “Tell Me.”
Usher’s first words to his stationary, yet somehow animated, figure, “It looks more like me than me.”
Displayed nearby were such icons as the Rat Pack, Elvis, Muhammad Ali, Evel Knievel, Elton John, Taylor Swift, Bette Midler and Donny and Marie Osmond. Gwen Stefani is set up at the entrance. More than 100 lifelike statues, measured to each celeb’s specifications, are exhibited in the space.
Usher said of his figure, with arms out and legs crossed in a dance move, “I like that it’s in performance.”
Wednesday’s event was ahead of Usher’s co-headlining appearance with Chris Brown on Saturday and Sunday at Allegiant Stadium on “The R&B Tour.” The “R&B” in this case stands for the “Raymond” in Usher Raymond (his full name) and Brown. Tickets still available for both shows at Ticketmaster.com.
Both headliners have helmed residencies in Las Vegas. Usher has appeared in extended engagements at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, the first headliner to perform on the Strip post-COVID; and later at Dolby Live. Brown is a former Drai’s Nightclub resident headliner.
Usher and Goicoechea, a top executive at Epic Records, also own a residence in Las Vegas. Another Usher residency on the Strip is a possibility, but no more than that.
”At the rate that things have been going, I don’t see why not,” Usher said when asked about a residency return. “However, there’s so much more that I want to offer the city. I love what I’ve been able to do in terms of curating entertainment, but entertainment far exceeds just live performance. There are so many other things that I see opportunities for.”
The 47-year-old showman is expanding his concepts beyond concert-style performances.
”There are other, immersive types of experiences. You’ve seen so many incredible events hosted here in Las Vegas,” Usher said. “There are so many things that could happen magically in the city. I like to be associated with those things, as opposed to just doing another residency. Not to say that it wouldn’t be a great thing to do, and I could do it again, but I would definitely make it a priority to bring the focus to the other aspects of my businesses.”
Usher’s relationship with Vegas has grown beyond performance, and even business. He and Goicoechea were married downtown at Vegas Weddings on Feb. 11, 2024, the night he performed the Super Bowl halftime show.
The couple wanted a drive-thru wedding, and were squired in a 1960s Cadillac convertible. In Usher’s world, the wheels are always turning.
Cool Hang Alert
Gabie Lopez is back with her “Turn The Beat Around” tribute to Gloria Estefan at The Club at The Cannery at 8 p.m. Sept. 11. Plenty of lead time to get to North L.V., and this show is worth the trek. Lopez has the Estefan persona locked up and is backed by a 13-piece band. Also, we’ll have many fedoras. Go to Ticketmaster.com for intel.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.