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Usher, Others 'Burn' 2004
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Tuesday, 28 December 2004
 In what turned out to be a lucrative year for R&B and Soul music, Usher's 2004 release, Confessions, was named by the Recording Industry Association of America as the most-shipped album of the year.
The organization gave Usher credit for shipping (which does not necessarily translate into selling) 8 million copies of the set, which sold two million more than his six-times platinum 1997 offering My Way, according to Billboard magazine.
The smash single "Yeah!" featuring Lil Jon and Ludacris also took honors in the RIAA's digital-awards program, earning a digital platinum certification for more than 200,000 downloads. Other Usher titles, "Burn" and "My Boo," were awarded digital gold for more than 100,000 downloads.
Kanye West had the best debut by a male with 2 million shipments of The College Dropout. The set from the rapper/producer extraordinairre, was also named best album of 2004 in a round-up of the UK's end-of-year polls, and nominated for a whopping 10 Grammy awards.
Atlanta super duo Outkast was given a Diamond Award for shipping 10 million copies of Speakerboxxx/ The Love Below, in addition to a multi-platinum digital award for "Hey Ya!" and platinum nods for "Roses" and "The Way You Move."
Another 2004 highlight was Ray Charles’ posthumous Genius Loves Company, which earned the seminal artist his first platinum and multi-platinum honors.
Earning their first double-platinum nods were the Black Eyed Peas for Elephunk; and Philly native Jill Scott for Who Is Jill Scott?: Words and Sounds, Volume 1.
First-time platinum winners included Ciara, Anthony Hamilton, Jo Jo and ex-Doobie Brothers lead singer Michael McDonald, who had a comeback in 2004 with a album covering Motown standards.
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| Last Updated (
Tuesday, 28 December 2004 ) |
