Usher extends Las Vegas residency. Jealous boyfriends beware

Jealous boyfriends beware: Usher isn’t done heating up Las Vegas with his viral residency

Usher sings into a microphone on a stage while wearing a muted pink jacket and pants.

Aug. 18, 2023 4:17 PM PT

Usher is ready to bring his viral Las Vegas residency to an end — but not before he plays a lineup of farewell shows.

The singer, who serenaded countless women including Issa Rae and Keke Palmer, revealed Thursday that he will extended his residency at Park MGM through December.

Why? “Popular demand,” he wrote in his Instagram post. Tickets for the final December shows are available for purchase Aug. 25, though presale began Friday.

The eight-time Grammy Award-winner started his “My Way” residency in July 2022. While a night of Usher hits, including “Yeah!” and “My Boo,” was enough to persuade fans to show up, viral moments from the gigs helped create more buzz about the residency.

In September 2022, “Empire” star Taraji P. Henson made headlines when she got on stage and danced with the “Love in This Club” musician. A month later, Usher serenaded Rae with the song “Superstar.” As they sang and held hands, the “Insecure” star was smiling cheek-to-cheek.

“Can I just, like, serenade you a little bit?” he asked the Emmy nominee before bringing her up on stage. Clearly, he knows what he’s doing.

As his residency went on, Usher’s high-profile targets went on to include rapper Saweetie and model Winnie Harlow. Serenading “Nope” star Keke Palmer in July, however, led to a different kind of social media reaction.

A video of Usher’s “There Goes My Baby” duet with Palmer, who wore a sheer polka-dot dress for the evening, sparked criticism from the actor’s then-boyfriend. Darius Jackson shamed Palmer, with whom he shares baby Leodis Andrellton, for her outfit.

“It’s the outfit tho.. you a mom,” he wrote in a since-deleted tweet.

After several rounds of social media backlash, Jackson and Palmer seemingly grew distant and reportedly split. Meanwhile, Palmer and Usher collaborated on a cheeky new project.

Earlier this week, Usher dropped the music video for his song “Boyfriend,” starring Palmer as a devoted fan in Vegas hoping to catch one of his shows. In the video, the duo dressed in matching outfits and showed off fancy footwork in a casino.

“I know I’m a gUrL but when I watched your videos, I never wanted to be the girl in them, I wanted to be YOU,” she wrote to Usher on Instagram. “Thank you for making a dream come true.”

With the end of Usher’s residency less than four months away, boyfriends and partners still have time to get tickets — or work on their insecurities.

Times staff writer Carlos De Loera contributed to this report.