Just For the Ladies

If you have the ability to stand upright while using the john, you're going to be disappointed.

If you refuse to ever ask for directions or relinquish the remote control, read no further.

That's right dudes, you're out of luck.

Not many artists have ever willingly cut their audience in half, but these days, Usher is doing just that.

The baby faced R&B heartthrob is ensconced on his "Ladies Only" tour, whose title pretty much says it all.

"I actually never really opened the show up for males. Period," Usher says in a recent conference call with journalists. "I can't prohibit them from buying tickets and being a part of it -- obviously you can't discriminate in America. However, I do want them to know that in the event that they decide to come, this show is catered specifically towards women."

Usher says he got the idea for the outing from R&B forebears such as Teddy Pendergrass, Marvin Gaye and Prince, who sometimes did special shows for the ladies.

Another, somewhat unlikely, source of inspiration: "Sex in the City," the movie.

"There was this one weekend where all the ladies got dressed to the nines and went out as cliques and watched the movie," he notes. "I said, 'You know what? I'd love to do that.' If there is a way that I can get all the ladies to congregate, come together and have a night that's all about complimenting them, then I'm going to do that."

Nice.

Way to throw off the curve for all the rest of us, guy.

Bet he always puts the toilet seat down, too.

And it doesn't stop there.

To create a more intimate vibe befitting a tour of this nature, Usher will be performing in theaters and smaller halls instead of arenas, which he's been doing in recent years since becoming one of the biggest names in pop after moving more than 9 million copies of 2004's "Confessions."

"There comes a time in every artist's life that he or she should do something very up close and personal," he explains. "Although I'm accustomed to playing in bigger places, I was able to build a show in a smaller venue that still had the lighting, still has some production value.

"I'm actually going to have my full band, background singers, dancers," he continues. "Of course, there's not going to be pyro techniques and stuff like that, but it's going to be definitely very visually stimulating and give the people who buy a ticket a treat."

This includes bringing one lucky lady onstage each night of the tour. Fans can vie to be that certain someone on Usher's Web site, www.usherworld.com.

"This is how she gets recognized," he explains.

The tour dovetails nicely with Usher's latest disc, "Here I Stand," a more grown-up affair to be sure, written through the eyes of a new husband and dad.

The club anthems are still there, but there's a newfound sentimentality intermingled with his sex symbol status.

"We ain't havin' sex, we're making moments that will outlast the world," he purrs on "This Ain't Sex," one of the many tunes that establish a more mature tone for the record.

"I would definitely say that it's a much more intimate album than the others," Usher says. "I'm building this story as I go. I don't know if Marvin Gaye, or any of the artists that basically had a personal album, when they were making it, did they view it as, 'I'm just going to look at this as an opportunity to sell more albums, or interpret myself in a different way?' I would just say that it was a creative journey of where I was. I wanted to do something more intimate for my audience, and I did. So, this tour goes right along with it."

And the tour is a return to Usher's roots, really.

He may have gotten older -- he's now 30 -- but he hasn't forgotten what it means to be young.

"I didn't just jump in on top, you know," Usher says. "Performing in my earlier days with my peers at the time, I did play smaller venues. And I can just remember how special those shows were and what it meant to those fans.

"Still to this day, I am written from my fans who say, 'I met you and I physically touched your hand. I remember being right there with you and seeing you the first time you performed this, the first time you did a back flip,' whatever it may have been. I just remember how intimate it was for them, how special that was for my fans, which is why I wanted to do something specifically up close and personal."

Contact reporter Jason Bracelin at jbracelin@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0476.