Entertainment Weekly just released the latest posters of The Voice’s new judges, Usher and Shakira, and seeing the cool-eyed nineties prince of R&B casually lounging on the red swivel-y chair immediately triggered flashbacks to his glory days, when the soulful crooner ruled Teen Choice Award red carpets and appeared in music videos dressed in nothing but his boxers. Like LL Cool J, Usher also had a brief dalliance with lifting up his shirts to give his abs a peek at the world around them. But he’s since simmered down the heat and become the mogul behind Little Biebs — and by next season, he’ll probably be handing out his musical wisdom to a new crop of aspiring vocalists. While we wait for grown-up Usher to make his smiley appearance weekly on national television, indulge in the gems of his past: from his solo dance sequence in “U Remind Me” to the 1997 hit that made him the man he is today, “You Make Me Wanna.” And, below, gaze straight into a close-up of his eye in “Burn.”
