USHER RELEASES “HUSH” ON ITUNES
SONG 10 YEARS IN THE MAKING TOUCHES ON VOTING, SERVICE AND POVERTY
(New York, NY – 10/22/2008) – Usher debuts the "Hush" single today on iTunes as part of his continued national call-to-service for young people, which began with the Project Restart campaign after Hurricane Katrina, has continued over the years with his own New Look nonprofit organization and most recently continued with his appointment as Youth-Chair of the Service Nation Summit attended by over 500 Service Leaders including John McCain, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and Laura Bush.
The song is available now for download at iTunes as well as www.UshersNewLook.org – portions of the proceeds will benefit the New Look Organization.
Usher has arguably been one of the most active celebrities in the 2008 Presidential elections – he has led youth rallies, organized voter registration drives and stepped forward to participate in voter registration PSA's for Leonardo DiCaprio, DoSomething.org, CNN's League of First Time Voters, The Barack Obama Campaign and through Usher's New Look Foundation. In January 2008 Barack Obama asked Usher to serve as National Co-Chair for his voter registration campaign with national leaders including Civil Rights icon Rev. Joseph Lowery.
Usher is no stranger to communicating his passion for youth service as evidenced by his co-authored op-ed article with the Tom Nelson, COO of AARP for the Huffington Post. However, this will mark the first time Usher will communicate his passion for service and action through his music.
"‘Hush’ is about my awakening over the past 10 years to the social issues in our country and realizing that I have a voice. As Americans we have the right to speak out about slow recovery in the Gulf Coast, a long war and home foreclosures. But complaining isn't enough, you have to also take action,” Usher says. “Whether serving at the homeless shelter or going to the polls for the first time, you have to act or else ‘Hush,’” Usher exclaims.
Usher formalized his passion to give back nearly 10 years ago with the formation of Usher's New Look non-profit organization in 1999. His efforts intensified with the re-launch of New Look in 2005.
"I had reached a point in my life where I realized that the more you lead, the more you serve," explains Usher.
Since its re-launch, Usher's New Look has helped nearly 2,000 disadvantage youth gain a "New Look" on life through exposure and real world experiences. Since Hurricane Katrina, New Look has helped over 750 families resettle into housing through rent and utility assistance and in June of 2008 Usher received the key to the City from Mayor Nagin for his continued dedication and service to the residence of New Orleans.
Through Usher's New Look the 5 time Grammy winner recently lead and inspired 12 NON-PARTISAN rallies in 9 cities to educate 12 to 17 year olds on the voter registration process and its importance. The goal is to empower those young people to encourage new voters, specifically their parents and older siblings and relatives to vote.
"My philosophy is to give kids the skills to become active participants in the world around them,” explains Usher. “The election process to select our leaders impacts them, even if they can’t vote yet".
Over 4,000 youth participated and 17,000 new voters were registered as part of the I Can't But You Can Campaign.
Proceeds from “Hush” will benefit Usher's New Look Foundation and its mission and programs as approved by the Board of Directors.
For more info on Usher’s New Look visit - http://www.ushersnewlook.org/
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