Becoming ... Usher

See how the sexy Grammy nominee went from choirboy to chart-topper. By Serena Kappes

A GOOD YEAR

For Usher, 2004 was the year he had his cake and ate it too. The multiplatinum singer (whose bandmates playfully bashed him with cake on his 26th birthday Oct. 14 during his concert at New York's Madison Square Garden) put on one of the highest grossing tours of the year, taking in $29 million in ticket sales.