US Vogue 'Digital Edition' Winter 2024 : Usher & Carolyn Murphy by Campbell Addy

[TerraVera]

usher deserved better, at least the february 2024 cover. i don't like it, don't like that he's not the focus of the cover, and i really wish a different model was selected because this is a random as hell pairing and doesn't work for me.

the whole thing is off and feels like a last minute, throwaway idea, slap-dashed together for some flimsy social media kudos.

the spread is flatter than the cover, but that's not saying much for a chronically creatively bereft magazine. seriously, what is this? and i wish usher didn't agree to this because again, what? is? this?

 

[RanThe]

I love this cover!!! This should have printed for the Winter Issue instead. It's vibrant and it would for sure pop on the newsstand.

 

[KoV]

Usher may “deserve” a GQ cover or something, but the only context I’d like to see him (or generally any man) on the cover of Vogue is alongside a woman. Remove Carolyn from the equation and this should be nowhere near the pages of Vogue. I like the photos as they are.

 

[Lola701]

The people who are complaining on social media are not even buying or reading Vogue.

Let’s be honest giving the cover to Usher has more to do with him being a cultural icon and to celebrate the cultural moment he will have than speaking directly to Vogue’s readers or a strong community of fans.

When Harry Styles got a cover, no doubt that his community probably bought the issue as much as they engaged on social media.

It’s a great moment and a beautiful ed.
Now, Usher should have been on the print version of GQ US wearing Louis Vuitton by Pharrell (to have even more weight).

I don’t usually love celebs eds on US Vogue considering that Leibovitz is always involved but this one is a pure pleasure!

 

[aracic]

Now that would've made a striking cover.

 

[NYLA22]

Its a stunning cover and ed but the internet isnt happy. People are all ove rtheir pages complaining about them having him with a 'random' white woman. Some asking why he didn't have a black model or wasn't solo. On the other hand we are wondering why Carolyn didnt get a solo cover?

Are you serious? That is insane. Sounds like a Diet Prada special lol.

 

[A.D.C.]

It’s a stunning cover and ed but the internet isnt happy. People are all ove rtheir pages complaining about them having him with a 'random' white woman. Some asking why he didn't have a black model or wasn't solo. On the other hand we are wondering why Carolyn didnt get a solo cover?

Honestly, I wish Anna would go back to putting a person of color on the cover every three years or so. So we wouldn’t have to hear these nonsense complaints month after month.

 

[Deleted member 141523]

Something that Elgort would have done. Those late 90s eds.

 

[NYLA22]

usher deserved better, at least the february 2024 cover. i don't like it, don't like that he's not the focus of the cover, and i really wish a different model was selected because this is a random as hell pairing and doesn't work for me.

the whole thing is off and feels like a last minute, throwaway idea, slap-dashed together for some flimsy social media kudos.

the spread is flatter than the cover, but that's not saying much for a chronically creatively bereft magazine. seriously, what is this? and i wish usher didn't agree to this because again, what? is? this?

Usher "deserved" better on the cover of...Vogue magazine? Huh? You realize that Vogue is a women's fashion magazine, right?

 

[TerraVera]

Usher "deserved" better on the cover of...Vogue magazine? Huh? You realize that Vogue is a women's fashion magazine, right?

huh? you realize that harry styles and timmy c both had male solo covers of us and british vogue, respectively, so does it really matter? and when (white) men have been featured on the cover of vogue, they were shown in a much more engaging, flattering, and romantic light than this nonsensical nfl pr-paid mess vogue threw together. there are better, if not dynamic, ways they could have captured usher, highlighted the superbowl in vegas, and included a nod to usher's very successful vegas residency. it's sad he agreed to this mimicry of himself. plus, being thankful annie didn't shoot this is not a consolation prize for this mess.

i agree with @Lola701's suggestion that putting him in pharrel's LV on the cover of GQ would have been more appropriate and impactful than this throwaway digital cover. deviancy aside, he's suave and iconic in his own right - traits that should have been the sell point in the vogue spread.

and, yes, he, like Lebron James, deserved a better cover, digital or not. so miss me with the lame snark.

 

[Urban Stylin]

Usher may “deserve” a GQ cover or something, but the only context I’d like to see him (or generally any man) on the cover of Vogue is alongside a woman. Remove Carolyn from the equation and this should be nowhere near the pages of Vogue. I like the photos as they are.

independent



Exactly, he's not really known in the fashion circles and apart from his recent dramatic front row appearances post Superbowl announcement, he doesn't seem like someone that puts fashion on the forefront of his career. He obviously looks and dresses well but I see him on a solo GQ as opposed to a solo Vogue. Harry Styles on the other hand is someone whose artistry is embedded with fashion a lot of it androgynous so it makes sense for him to get a solo Vogue cover. Minus the superbowl, not even Usher's team would be thinking of him on the cover of Vogue and considering that Vogue + Superbowl isnt a really convincing mblend this seems more like paid promo thus the Digital issue.

 

[Lola701]

huh? you realize that harry styles and timmy c both had male solo covers of us and british vogue, respectively, so does it really matter? and when (white) men have been featured on the cover of vogue, they were shown in a much more engaging, flattering, and romantic light than this nonsensical nfl pr-paid mess vogue threw together. there are better, if not dynamic, ways they could have captured usher, highlighted the superbowl in vegas, and included a nod to usher's very successful vegas residency. it's sad he agreed to this mimicry of himself. plus, being thankful annie didn't shoot this is not a consolation prize for this mess.

i agree with @Lola701's suggestion that putting him in pharrel's LV on the cover of GQ would have been more appropriate and impactful than this throwaway digital cover. deviancy aside, he's suave and iconic in his own right - traits that should have been the sell point in the vogue spread.

and, yes, he, like Lebron James, deserved a better cover, digital or not. so miss me with the lame snark.

You still realize the difference of generation between the two…
Harry Styles is not even 30 I think. His audience is super young anyway and they are consumers.

Putting Usher on the cover of Vogue as a solo act would be ridiculous in 2024. Pharrell years ago who got the cover with Immaan. It was printed only because the man has the advertising support of Chanel behind.

You can’t make decisions like that if they aren’t backed by something. Erykah Badu got the support of Marni, which means Renzo Rosso.

And of course they needed to put a woman with him! All the advertising money comes from womenswear/beauty!

What I think is sad is that despite all the excitement around his superbowl, Vogue is the only publication that decided to do something with it…Considering that they don’t necessarily do Superbowls specials!

I hope his team will wake-up.
He was already shot for Vogue years ago if I remember well.
All the reactions like « the random woman with him » on social media really highlight the gap between social media and real life. The audience of Vogue knows Carolyn.

All this fuss is not necessary.

 

[Deleted member 141523]

Makes me happy that Anna still cares about girls like Carolyn

 

[tomtakesphotos]

it was really shoe-horned in last fashion week for usher to be at all these shows... now this sad digital cover.. 100% of the focus is on some barefoot children in school football jerseys.. the point of having carolyn there was to show off some beautiful clothes but she fades into the background.. i think they were going for old bruce weber but its not so easy replicated as we see

 

[Kimy Jo]

Im shocked that Usher is so loved lol
Good for him

 

[vogue28]

To be completely honest, I very pleasantly surprised at how much I am a fan of this. The fact Carolyn Murphy is on the cover is fantastic, and the cover itself feels very vibrant, celebratory, joyous and very American - which I guess echos the vibe of the Super Bowl.

Carolyn with a male celebrity just gives me all those old-school American Vogue vibes which I am 110% here for!

 

[TerraVera]

You still realize the difference of generation between the two…
Harry Styles is not even 30 I think. His audience is super young anyway and they are consumers.

Putting Usher on the cover of Vogue as a solo act would be ridiculous in 2024. Pharrell years ago who got the cover with Immaan. It was printed only because the man has the advertising support of Chanel behind.

You can’t make decisions like that if they aren’t backed by something. Erykah Badu got the support of Marni, which means Renzo Rosso.

And of course they needed to put a woman with him! All the advertising money comes from womenswear/beauty!

What I think is sad is that despite all the excitement around his superbowl, Vogue is the only publication that decided to do something with it…Considering that they don’t necessarily do Superbowls specials!

I hope his team will wake-up.
He was already shot for Vogue years ago if I remember well.
All the reactions like « the random woman with him » on social media really highlight the gap between social media and real life. The audience of Vogue knows Carolyn.

All this fuss is not necessary.

i disagree that it comes down to generation; usher has a strong and loyal fanbase that would've supported a cover and would have spent money to buy the issue with his face on it. his fanbase are consumers as well, mainly Black media, if we want to be honest. a stronger argument would be audience - usher and harry's young demos are vastly different, and usher's usually do not overlap nor care about vogue as harry's do. still, they would've brought this. never underestimate the power of twitter lol.

even at his height usher should have been more seriously considered for a cover, but alas it didn't happen. he was on l'uomo vogue shot by steven klein, but those covers don't tend to count for much so, meh.

i never said nor implied there shouldn't be model or that he should've had a solo cover. in my first post i said there should have been a different model. i think carolyn was a poor choice to pair with him.

what i said:

and i really wish a different model was selected because this is a random as hell pairing and doesn't work for me.

you bring up a good point: usher doesn't have a house behind him which, to me, is a little odd because he would benefit from an armani, saint laurent, or LV support. with his sold-out vegas shows, he should've been the face of cologne or featured in a clothing or accessory ad, but for whatever reason that didn't happen. on that end, his team dropped the ball. he should've been had some big endorsements by now.

the fuss about carolyn is silly and mainly from people not in or interested in fashion nor vogue. but as far as the cover, the criticism is valid. it's not a good cover, especially for a man on his way to legend status as usher. and yeah i do find it weird that of all publications, it's vogue who decided to do this. not even rolling stone who'd profiled him before. but again, like you said, he doesn't have a big fashion backer behind him and a not-so-savvy team, so he's limited to whatever scraps are thrown his way, unfortunately.

 

[blueorchid]

Oh yeah, Usher definitely should have had a cover of Vogue during his peak... just like oh.... uh... NONE of his contemporaries. What the f*ck kind of revisionism is going on with who historically got/gets Vogue covers? What are we going to argue about next? Why didn't Richard Nixon didn't get a Vogue cover in the 1970s? This is just stupid.

 

[Lola701]

i disagree that it comes down to generation; usher has a strong and loyal fanbase that would've supported a cover and would have spent money to buy the issue with his face on it. his fanbase are consumers as well, mainly Black media, if we want to be honest. a stronger argument would be audience - usher and harry's young demos are vastly different, and usher's usually do not overlap nor care about vogue as harry's do. still, they would've brought this. never underestimate the power of twitter lol.

even at his height usher should have been more seriously considered for a cover, but alas it didn't happen. he was on l'uomo vogue shot by steven klein, but those covers don't tend to count for much so, meh.

i never said nor implied there shouldn't be model or that he should've had a solo cover. in my first post i said there should have been a different model. i think carolyn was a poor choice to pair with him.

what i said:


you bring up a good point: usher doesn't have a house behind him which, to me, is a little odd because he would benefit from an armani, saint laurent, or LV support. with his sold-out vegas shows, he should've been the face of cologne or featured in a clothing or accessory ad, but for whatever reason that didn't happen. on that end, his team dropped the ball. he should've been had some big endorsements by now.

the fuss about carolyn is silly and mainly from people not in or interested in fashion nor vogue. but as far as the cover, the criticism is valid. it's not a good cover, especially for a man on his way to legend status as usher. and yeah i do find it weird that of all publications, it's vogue who decided to do this. not even rolling stone who'd profiled him before. but again, like you said, he doesn't have a big fashion backer behind him and a not-so-savvy team, so he's limited to whatever scraps are thrown his way, unfortunately.

I mean…The possibility for the fanbase of Usher to suddenly support a US Vogue cover when he wasn’t necessarily a big magazine seller anyway is…A possibility.

But at this point the debate is kinda pointless.

Usher has access to the circles of fashion. He been to shows (I remember him coming to menswear seasons and even seeing him at a Chanel show years ago). His status, his beauty has always been recognized.

Tbh, I kinda commend him for never having done that branding prostitution. It makes the appreciation of the industry more genuine. Case in point, he got a cover of Vogue to celebrate his achievement…Something Vogue hasn’t done for anybody before.

The fact that he doesn’t have a big brand behind was a point to be made but I appreciate that.
Celebrities don’t deserves contracts or endorsements, they deserves the success and accolades they get.

I know it’s a trend in Hollywood to have people hustling for an Ambassador contract but we got to chill.

I think Carolyn is perfect for that Ed. She is a legendary model, the Vogue reader knows her and she is the face of Estée Lauder, a big advertiser.
And Usher is getting this cover because of his worldwide appeal. I think the success of his shows in Paris was the proof of that.

But I really find the controversy ridiculous. Let’s celebrate the man!
The capacity that IG has to ruin any momentum will never cease to amaze me.

 

[Deleted member 141523]

There's two Vogue readers, the loyal, that knows all the classics, and there's the other kind, the one from social media that pushes for their annoying idol to have a cover and buys the magazine only when it happens. They are the ones that ask "Who's that woman with Usher?".