Craig David has a 'full circle' moment as he joins Usher on stage

Usher has been wowing fans in the UK with a run of 10 massive shows at the O2 Arena as part of his 'Past, Present, Future Tour', and after welcoming supermodel Naomi Campbell on stage last week, last weekend he brought none other than Craig David out.

The 'Walking Away' singer joined Usher to perform two songs on stage with the 'OMG' singer. The pair who go 'way back' sang Craig's debut hit 'Fill Me In', which went to Number one back in 2000 along with '7 Days', which was Craig's second Number 1 in the UK.

Welcoming his 'brother' on stage, Usher said: "Every time we've ever met it's been positive, every chance we get to celebrate each other, we have. I've learnt a lot from my audience to your audience. Thank you for your contribution to R&B, the celebration of your music, you deserve it all week all year."

With Craig adding: "Me and this dude go way back, it's been a beautiful journey. Anyone who's been there from the start, all the way through, we're grateful because your legacy is what we live for."

Speaking about when he was asked to join Usher on his tour, Craig said: "It was a full-circle moment and such a beautiful thing. Having grown up listening to Usher, from his early work, I was like, wow.

"What an incredible voice, what an amazing artist, he has such a unique voice. So it was such a beautiful moment when I got the call because to have just been performing at the O2 on my arena tour, to then get the call up a few weeks later from Usher - what a way to celebrate the 25th anniversary of 'Born To Do It', my first album."

He added: "I'm such a huge fan of Usher, so it felt like a full-circle moment to have an opportunity to go on stage and perform two of the songs from that first album, which was beautiful."

Ahead of their performance at the O2 Arena, Craig shared a throwback video of the pair freestyling at a French radio station many years ago. He captioned his TikTok: 'Some unseen footage to brighten your Thursday❤️ Wow this takes me back 💫 Such a vibe freestyling with my guy @Usher Raymond 🔥 Reliving this moment ✨'.

Reminiscing about the video, Craig said: "So I was over at Skyrock radio station in France, and I was going for an interview. I think at this time, I just released ‘Fill Me In’, so I was fresh out of the gate, and then I heard that Usher was in the building, and DJ Abdel had a show over there, and he was doing his hip hop show.

"He had Usher in, and he ran out and was like, "Craig, can you come in?" It was just this beautiful moment where Usher was performing, ‘You Make Me Wanna’ and then I was able to riff off the back of that and start singing some of his vibes."

Craig continued: "He was then singing some of the ‘Fill Me In’ vibes. It was like this beautiful synergy and respect for each other as artists, but at the same time, remembering having grown up with his music, and how pivotal the ‘My Way’ album and songs like ‘You Make Me Wanna’ and ‘Nice And Slow’, were to me growing up, and I've got such fond memories of those songs.

"It was a powerful moment to then actually be with him and sing with him, It was just a very heartwarming moment to finally meet Usher, who's just an amazing, lovely guy. So to do that again tonight is incredible."

Usher will continue his UK residency at the O2 Arena for several more nights, finishing on Wednesday 7th May.

You can hear songs by Usher on Hits Radio.

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