Usher And Ludacris Celebrate “Yeah!” Going 13X Platinum: “We Did That Bro”
Usher and Ludacris have a new shared milestone to celebrate. The two Atlanta representatives took to social media to share their reactions to their 2004 hit record “Yeah!” earning 13-times platinum status from RIAA decades after its initial release.
Officially reaching the sales status only two days before Usher’s headlining Super Bowl LVIII Halftime performance, the party-ready track first went platinum in 2006, just two years after its release. The Crunk-n-B collaboration also hit 1 billion streams on Spotify in May 2023, the first song for Usher, Lil Jon, and Ludacris to reach this achievement on the platform.
The “Splash Waterfalls” rapper featured the Spotify plaque in the celebratory post.
Ludacris and Usher perform onstage during the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show at Allegiant Stadium on February 11, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“That DAMN SUPER BOWL EFFECT Was The Cherry On Top,” exclaimed Ludacris Monday (March 4) on X, followed by the praying hand emoji. “CONGRATS to my brothers @usher @liljon @seangarrettpen & ALL THE FANS THAT MADE THIS ONE OF THE BIGGEST SONGS IN HISTORY!!!!” Usher reshared the post on his account and commented, “We did that bro” with muscle and fire emojis. “Thank U to everyone who ever pressed play!!”
Usher shared the post, adding, ” We did that bro. Thank U to everyone who ever pressed play!!”
By RIAA standards, that’s a lot of gratitude. According to Billboard, “Yeah!” accumulated 4.8 million official on-demand U.S. streams Feb. 11-12, up 105 percent from Feb. 9-10, when the song earned 2.3 million streams.
The collaboration stands as one of the 45-year-old’s biggest records. However, it almost did not turn out that way. In an interview on the R&B Money podcast, songwriter Patrick “J. Que” Smith revealed the chart-topping performer did not initially want the track.
“Usher didn’t really like the song,” shared Que per Business Insider, detailing how Confessions was already finished, forcing the singer to figure out where “Yeah!” would fit in. A&R Kawan “KP” Prather is said to be the person who eventually convinced Usher to record the song.
“KP’s whole thing was, ‘All I know is that sh*t feel like hella Atlanta, I f**k wit’ it, cut it, if you don’t like it, we don’t keep it. But there’s no problem with putting your voice on it, sing it, and see what happens,” explained Que.
Take a listen to “Yeah!” by Usher, Lil Jon, and Ludacris below.