Usher’s New Look turns 6 R&B Tour internships into jobs
Sarah Swift spent part of her summer crawling beneath stadium stages, placing cables and helping audio crews prepare for Usher and Chris Brown to perform before thousands of fans.
Storm Smith learned another lesson about working on a major concert tour: If call time is 8 a.m., arriving at 8:01 is late.
And Mi’Cai Haywood traveled from city to city photographing and shooting video of concertgoers, including fans dressed in outfits inspired by Usher.
The three college students were among six young people selected from 1,600 applicants for a two-and-a-half-month internship that put them to work behind the scenes at 18 stops on Usher and Brown’s R&B Tour.
Now all six are staying on the road.
After completing the internship earlier this month, the six were hired to work on the production crew for the remainder of the North American stadium tour, turning a summer learning experience into jobs in multimedia, audio, wardrobe and staging.
The internships were the first program offered through the Entertainment Industry Club: Live Touring Edition, a collaboration between Usher’s New Look and the Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Detroit designed to introduce young people to careers in the entertainment industry that exist beyond the stage.
“Our secret sauce is youth training youth,” said Cammie Rice, board chair of Usher’s New Look. “That makes our hearts smile to see that our model actually works. We’re putting our youth into a career that they didn’t even know was possible.”
How 1,600 applicants became six interns
The internship builds on a mission Usher’s New Look has pursued for more than 25 years, to expose young people to careers they might not otherwise know exist.
Founded in 1999 by Usher, his mother Jonetta Patton and Shawn Wilson, Usher’s New Look began with Camp New Look, a two-week summer program where young people participated in activities that included watching Usher rehearse and job-shadowing venue and touring staff.
For the R&B Tour internship, organizers were looking for aspiring entertainment professionals, not fans hoping to get close to Usher. Applicants submitted an essay and a video and were interviewed by a panel. Wilson said those who appeared primarily interested in the artists were eliminated from consideration.
“We wanted to find individuals who were already passionate, going to school for entertainment trades to catapult their careers, see what they were made of and how hard they were willing to work,” said Wilson, who is also president and CEO of Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Detroit.
Wilson also said the tour didn’t give young people special treatment.
“These interns were putting in 20 hours. There were times they reported to work at 9 a.m. and got back to the bus at 6 a.m.,” he said.
Before joining the tour, the interns completed a three-week boot camp that included two days of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) training through Georgia Tech.
Anginique Walker, program manager for Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute, said the workshops encourage them to take precautions in any environment.
“We want to make sure our young adults are coming home whole. They’re watching for hazards while they’re on concert sites, but it makes them a little bit more valuable to any kind of organization,” Walker said.
Learning the jobs behind the stage
Haywood, a junior at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, worked alongside the tour’s photographers and videographers, capturing fans whose outfits paid homage to Usher. Some of those fans received seat upgrades and opportunities to stand near the singer during his performances.
“It’s seeing fans light up and people get happy because they spend a lot of money and time not just on tickets but their outfits as well. It’s nice to give them a great experience,” Haywood said.
Swift, who’s studying music production at Georgia State University, assisted with audio production, loading trucks and placing cables under the stage. The only woman on her team, Swift said the crew’s support helped boost her confidence.
“The team took us in and showed us the ropes. They put me in a role as someone they could trust to take stagehands or tasks to go do by myself. I didn’t think I could do it, but they told me ‘You got this,’” she said.
Smith, a senior at Morris Brown College majoring in music production and a professional DJ, set up microphones, speakers on stage and equipment for the tour’s DJ and hype man, DJ Fresh.
Smith learned quickly that tour schedules leave little room for tardiness.
“We wore all black each day and (came to work) at 8 a.m.,” he said. “If anyone arrived at 8:01, they heard, ‘Get out.’ They’re really on that.”
Smith said he also learned how to advocate for himself and his professional goals.
“Closed mouths don’t get fed. If you’re unclear about something, ask. If you want to do something, let people know what you’re trying to do so they can help you,” he said.
The internship program is now expanding through a partnership with BET Next Gen to provide year-round professional development for young people interested in media and entertainment careers.
Jasmine Pollard, tour intern coordinator and Usher’s New Look alumna, said she hopes the six newly hired crew members eventually use their experience to open doors for others.
“You guys have taken every challenge head-on and not lost your enthusiasm, showing up every single day smiling and ready to learn,” she told them. “When you get there, remember to reach back to someone in your position to help them up.”