This week, our world feels like Usher’s world. And even though that epic Super Bowl show was in Las Vegas, Atlanta is the center of his world.

His homecoming day on Wednesday was a busy one, beginning with the morning presentation of the Phoenix Award from Mayor Andre Dickens at the Black Music and Entertainment Walk of Fame near Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

In the afternoon, he headed to Clark Atlanta University to talk to students and to receive a $25,000 gift from Amazon to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Usher’s New Look, his nonprofit that supports and encourages youth to become leaders and global citizens.

He ended the night at Red Martini with a listening party for his new album, the appropriately titled “Coming Home.”

Between the first two events, Usher sat down with the AJC’s DeAsia Paige to talk about his life and his journey. In the coming weeks, we’ll bring you more from her video interview, along with an in-depth profile of the resurgent Atlanta superstar as he marks the 20th anniversary of his landmark “Confessions” album. Later this summer, we’ll be there as he launches his world tour at State Farm Arena in August.

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FILE - Usher arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on March 10, 2024, at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)

Credit: Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

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Tracy Woodard from InTown Cares (left) and Lauren Hopper from Mercy Care organization work with residents at the Copperton Street encampment in August 2024. 
(Miguel Martinez / AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez