Usher makes Soweto girls gush

His enviable washboard abdominal muscles of yesteryear may be gone but Usher can still make women of all ages swoon.

It was clear on Saturday night, when the 33-year-old rocked Soweto's Orlando stadium, that his sex appeal is still just as strong as his voice.

The young local lass Usher called up on stage to flirt with, fondle and kiss was the envy of thousands of girls at the venue - some were still grumpy about it after the concert.

Usher, who's been elusive since arriving in this country on Tuesday, gave a performance that justified the R8-million paid to book him as the headline act at the Festival of Legends.

As Usher walked up a staircase on the stage, amid cascading confetti, fireworks and loud drumming, one could have been forgiven for forgetting that bands including Teargas, Gang of Instrumentals, Liquideep and Zakes Bantwini had played enjoyable sets before him.

Usher had reportedly spent the day shopping around Johannesburg but he was all business when he took the stage just after 9pm, spinning around on his toes a la Michael Jackson and rattling through hits including Burn, U Don't Have To Call, Love In This Club, I Need a Girl, My Boo and Confessions, Part 2.

Then came the obligatory: "I want to take the time to say thank you. I feel a connection with you, like I'm your brother. I just want to say I love you."

At times the band drowned his voice out but this did not bother adoring fans who hardly noticed, especially during the chorus of the David Guetta-produced Without You, on which Usher sings.

The crowd rose to its feet, gazing in awe as he sang through a gold-encrusted microphone: "I won't run, I won't fly. I will never make it by, without you, without you ..."

"Mzansi, sanibona (hello). I love you. I couldn't do without you," he said, chuckling.

Usher's only interaction with the media was a hastily arranged press conference on Friday, on the eve of the show.

Shows in Durban and Cape Town were cancelled in January due to "unavoidable scheduling and logistical challenges", according to Big Concerts.

But it seems the failure of both cities to meet stage requirements was to blame.