Usher is one of R&B’s biggest names. He’s won eight Grammy Awards. His voice has defined a generation of soul music. For over two decades, he’s delivered hit after hit that fans still play on repeat.

As the filmmakers, songwriters and actors tell it, their “wackadoo” concept evolved over nine years and eight versions of “Golden” into a global phenomenon. By Melena Ryzik Before Rumi was the ...