RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Lionel Richie had something to say to the next generation of R&B stars during a recent show: They may think they’re breaking new ground, but the legends were doing it first. Moreover, according to Richie, they managed to stay out of jail while doing it.
During a stop on his Sing a Song All Night Long Tour with Earth, Wind & Fire , Richie brought up Usher and Chris Brown ’s massive 2026 co-headlining stadium tour while speaking to the crowd. In a clip circulating online, the “All Night Long” singer jokingly compared the pair’s tour to his own partnership.
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“Usher and Chris Brown… See, they try to do something new,” Richie said. “The Commodores with Earth, Wind & Fire, we were doing that back 40 years ago! Only difference is, between then and now, we didn’t go to jail.”
Richie laughed after delivering the punchline and continued to acknowledge the severity of the joke.
Brown clearly took the joke in stride, commenting on an Instagram clip of the concert with four laugh-cry emojis: “damn unk. We love ya paw paw.”
Brown and Usher are in the midst of The R&B Tour, a 2026 co-headlining stadium trek that began in June and is scheduled to continue through December. The run includes multiple stadium dates in major cities, including upcoming shows at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., and SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Richie’s joke was clearly aimed at Brown’s well-documented legal history, including his 2009 guilty plea to felony assault following his attack on then-girlfriend Rihanna. More recently, Brown pleaded guilty in July stemming from a 2023 altercation at a London nightclub. He is scheduled to be sentenced in the U.K. on Oct. 26.
This unexpected dispute between the artists comes as Richie and Earth, Wind & Fire are on their own high-profile tour together. Their Sing a Song All Night Long Tour pairs Richie’s decades-spanning pop and R&B catalog with Earth, Wind & Fire’s funk and soul classics, a combination Richie himself invoked while making the comparison. The tour’s North American leg is scheduled to wrap Friday in Austin, Texas.
Watch the clip below.
Lionel Richie calls out Chris Brown and Usher for their Stadium Tour during his concert: “ Usher.. Chris Brown….see they try to do something new. The Commodores with Earth, Wind & Fire, we were doing that back 40 years ago. Only difference is….. between then and now….… pic.twitter.com/ssBu3mR5AO
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) August 13, 2026
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