Middle schoolers can’t catch a break. If it’s not body odor or unwanted hair growth, it’s being stood up at your own party by Grammy-winning, globetrotting, heartthrob megastar Usher Terrance Raymond IV, known simply to his fans as Usher.
That’s sort of what happened on Friday to the heartbroken, hardworking students of Prince William County’s Woodbridge Middle School. After earning a “school of excellence” distinction for scoring well on statewide tests, someone promised – or at least texted, or Facebooked, or something – the party to end all: Usher – THE Usher – would perform just for them.
Well, here’s what you get for working so hard, kiddos. The media showed up, along with personalities from WPGC radio. The only person missing was the man himself. Usher, in the end, was a no-show.
Prince William County school officials referred media to WPGC for an explanation, saying that no one at the district level was involved with the planning.
But officials at WPGC pleaded not guilty, as well, saying the school organized the event.
“Trust me, if we had organized it, we’d have had him on the radio,” said Sam Rogers, a senior vice president for CBS Radio in Washington. CBS operates WPGC.
Only one person, it seems, was left out of the loop from the get-go: Usher. He was in Atlantic City, said a spokeswoman.
School spokesman Ken Blackstone gave his assurance that the good students of Woodbridge still held their “school of excellence” celebration. But with all due respect to the Woodbridge party planning committee, in light of the crushing disappointment, that sounds about as enticing as a Saturday night at home with mom and dad, after being totally disinvited from the end-of-year party of the most popular kid at school.
