Usher_Raymond

11. BlackPlanet.com: Your music is in such high demand that the label moved up the release date. So the fans are ready. So do you feel a little bit pressured by that or honored or a little of both?

Usher: Well, I mean, in this day and age, you know, when they want it, you've got to give it to them or else they'll find a way of getting it without your permission. So it has been important. This has actually been a process that I've been prepared to put out for the last, I'd say, four or five months. So it kind of made it easy.

The hardest part, honestly, was the secrecy, you know, because I worked on a lot of songs. And going through the trial and elimination process, you know, of how I would tell this story was kind of difficult. But, you know, I don't think it's going to add any pressure. I think that it's just time.

The people have been really asking for it. There's been a heavy, you know, a callout for this record. I've been listening to it for like the last, I'd say you know, eight months. So I'm ready and ready to shock the world.

12. BlackPlanet.com: You had spoke about the younger performers and whatnot, as far as advice. But what do you really think about the young performers, like people comparing Chris Brown to you? They talk about Ne-Yo and all these other people coming up in the game right now, like ...

Usher: You know what? I think the same comparison was drawn to a legendary artist when I came up, and now I've grown to be the comparison. So I'm very, very proud of that. And I only hope that, you know, with time, you know, that they'll grow to be the same.

You know, it's a matter of sustaining. You really have to be relevant in this time. You have to continue to be innovative and come up with creative ideas. But, you know, for the fans to love you, and they keep you there.

And, for me, I'm very happy, for the comparison because of the fact that, when I was coming up, they compared me to Michael. They compared me to Bobby. They compared me to - well, they even said Elvis at one time, you know. But a great compliment.

13. BlackPlanet.com: What was the most challenging thing about making this album?

Usher: The most challenging thing about making this album was, you know - I got to say it like this, OK. It is very hard to tell the truth, but it's even harder to tell yourself a lie. And in making, each and every song, I realized this. It was just very painful, you know, to talk about certain things, you know, in life.

I think, just the honesty in it, and finding the voice to feel comfortable and vulnerable that, in a way, in a sense to say certain things. You know, I'm sharing these intimate thoughts and this intimate place that I'm in with everybody. Of course, that is really what it is, and that's what makes it authentic soul R&B music. But it was a hard one. The ability to not conform to the standard of what music was considered at the time, and find that voice and find that place where, people will understand that this is a savior of love, this is a savior of real music.

14. BlackPlanet.com: I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about the process of what it's like to go through designing a perfume or getting to be a part of that process and how it's different from making music?

Usher: Well, being a part of the process for the making of the fragrance is very tedious. It's time consuming. You know, of course it is a matter of, your senses and what you're attracted to and what things are your favorite. So it was actually complementing because I was able to be creative in a different way but analytical at the same.

You know, you find a letter, you find a color or you find a place. You find an emotion that you can tie to the senses, but you want to make sure that, in the end, that all of your senses are peaking when you smell whatever it is that you've smelled. You think of a place. You think of a feeling. You feel something. You feel an attraction, whatever it may be that, you know, that comes to you. But, you know, to make sure that I thought of all of the levels of it were very deliberate, and it was very, you know, very different, but very intriguing. And I look forward to doing it again and again and again and again.

15. BlackPlanet.com: Hey, so you talked about who your favorite people to collaborate with on this album were. Who else in the industry do you want to work with?

Usher: In the industry, I'd like to do something with Michael Buble. I'd like to do something with Harry Connick, Jr., possibly. I'd like to do something with Tim McGraw. I'd like to do something with Justin Timberlake. I'd like to do something with Gwen Stefani. And that's just to name a few. You know, of course, I have the honor to now say that I worked on a record with Beyonc , but I'd like to do it again with her and it not be kind of relative to a remix.

6. Black Planet: Between acting and singing and dancing and your fragrance line and the philanthropies you're involved in, what else is there that you'd like to get involved in, that you'd like to dip into?

Usher: Oh, man. I think that the greatest of all of them is being the coolest dad in the world. You know, I want to make sure that I'm proud of the father that I am to my child. That would be the most rewarding out of all of them, you know?

7. Black Planet: You spoke about the song you wrote for your son. Are there any themes that connect more directly to fatherhood and maybe marriage where you are at this point in your life now?

Usher: Yes, There are several songs that are built off of the topic of personal position, personal reflection. The actual song that was written - it's actually not a full song; it's an interlude. That's why I kind of made a difference between those songs that are, on the album and in the interludes. That's always the most fun part for me. But seeing that it was for my son, specifically, was really incredible. But there is a topic of life, love, decisions, choices that are made, repercussions, the reality of the journey of life, of manhood. You know, here you have before you a young man, who stepped into true manhood, not only because of my child but also because of the decisions that I made in the span of two years. It was all of the things that happened before that led up to this brilliant moment. But, you know, now I'm able to voice, how I feel about certain things. And, allow myself to be vulnerable in exposing certain things through my music.

8. Black Planet: You started out pretty young in this game, you know, performing from a young age. And right now there are a lot of real talented artists coming up who are young in the years: Rihanna, Chris Brown, Jordin Sparks. Do you have any words of advice for those artists coming up and what they can do to stay on a path like you?

Usher: To stay on a path like me, you know, I would say, one, you got to stick around. You got to continue to work, grind, to get it, and that's obvious, you know, judging from, how much you see them and how much they work. But I think, just really creating an expectation for yourself every day. And if that expectation is to win, to do something positive, to give great work to the community of music, of artistry and entertainment.

9. Black Planet: I read an interview with MTV news that Jermaine Dupri kind of claimed that your second single was going to be entitled "Moving Mountains." Is that true?

Usher: That is true. The second single for the album is "Moving Mountains." It was produced by Tricky Stewart, well, Redzone, you know, they're a group there, a production group. And it was written by Dream. And the video has been shot. It was shot by the Brothers Strauss. It is to be delivered very soon. I can't give you a date. But it is the second single.

10. Black Planet: I assume you're going to be touring for the album, what's great about touring and what really sucks about it?

Usher: What sucks about it and what's great about it? What sucks about it is when it's over. The greatest part about it is when you're doing it.