On today’s very special edition of “Tamron Hall,” the Daytime Emmy Award-winning host traveled to Las Vegas to speak with the one and only Usher on the set of his My Way the Vegas Residency at the Dolby Theater at the Park MGM. The Grammy-winning artist, who recently announced that he will be extending his time in Las Vegas with 25 additional shows, discussed his successful career, his family and his kids, as well as some of his unforgettable experiences during his time in Sin City, including a surprise performance from the legendary singer-songwriter Anita Baker.
Tamron also went backstage with two ultimate Usher fans who won #TamronsUsherGiveaway contest and later visited the Graceland Wedding Chapel to help marry a special couple alongside an Elvis impersonator. See more pics and video clip inside, this was super fun looking omg!
Usher on his record-breaking success and how he reflects on his career:
“It’s a gift and a curse, actually, because if you don’t take the time to enjoy all those moments then you can’t appreciate it, right?” He continued, “It’s amazing that something that came through you mattered that much to someone else to be able to buy it, celebrate it and enjoy it, but like I said it is a bit of a gift and a curse…If you choose to point at a tangible thing – like ‘I want money,’ or ‘I want to sell this amount of records’ or ‘I want to have this amount of fans’ or ‘I want to see this thing’ – when you see this thing, is it over? So the gift and the curse is the pursuit of it. For me, it was never a pursuit of a thing. So I never could stop and say, ‘Man, number one records. Okay, I did it, it’s great.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, great. Let’s keep going. What’s next?’ You know, for me, the journey was the destination. The fact that I could do it, the fact that I can do these things, the fact that I can celebrate, the fact that I can use or even still have the talent to be able to share. So yeah, I love all of that. And my mom, she’s always like, ‘you realize what you’ve done?’ I’m like, ‘No, I do, but I don’t. And I don’t want to because if I recognize what I’ve done then I can’t get to what I’m gonna do.’”
Usher on his epic birthday celebration, a surprise performance from legendary singer-songwriter Anita Baker and supporting other artists:
“Yo, by the way, every night is intended to feel as though it is, like, an elevated experience. I have a lot of special guests. But my birthday night was something special. Anita Baker. Yo, by the way, I had no idea that this was happening, they completely surprised me and Anita came out. I didn’t know what was getting ready to happen but she sang ‘Happy Birthday’ to me and then Anita Baker don’t sing ‘Happy Birthday’ or sing for anybody. So I almost, like…I don’t know if I can top this one.” He continued, “I was shocked. It would be shocking to know that I am such an avid and diehard fan of Anita Baker. And then the night before we also, too brought Chris Brown out. Yeah. I love Chris and I’ve always been a supporter of him from the beginning of his career, and just really wanted him to recognize his greatness. Sometimes it’s great for our fans to say it but when we say it to each other when we recognize it, like James Brown ordained me, the ‘Godson of Soul’ and a week before I think it was, he ordained Michael Jackson as the new Godfather. When we have these moments to be able to share with our brothers and our sisters that work in this industry. Hip Hop has always been about that. It’s always been about that cultural community thing, but R&B. It ain’t always been that way.”
Usher on rumors that R&B is “dead”:
“I don’t believe that. No one does. No one believes that. Matter of fact, I think that that’s just some sort of clickbait to just make people pay more attention to R&B and they should because it’s great and if you know R&B the way I do and you’ve seen it in Las Vegas…you’ve not seen anything until you come to this show and you understand that R&B will never be dead.”
Usher on his relationship with his girlfriend, music industry executive Jennifer Goicoechea:
“She has been there with me through my hardest times. She single handedly has been one of the only ones that I can know unwaveringly has had my back as I have hers. And I’m very, very fortunate to be able to share this time of success with her and our children together and our life together. She is a forever partner. I think that the journey that I’m having, I wouldn’t be able to have had it without her support. She’s just literally one of the greatest partners I think I’ve ever had.”
Photo Credit: Bellamy Brewster
