Legendary R’n’B vocalist Usher recently appeared on the famed Club Shay Shay podcast with Shannon Sharpe, during which he spoke about his career and the potential supergroup he could have formed with Jay-Z, Pharrell Williams and Diddy.
While speaking to the retired NFL star, Usher (real name Usher Raymond) detailed that he and his team sat down with the three legends and extensively discussed the business side of things. However, the singer claimed that the collective didn’t take off due to all parties getting “distracted”.
Explaining why it never worked out, Raymond disclosed, “Jay-Z, Pharrell, Diddy and me were supposed to be a group. Yeah, that’s crazy. I didn’t say ‘No.’ I didn’t say ‘Yeah.’ I think that we just got caught up. I think we all got caught up in the moment.”
Discussing the business talks that took place, Raymond continued, “We was talking about it and having secret meetings about it. We were talking about music and how we gon’ flip it and the business of it. And somehow, man, we just got distracted, and it never happened.”
He added, “That’s the one I actually wish would have happened.” The topic of Jay-Z had come to the fore as Usher will be the headline act of this year’s Super Bowl LVIII halftime show on February 11th. The performance will take place at the Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, where the San Francisco 49ers will play the Kansas City Chiefs.
As the creative producer of the past four Super Bowl halftime shows, Jay-Z was the figure who approached Usher to let him know he would have the herculean task of entertaining the nation this year.
In an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in September, Raymond recalled how Hov let him know he had been chosen, remembering, “[Jay] said, ‘It’s time, it’s magic time. It’s time for you to have that moment.’ I’m like, ‘What are you talking about?’ He’s like, ‘The Super Bowl’. I’m like, ‘Oh, you ready? Absolutely!’”
For the last two years, Usher has been performing as a resident artist in Las Vegas and will soon be thrust back into the limelight. You can listen to the vocalist’s interview in the video below.
