Usher always knew Justin Bieber was “superstar” material.
The mononymous R&B icon — born Usher Raymond — revealed last week that he beat out fellow pop star Justin Timberlake when the duo battled to sign then-up-and-coming Bieber, now 29, in 2008.
“When you are at the top of your game, some of the greatest things will be presented to you, and it was, I think, right after [my album] ‘Confessions’ that I was introduced to Justin Bieber and Scooter Braun, the musician, 45, told People magazine.
The “Yeah!” singer revealed that he presented Braun, 42, with “an offer that I felt like he couldn’t resist.”
“We built a friendship, but this would obviously create a partnership that would span us forever, and it was a bit of a bidding war between me and Justin Timberlake,” the “My Boo” crooner continued. “… I was like, I’m not certain that I could understand each and every producer that this artist could benefit from, but what I can tell you is I’m going to give you my passion, and I’m going to give you every bit of what I have to offer.”
The musician also admitted that his desire to sign Bieber also came from the fact that, in Raymond’s mind, “there can only be one Justin.”
“So if you want to go with Justin, that’s Justin and Justin. Me, it’s only one Justin,” he continued. “So that obviously created a relationship and [there was] that support of him as an entrepreneur, because I think that he was trying to find himself as well.”
According to Raymond, he also used the Canadian singer as leverage to persuade Braun to become a full-service manager, something that Braun allegedly did not see himself doing.
“I think that you can do this,” the entertainer purportedly told Braun. “I believe in you, and if we can have a partnership, I’ll give you every bit of wisdom that I have and grow you and support you in whatever you’re trying to accomplish as a businessman.”
“You are a manager,” the “OMG” singer continued.”You’re not just a guy who can discover artists. You are someone who just needs someone to believe in, and I believe in, and I’ll support you.”
The recollection comes a week after Bieber — who was rumored to have parted ways with Braun in 2023 — was curiously left out of Usher’s Super Bowl halftime show on Feb. 11 despite rumors to the contrary.
“You know what, it didn’t work out with Justin,” the artist stated of Bieber’s Super Bowl absence during an interview with the nationally syndicated radio show “The Breakfast Club.”
“I honor and recognize that my brother … I think it might’ve been the fact that he was just wanting to tell a different story right now and I understand that,” Raymond continued. “We did have a brief conversation [and] we’re gonna do something in the future.”
The singer revealed that there was “no love lost” between him and the “Baby” singer.
Bieber wasn’t the only one who didn’t make the cut.
“I think it’s a lot of pressure for the Super Bowl, obviously, for me to put together a show so I reached out to everybody,” Raymond added. “Justin wasn’t the only person that I actually spoke to about doing the Super Bowl [halftime show].”
Lil Jon, who performed alongside H.E.R., Alicia Keys, Ludacris, Jermaine Dupri and Will.i.am from the Black Eyed Peas, during the show offered a different take.
“We wanted to put Justin in the show, so we had the idea of doing a version of the show with Justin in it,” he told TMZ. “But I think Justin just wasn’t really ready to have a lot of rehearsal, a lot of responsibility, a lot of time and a lot of eyeballs. I don’t know if he was ready to do all of that, you know?
“I mean, he definitely was there supporting Ush and they’re really good friends and he definitely was supporting him,” he added.
The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 in overtime, with Chiefs star Travis Kelce’s girlfriend, pop culture icon Taylor Swift, rooting him on.
Usher also married his longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Goicoechea, 40, after his performance on Super Bowl Sunday.