The internets are talking. Loud. And they’re talking about the Raymond family. Word on the sidewalk is that Usher and Tameka are expecting baby number two. As a matter of fact, People is confirming it, which makes it seem about damn near true to me. People’s usually up to par with their stories when it comes to creditabilty and all of that good stuff.
Recently, Foster was spotted wearing a belly-disguising outfit during Usher’s Sept. 4 NFL kick-off concert in New York. The dress was “very deceiving,” the source says. “You couldn’t tell she was pregnant when she was sitting down.”
The singer has also been busy with his charity, the New Look foundation, and a summer camp he ran for teenagers. In August, Usher told PEOPLE that being a father inspired him to give back.
“Having a child just completed the story,” he said. “I already had a giving heart, and I wanted to do something to mentor children.”
I don’t know about all of this, Ush. Your first child with Maneka turned out okay. I think you’re playing Russian Roullete going in for a second time. I’m just saying. Genetics are a bitch.
Usher attended the 2008 NFL Kickoff Press Conference yesterday in New York. He will be performing a series of songs from his latest album Here I Stand. Usher is supposedly performing “Here I Stand”, “Trading Places, and “What’s Your Name” with guest star Will.I.Am. Usher also doesn’t want to waste anytime and perform at the upcoming Superbowl in February:
“I don’t think it’s too early to consider it,” said Usher, “Certainly being associated with the organization makes that a lot more possible. There have been conversations for a lot of years about me being part of a performance at a Super Bowl.” Usher added. “I’m hoping that this leads, definitely, to that. This whole process is basically you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.”
R&B Singer Usher has rehired his mom, Jonetta Patton, as his manager and has terminated his previous management with Benny Medina. According to an unofficial source from PEOPLE:
“He wanted her to come back on board and she decided to. He had really poor management and wanted her back.”
It also cited that it could also be the fact that Usher’s latest album, Here I Stand (LaFace), didn’t even sell half of 2004’s Confessions. Usher’s first week sales of Here I Stand was 433,000 copies.
Not a lot went down this weekend, but here are a few events that you might (or might not) be interested in! First up, we have Ne-Yo, Nicole Scherzinger, and Cee-Lo Green, who all attended a private after party at club Hush in Hollywood.
USHER CONSINDERING RE-HIRING HIS MOM AS HIS MANAGER » Word on the sidewalk is that R&B singer Usher is having a hard time coping with the fact that his new album, Here I Stand, didn’t do as well as he had expected it to. So now he’s considering hiring his mom back as his manager. If you remember, back here in 2007 - around Mother’s Day, Usher had decided it was time to retire his mother from her duties as his manager, something she’d been doing since forever (15 years to be exact).
Now all of a sudden he wants mommy back because his album tanked. According to the NY Daily News, he’s blaming his new manager, Benny Medina, for the lack of success of his new album. Even though the CD debuted at #1 on the Billboard album charts, it only sold about 433,000 copies in its opening week. His Confessions album, released in 2004, also debuted at #1, but sold 1.1 million copies when it debuted. And its been over a month since Here I Stand was released, and so far the album has sold less than 800,000 copies.
A source tells the New York Daily News, “Usher was livid. He threatened to fire everyone. People have been telling Usher to listen to his mother. Nobody knows how to sell him better than she does. Usher can be stubborn. But he may be ready (to re-hire his mother).”
That’s what his cocky ass gets for trying to be all extra and get rid of the person who’s responsible for his success. CONTINUE READING
Usher and his 8 month old son Usher V grace the cover of the August 2008 issue of Essence Magazine. In this issue Usher talks about marriage, and being a father.
Usher on Fatherhood:
“He’s gonna admire me, he’s gonna look up to me. He’s gonna say, ‘I wanna be’ or he should say - ‘I wanna be like my father.â€
Usher on his Marriage:
“They think that it was forced. I’ve heard a lot of comments like, “Oh, she trapped him.†“He got a baby by her, and then she’s married and she’s set for life.†“No. She wasn’t pregnant when I asked her to marry me. There’s some sort of huge conspiracy over this, the fact that I made these choices in my life. No I grew older. As a man, I have to take responsibility and take a hold of my life. I’m accountable for what happens to my life now.â€
Usher performing “In This Club” as the opener for the 2008 BET Awards, which aired last night live from Los Angeles.
The 2008 BET Awards went down last night, and while there were a few lackluster performances (Usher’s being one of them), there were a few memorable, surprising, and exciting moments. One being Alicia Keys’ performance when she brought out SWV, En Vogue, and TLC! Another notable performance of the evening was Ne-Yo’s, where he showed us he can hang with the big dogs when it comes to his dance moves - he even brought out the Jabbawockees (winners of MTV’s America’s Dance Crew). Chris Brown did his thing as well, and surprised everyone when he brought out Ciara. Did Rihanna approve of this beforehand? I’m curious to know. And speaking of Rihanna, did anyone else notice how far she’s come along, as far as her live vocals? I was really impressed when she performed Take A Bow! And last, but most certainly not least, on my list of the best performances of the night, Lil’ Wayne! He kind of scared me towards the end of the show because it seemed like he wasn’t going to come out. The show was already running 15 or 20 minutes over when he was introduced. But he did come out, and he showed us exactly how and why he has sold nearly 1,500,000 copies of Tha Carter: III so far! He started out with Got Money (feat. T-Pain), paid homage to Static Major (R.I.P.) with Lollipop, and ended off his performance with A Millie. He had the whole crowd hyped, and ended off the show perfectly.
While the 2008 BET Awards did have its good moments, much of the show left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. I expected a lot more from Usher. His performance was probably the most hyped up (pre-show), and ended up being one of the absolute worst of the night. While I love Keyshia Cole’s Heaven Sent, she really needs to work on her live vocals … and her stage presence. She had a lot of energy, she just didn’t know how to keep it all together. She looked like she was doing too much to me.
In my opinion, the 2007 BET Awards were much better. The performances, the overall show, and oh yeah … the host! Who the hell approved of D.L. Hughley being the host of this year’s show? I hope they received a pink slip in their box this morning. BRING MO’NIQUE BACK!!!
Follow the break for nearly 50 photos from all of last night’s performances CONTINUE READING
In case you missed the live coverage we did on the 2008 BET Awards last night, don’t worry. T2W is here to fill you in with the actual performances from the show! There were a lot of surprises in last night show and we have all of the performances thanks to HipHopMusicDotCom. Click play to view Usher’s performance of “Love In This Club” above!
JOE THOMAS
ROBIN THICKE
LLOYD
STEPH JONES
J. HOLIDAY
