The singer is gearing up for the biggest performance of his life.
Usher is ready to rock the Super Bowl stage. ET's Rachel Smith spoke with the 45-year-old singer on the heels of the news that he'll be headlining the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show, and he teased what fans can expect from the high-profile performance.
"This is a celebration of my legacy. It's a celebration of my music. It's a celebration of my passion," he told ET. "Thirty years ago that journey started and now it's landed me at this point in my life at the Super Bowl. Lot of songs, lot of moments, lot of dance, lot of energy."
The hardest part of Super Bowl prep has been choosing the set list, Usher explained.
"You've got 13 minutes in order to get through an entire legacy of music," he noted, before sharing how he's feeling ahead of the performance.
"The fact that I have my friends and new people to celebrate with is ultimately what's driving me and building my anticipation and excitement," he said. "... I don't take it for granted. My mother talked about this moment many years ago actually and there was the thought that maybe it wouldn't come. It was just a matter of time and making certain that the moment was right."
After a three decade-long career, this new chapter started with his Las Vegas residency, which kicked off last year.
"Since then it's just been an amazing experience, year after year, that has now led to 100 shows and the crescendo of that 100 shows is at the Super Bowl," he marveled. "I don't think I could have crafted that better. I couldn't have made that up, but thank God that He had a plan for me to be there."
Usher noted that he's "absolutely" fielding phone calls from past collaborators about a potential Super Bowl appearance, something he's been "considering a lot."
"It's magic time," he noted of the performance, before playing coy about possible special guests by saying, "Who knows?"
On Feb. 11, the same day that Usher performs at the Super Bowl, his new album, Coming Home, will be released.
"This juncture, this portion of my life, is a coming home experience. When I think about where I started and how this 30 years of an evolution has now brought me home... That's part of the reason that I named it Coming Home," he told ET. "The rest of it is inside of the music and my choices of experiences and things that I wanted to blend. I tried a few new things, worked with some new producers, and also to work with producers that I've worked with in the past. That's a bit of a coming home as well."
For his part, Usher went home to his children ahead of Halloween, but was unable to spend the actual holiday with them as he jetted off to New York to host an activation in Times Square today for his new campaign with Sanofi.
"I wasn't able to be there on the actual day of Halloween -- the day prior is when I took the majority of the photos -- because I wanted to be here in New York City for an amazing cause that meant so much to me," Usher explained.
He partnered with the pharmaceutical company to to raise awareness for Type 1 diabetes and encourage people to join The 1 Pledge Movement, which promotes early screening, after one of his kids was diagnosed with the disease. Usher is dad to Usher V, 15, Naviyd, 14, Sovereign, 3, and Sire, 2.
"Go to The1Pledge.com and pledge. Speak to your physician and actually get screened for Type 1 diabetes," Usher said, noting that, after his own child was diagnosed, "the journey has been one that I would've wished to have had the ability to prepare for."
"I think everybody deserves to be informed about their health and it's a really important message for the world," he said. "... As a parent you're constantly worried, because you want the safety of your children. As a growing adult you want to make certain that what you're doing with your body allows you to lead a very healthy life. To be prepared is having information, so if I can offer any advice to any person it would be to take this pledge, so that you can get screened and determine whether you or your child has Type 1 diabetes."
As for what his kid has taught him while battling the disease, Usher praised that he's learned "to really live in the moment and to be patient with the process."
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