The GRAMMY-winning superstar's latest album is set to come out Feb. 9.
Usher's new album is for the lovers and friends!
ET spoke with the GRAMMY-winning superstar before he takes the stage on Sunday during the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show and he broke down the themes of his upcoming ninth studio album, Coming Home.
While he's happily in love with partner Jenn Goicoechea, the "Daddy's Home" singer reveals that fans are still going to get notes of that troubled kind of love.
"We still got a little toxic love in there," Usher, 45, tells ET's Kevin Frazier. "You know, it's love. The entire album is intended to remind you of romance and love and this journey we are on takes a lot. There's a lot things going on in the world, so we're trying to find our way back to this lovely place where we can just be OK with falling in love with each other and, like, enjoying each other in a way."
He adds, "It's like, 'OK, can I really know you? Will you really let me know how you feel about me?'"
Fans have gotten a taste of Coming Home's storyline with the release of three singles, "Good Good" featuring 21 Savage and Summer Walker, "Risk It All" featuring H.E.R, and his latest afro-beats-inspired single, "Ruin," with Pheelz.
Usher, who has been known to have some iconic collaborations including Beyonce, Ludacris, BTS' Jungkook and more, says that he had a few collaborations when it came to this project -- his family, especially his teenage sons.
Usher is father to sons Usher Raymond "Cino" V, 16 and Naviyd Ely, 15 -- whom he shares with his ex-wife, Tameka Foster -- and daughter Sovereign Bo, 3, and son Sire Castrello, 2, whom he shares with Goicoechea.
"By the way, they both advise me all the time," he says. "What's beautiful is that they care enough to give an opinion and that they feel comfortable sharing it. That's the other thing because parents at some point become uncool and don't understand or don't listen or won't pay attention. So, I give them the space to."
He adds, "It took a minute, right? 'Cause I'm like, 'Man, you just sit in the room. You want to play video games and you want to make TikToks all day,'" he quips. "But eventually, they were beginning to come up with ideas."
The singer confesses that his teenage son was responsible for one of his biggest ideas -- the Ush Bucks that he made it rain with during his My Way Las Vegas residency.
"Ush Bucks, that came from Naviyd," he says. "He's a little genius. He's like, 'You should do Ush Bucks and you should like give them out like, you know, make it rain,' My mom was like, 'No, you gotta make it rain.' So we came up with this idea. But it's great that family can sit around and talk about creative ideas. How I launch my album, a lot of the creative ideas they come from my kids believe it or not."
Usher's sons also know exactly what they want to hear and how their dad should get the party started when he hits the stage during the big game on Sunday.
"Cinco's like, 'You know I'm trying to turn up, man,' and Naviyd's like, 'No, we gotta make sure that everybody can do the dances, you gotta play this number, you should start with this,'" he says of his boys' input. "I'm like, 'Why don't you play the Super Bowl then?' You know what I'm saying?" he says with a laugh.
He adds, "They have an opinion and it's real. Like this is what I feel and this is what I look at, this is what we are. So yeah, in some way, it's authentic but it's not trying to just fit in, like, 'No, this is what I like and this what I would like to see you do.'"
While the boys have opinions, Usher admits that it's his baby girl who runs the house. Fans got a look at how he spends time with little Sovereign in the teaser video for "Ruin."
"Whatever she wants, she's basically the princess of the house," he says of his baby girl. "You become a shield of yourself when your daughter's next to you. It's just all that tough guy stuff goes right out the window, you're on your knees running around, tea parties and Candyland and all that."
Usher will take the stage during the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime Show on Sunday. Coming Home will be released on Feb. 9, and the Usher: Past, Present and Future Tour begins Aug. 20.
Super Bowl LVIII – which is airing on CBS and streaming live on Paramount+ – is at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, and has the Kansas City Chiefs facing off against the San Francisco 49ers. Keep checking ETonline for more from the big game, including photos, exclusive interviews and more.
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