Amidst the anticipation of his upcoming Super Bowl performance and the buzz surrounding his acclaimed residency, Usher shifts his focus to diabetes awareness.
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00:00 I found this at 11 years old and here I am at my older age.
00:04 I'm 45 years old and I'm still just as passionate
00:07 as I was when I first started.
00:09 And you should do the same if you find something
00:11 that you really love in your life.
00:12 This is the kind of commitment that you should have for it.
00:15 (upbeat music)
00:18 - How are you doing today?
00:21 - I'm okay.
00:23 - Okay.
00:24 - Thank you for asking, how are you?
00:26 - I'm doing well, I'm very excited.
00:28 - So we can go ahead and jump right in.
00:31 So I wanted to ask you a little bit about your residency
00:35 and then also what you're doing about diabetes.
00:38 So I know your residency has been a massive success.
00:44 Tons of people have come to see it from celebrities
00:46 and just regular folks who love your music.
00:48 I know my mom went to go.
00:50 So what inspired you to take on a residency
00:54 apart from doing other ventures just like touring?
00:59 - Well, typically right, tours are either a product
01:04 of releasing an album or maybe a collaborative effort
01:09 around grouping of artists.
01:12 But it's a curated experience regardless, right?
01:15 - Yeah.
01:15 - And I think I've reached a place where I was entitled
01:20 to be able to have some sense of a residency.
01:27 If it were not in Las Vegas, it could have been
01:31 in other places that offer residencies for some time.
01:35 The one added to it is the fact that I would be able
01:39 to still manage my regular life as a parent,
01:44 as a human being, as a curator,
01:51 as a person who works outside of music.
01:53 Music requires a certain focus,
01:54 it requires a certain dedication in terms of touring.
01:59 So residency was a brilliant idea in my mind
02:05 after the pandemic.
02:10 I think that the world was kind of in a state of shock.
02:12 We were still trying to figure out
02:13 how to get back to normal.
02:15 I think everybody was kind of tucked away.
02:17 I mean, other than Atlanta, Atlanta was still going hard.
02:20 Which I lived in Los Angeles at the time.
02:23 But we were trying to figure out how to get back to normal.
02:28 And we put the residency on sale just before the pandemic
02:33 and had to pause because there was just no functioning,
02:38 active business at the time.
02:40 So out of this quarantine and out of not being
02:50 in social spaces where there could be
02:53 a most to the people, it was a risk,
02:56 it was a roll of the dice.
02:57 But what it offered was something that was the belief
03:00 that we get back to normal.
03:02 The other side of it was that I could get back to normal.
03:07 I could get back to the thing that I love to do the most.
03:09 And that was performing in front of a live audience.
03:13 Not just because I had a new album or a project
03:16 that I was promoting or either an idea of collaboration
03:20 between me and sharing the stage with said groups
03:24 because we were touring.
03:25 But that was the reasoning for residency.
03:33 - So how has it felt for you to have to extend it
03:37 multiple times?
03:39 Like people are just itching to go see you in Vegas.
03:42 - It feels good.
03:43 - Yeah.
03:44 - Feels good.
03:45 I have to say that there's no better place to be
03:50 than Wanted.
03:51 - Absolutely.
03:53 - The success of this, it speaks to a few different things.
04:00 One, this dynamic of what it is that I offer as an artist
04:03 regardless of whether I have a hit single
04:06 or either a record at radio or record in the world.
04:12 It felt good to get back to this concept of live entertainment
04:17 in a very intimate setting.
04:21 Arenas, they're really great.
04:24 You know what I'm saying?
04:25 But to be able to have a theater where I could curate
04:28 a very immersive and a deliberate intentioned experience
04:33 where people come in and they know
04:35 that they're gonna get their money's worth.
04:37 That they feel like they have a night that is elevated.
04:40 A night that would not only be to remember
04:43 because of what happened,
04:44 but how you felt before you got there.
04:47 One, the anticipation because of the conversation.
04:50 Most shows don't allow cameras to be shown in Las Vegas.
04:56 I welcomed cameras because I wanted people to see
05:00 and experience that feeling that is the true inspiration
05:05 of why I am the artist that I am.
05:07 And it was these kinds of shows that entertainers put on
05:12 in the past where you not only croon to your audience,
05:17 but you found a way to be social
05:19 and serenade your audience.
05:21 You felt a connection to them through the theatrics of it,
05:26 but then also to the emotion of it,
05:30 the dance of it, the lighting of it,
05:32 the culture of the places that I come from
05:35 that I would offer kind of a snapshot
05:38 or maybe a first look
05:39 because people had never seen that culture.
05:41 They don't understand what it's like to be in Magic City.
05:44 Well, you can't go to Magic City,
05:46 but I can bring Magic City to you.
05:48 I can bring a bit of this world
05:50 of what we consider odd theatrics.
05:54 You know, when I think of Cirque du Soleil,
05:57 I think of the women who are incredible performers
06:01 and the fact that they know how to do these incredible things
06:04 as pole dancers.
06:05 I felt like, you know what?
06:06 That's our culture.
06:08 That's our opportunity for the world to be able to see it.
06:11 And it should be put on a pedestal.
06:12 It should be put on the most grand stage in America
06:17 where Cirque du Soleil and Zoomanity
06:21 and Absinthe and incredible shows
06:26 offer something else that's theatrical.
06:28 Burlesque shows, Magic Mike.
06:34 The Thunder Down Under, you know what I'm saying?
06:36 I felt like I could wrap all of those things
06:38 into a very intimate performance that celebrates my catalog,
06:43 but again, made people feel really great for the money
06:47 that they were spending to come to Las Vegas
06:50 and see the show.
06:51 - Absolutely.
06:52 And so Vegas residencies,
06:54 they often bring artists face-to-face
06:57 with the challenge of extended performances,
07:01 day after day, like very long schedules.
07:03 So how have you been able to maintain your energy
07:06 and your enthusiasm night after night?
07:08 - Well, one, I have three shows a week,
07:11 so that makes it easy.
07:12 Normally it's a Wednesday, a Friday, or a Saturday.
07:16 Few times on a few occasions,
07:18 it's been like a show on Sunday,
07:20 but that's really due to my being able
07:22 to schedule my life in it.
07:24 It takes a great deal of efforts
07:28 to try and figure out how to create normalcy
07:31 in this industry period,
07:33 as a parent who likes to actively be around with my kids
07:38 and really help them in engineering
07:42 what their life is gonna be.
07:43 So the residency of it gave me that ability
07:46 to, after seven o'clock,
07:48 seven o'clock on the dot,
07:50 I was putting my babies to bed,
07:52 (laughing)
07:53 to the theater,
07:54 and having a show up until 11 o'clock.
07:59 But as I said, finding the balance
08:02 and having that ability to do the thing that I love,
08:07 that hopefully will be inspiring to my older kids.
08:10 I want them to be able to see that commitment.
08:12 Like, "Oh, I found this at 11 years old,
08:14 "and here I am at my older age.
08:17 "I'm 45 years old, and I'm still just as passionate
08:20 "as I was when I first started."
08:21 And you should do the same.
08:23 If you find something that you really love in your life,
08:25 this is the kind of commitment that you should have for it.
08:28 Sure, I could be doing a myriad of things.
08:30 I could be developing artists,
08:31 I could be in a studio,
08:32 I could become a musician,
08:34 I could become a playwright,
08:36 I could become a director,
08:40 develop products, all kind of stuff.
08:43 But this is a true passion of mine
08:45 that has continued to inspire me to be creative.
08:49 - So I know you also announced an album.
08:54 How do you see your upcoming album fitting
08:56 into the current music landscape?
08:59 And what do you believe sets it apart from your past work?
09:04 - As I made all albums, it's an offering.
09:10 Where it exists is not on me.
09:13 I'm giving the offering,
09:14 and where it lands is where it's supposed to.
09:16 Hopefully it lands on your heart.
09:18 Hopefully what I'm talking about,
09:19 you make a connection to.
09:21 Hopefully this is yet another chapter
09:24 in the catalog that I have been building
09:26 since I decided to start making music.
09:29 There's a truth that I'm speaking on this album,
09:33 a truth that has made me very comfortable
09:36 with the reality of my journey,
09:39 and the things that I have collected
09:41 has brought me back home,
09:43 has brought me to the safest place
09:45 where I can be honoring of the experiences that I've had,
09:49 and share it.
09:52 It's been a long time making this album,
09:55 and I'm really looking forward to it.
09:56 I've had an amazing time making it,
10:00 and I look forward to sharing.
10:02 - You've been actively involved
10:04 with the One Pledge movement
10:06 to promote awareness about type 1 diabetes.
10:09 Can you expound a little bit more
10:11 on your personal connection to the cause?
10:14 - Well, I've lived through my child
10:17 who has type 1 diabetes,
10:19 and I know detecting their type 1 diabetes
10:24 before diagnosis could give you
10:27 a very valuable amount of time to get prepared
10:31 to live with type 1 diabetes.
10:33 So teaming up with Senefie
10:38 and having this kind of spokesperson,
10:41 ambassadorship around this movement
10:43 that is really about screening.
10:45 You go to or either type in the onepledge.com,
10:49 and there's an opportunity to pledge
10:50 to get your family screened for type 1 diabetes,
10:54 and then eventually speak to doctors.
10:56 Rather you have a concern.
10:58 This is a very valuable moment
11:03 that is being offered to bring awareness
11:08 and also to clarity about what it is
11:11 to be a type 1 diabetic.
11:12 The difference, the sparing difference
11:13 between type 2 and type 1 diabetes.
11:17 I've done a great deal of philanthropic work
11:21 dealing with youth,
11:22 but this is something that was a true passion project of mine
11:27 to collaborate with them
11:30 in finding the screening opportunity
11:34 because I have a child that lives with type 1 diabetes,
11:39 and it is really a journey.
11:42 It's not a day that I don't hope that I can get out
11:47 that I could find a more accommodating path
11:50 on a day to day as my child is managing his blood,
11:53 as my child is managing their blood glucose levels.
12:00 There's highs and lows,
12:02 and there is insulin that the pancreas
12:05 actually supplies the body with to balance it.
12:09 These are all things that obviously a doctor
12:11 will better explain,
12:12 but the first step is one having something
12:15 or someone to be able to access the information
12:19 that then begins the journey.
12:21 And the onepledge.com was an opportunity to do that.
12:26 This is a movement that is critically important.
12:30 Type 1 diabetes is not something that can be prevented,
12:32 but it is something that can be detected early.
12:35 And if you have these types of tools of blood testing,
12:39 you could not only detect it
12:42 before any kind of noticeable symptoms arrive,
12:47 before insulin is required or potentially
12:51 the one balancing factor
12:55 to keep your blood glucose levels high or low.
12:57 So I wanted to offer that,
13:00 and I didn't mind being transparent.
13:04 I choose to keep the identity of my children.
13:09 I have four children, one of my children
13:12 is a type 1 diabetic and was diagnosed at six years old.
13:17 So even my understanding of diabetes was different
13:21 because my grandmother, she was a diabetic
13:25 and her choices in life and what she ate
13:29 more than likely led to the reality
13:32 of living as a type 2 diabetic.
13:35 But type 1 diabetes is a bit different.
13:37 And if I could offer this kind of thing,
13:42 this type of informative opportunity for you to get ahead,
13:47 then I felt like, hey, this could be helpful.
13:51 If I had access to something like this,
13:54 I could have been better prepared.
13:55 I could have been able to have spoken to a doctor
14:00 and know before I detected a loss in weight
14:05 or my child's appearance changing.
14:10 So it was all of those things that I think led
14:17 not only to being an advocate for this,
14:19 but a contributor to this community
14:24 of people who live with type 1 diabetes.
14:28 - As an active father and also as an entertainer,
14:32 could you talk about,
14:33 do you feel like you have to be a little bit
14:35 more hypervigilant with your child?
14:40 - Again, preparation is the best key.
14:43 Information is the next.
14:45 And how you really create a strategy
14:48 to navigate through type 1 diabetes.
14:50 It's not something that goes away.
14:53 Once you are diagnosed,
14:55 you live with it for your entire life.
14:58 And there is a growing community
15:02 that is exploring a myriad of things
15:04 of which a doctor can either point you in the direction of.
15:08 But this is a starter.
15:13 And if the One Pledge is an opportunity
15:17 to at least give you some preparation
15:21 before you get to the actual next step
15:24 of living with type 1 diabetes
15:27 or your child living with type 1 diabetes,
15:30 'cause make no mistake.
15:32 I know you've heard this saying,
15:33 you're happy as your saddest child, right?
15:36 And when your child is not in your care,
15:39 they live on your mind.
15:41 Living with a child who's a type 1 diabetic,
15:44 rather it's a device that's notifying
15:47 his or her highs and lows.
15:49 That's a relevant part of your day.
15:53 And you're constantly trying to figure out
15:55 how to assist them and help them navigate that process
15:58 because they're young,
15:59 because they're looking at others
16:03 who don't necessarily have to have
16:05 that type of consideration.
16:06 It feels a bit different.
16:12 It feels a bit confining.
16:14 So I, as a contributor to the community of type 1 diabetes,
16:20 wanted to offer something
16:22 that I really felt could be helpful.
16:24 (upbeat music)
16:26 (upbeat music)