Interview with Usher

Q: What were you hoping for when you started off?

I didn't know specifically what I would end up doing; however, I knew I had a talent. My manager
helped open up as many doors and opportunities for me, to show my talent. I worked with Sean
[P. Diddy] Combs on my first album. I worked with a lot of great producers.

Q: You have been linked to Brandy, Monica and TLC's Rozanda "Chilli" Thomas. In the
song, "The Boy is Mine," are you the boy?

I don't know why they wrote that song. I am not going to say they wrote it about me. I think, if
anything, it was a takeoff of Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney's "The Girl is Mine." Earlier in
my career, when I first started, I did have somewhat of a relationship with both of them. They
never fought each other. We were friends. We never got really serious and we never put it out
there. People never knew about it, it was just something personal. It was never anything more
than innocent child love. We were teenagers. When I first started as an artist, I was 13 or 14,
and that's when I had a little romance with Monica. Later on, I met Brandy, we had a little
courting session, but we never dated or officially made it to be anything.

Q: Do you care, at this stage of your career, about piracy?

Of course I do, it affects sales in the music business and that's why we're here. Obviously, it is a
creative thing that we do, and it is driven by the creativity but it is truly about making money off
those record sales. If you can get it for free, it's a treat for the person who got it for free. As it
relates to all the money and time that goes into making these albums, it works against you. I
take it very seriously, I think downloading is wrong and should be viewed as a criminal act and
is no different than stealing from a store. When you want a candy bar in a store, you buy it.

Usher introduce Justin Bieber to super stardom after discovering the young talent on the youtube