Last Sunday, R&B superstar Usher decided to prove that he is an unstoppable force in music and entertainment with his headlining performance at the Super Bowl Halftime Show.
“The fact that I had this opportunity and that someone who was in a position decided to give me the opportunity to entertain the world and do what I love to do after such an amazing year here, especially in Las Vegas, it feels so amazing,” says the singer, 45, who opened up to PEOPLE in a no-holds-barred interview just four days before he was set to hit the biggest stage of his career. “I feel honored, proud.”
But the star admits he didn’t always feel that way and talks candidly about the time he considered quitting music altogether before embarking on a global journey of self-discovery that turned his world upside down.
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Usher on the cover of PEOPLE. The best photos from Usher’s 2024 Super Bowl halftime performance
“I think I got frustrated and I just needed a moment to relax and process what I was feeling,” Usher says of going through a period in his career where he felt his music wasn’t resonating with fans like it once did.
“I just felt a lack of support and it was a bit of a drag because I was still putting in the same effort trying to create things that I felt would be celebrated,” he says. “It was a moment of real consideration, like ‘Is it time to hang it up? Am I good enough? Is it time to stop?’”
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Usher performs in Las Vegas in May 2023.
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Those thoughts came to the fore and the star said to herself, “‘I just have to go’.” Usher embarked on a soul-searching journey in 2018 after his three-year marriage to music director Grace Miguel, 53, ended last year. divorce.
“Thailand, Africa, India, Tokyo, London, I went on this trip. Everything was fun,” he says. “And after going through all those places, I got it. I was able to clear my mind and get to a place where I can really relax and let the light spread and not look at things in boxes, good or bad.”
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Usher in Egypt. Usher’s daughter Sovereign makes ‘acting debut’ in music video for new song ‘Ruin’: ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’
He continues: “I went through everything I went through for a reason. I decided not to look at them as negative things. These traumas become precious if I can choose to see them that way. That’s when I got it. And I just started believing in what I said and going after it.”
Right after the trip, Usher says things started to turn around, especially in his personal life.
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Jenn Goicoechea and Usher in Paris in February 2020. Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Usher’s teenage sons share special moments from Super Bowl 2024 as they witness dad’s iconic halftime show
When he returned, “I found an amazing partner who was my best friend and was there the whole time and I was like, ‘Wow,’ this could be great,” he says of finding romance with Goicoeche, whom he would date for years.
“Jenn was the first person I saw when I got back. She said, ‘You look different.’ I said, ‘Yeah, where have you been?’ ”
Now the two are happily married after surprising fans by tying the knot in a Las Vegas chapel on Sunday, just after his Super Bowl halftime performance.
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Usher and Jenn Goicoechea shortly after their wedding in Las Vegas on February 11, 2024.
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Usher married longtime girlfriend Jennifer Goicoechea in a Las Vegas wedding ceremony! (Exclusive)
“Listen, when you find someone who you know is a great partner, of course it’s an honor and a pleasure to be able to share your life with someone who wants to share it with you,” he says of the music director. “And who loves you for who you are.”
Between his happy home life, with Goicoeche, their two children (Sovereign, 3, and Sire, 2) and his teenagers (Usher V, 16, and Naviyd, 15), and his successful career including his hit Residency in Vegas, the new album Coming home and the Super Bowl, Usher is back at the top of his game.
“This is a moment that represents true belief that something magical can happen when you believe in yourself,” he says. “This is a moment of celebration.”
For more from Usher, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.
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Source: HIS Education