MTV: You were talking about having to push the LP back. That's sort of the opposite of what groups like Destiny's Child, 'NSYNC, and other pop/R&B acts are doing, which is trying to keep releasing albums out so the audience won't forget about them. Did you have any concerns in pushing your album back for so long that you might lose some of your fans?
Usher: A melodic song will last forever. Melody is a hooker. If it's gonna get you, it will get you. Pulling the record back was a risk, but I thought, if anything, it would build anticipation.
MTV: Since you've been gone, there's been male singers like Sisqó and Ginuwine who've brought the kind of total package you did on your last album. Sisqó has been going around at radio stations putting a challenge out to you for a dance-off and singing battle. What do you think about that?
Usher: Well, what's the challenge? [Laughs] We already did sing, and in terms of dancing, hey, it is what it is. Take a look at it. It's there. [RealAudio]
MTV: Sitting back and watching these other guys, you were like a player that's on the bench. Did watching their success make you more hungry?
Usher: Not me. I feel what's meant for me will wait for me. I feel like this is a way of life for me. This is something that was blessed. Only I could have what is meant for me. The next person can have what's meant for them. I know a lot of the artists that have come out have followed the footsteps that I laid on "My Way" and "You Make Me Wanna ..." I'm fine with that. That's what true legends do. I don't profess to be one, but I'm growing and I'm following the legends. I follow the footsteps of Michael Jackson. I hear different people say different things, but I don't let it bother me. I'm cool. I let my music speak for itself. When it gets down, it goes down.
MTV: You worked with the Neptunes on "I Don't Know" and "U Don't Have to Call." They're really hot right now. What was it like working with them?
Usher: It was a breeze. They came and did their thingaling and got on gone.
MTV: What does the song "Can U Help Me" mean to you?
Usher: I tell everybody this is my evolution as an artist as well as an evolution as a person. "Can U Help Me" is something I personally went through. I was in a deep relationship, and if you listen to the words you'll understand deeply where my emotions were and how I felt about the whole situation. I've never really been able to get into a deep relationship like I would have liked to and this is the reason. ... I sat down in front of a microphone and just sung my heart out. [RealVideo]
MTV: I'm feeling that song "U Don't Have to Call."
Usher: Dig that? That's [inspired by] Michael [Jackson]. I'm inspired by some of those things that I listen to. Talking to Neptunes [member Pharrell Williams] before we did the record, he sort of let me know where he was at in terms of his writing. I just said, "Go with it, man. Go for it." I didn't want to take him out of his creative space, so I just let him write. I walked in there and put my two cents on it. [RealAudio]
MTV: You were saying a lot of songs on this record were from personal experience. There's been rumors going around linking you romantically to Chilli from TLC. How true are they?
Usher: Nah, we're just good friends. She's in my video [for "U Remind Me"], but we're really, really close friends. After the video, the relationship as friends started.
MTV: So you didn't know her before the video?
Usher: Nah. I'd known her, but we never connected on a level that we are now, as friends. So if you see us out together, we're just good friends, man.
