First off, Usher wants fans to know that he's doing much better, thanks.
Less than a week after pulling out of an appearance at 'NSYNC's "Challenge For The Children II" charity event (see "Usher Misses Charity Game Due To Exhaustion"), the singer's health had rebounded enough to where he was able to start promoting his new album, "All About U."
During an interview with MTV Radio, Usher talked about his recent collapse in the studio, and while he avoided getting into specifics, he did admit that his intense work schedule had taken his mind off such things as his diet and his general well-being.
"My doctors just told me that I was working so hard that I forgot to do the necessary things," Usher said, "like eating and drinking water and stuff like that, so I was sorta dehydrated and just overworking myself.
HREF="/sitewide/utils/playmedia.jhtml?clip=/mtv/news/real/u/usher000801_3.rm">"I was a bit under the weather,"
"All About U," Usher's third studio effort, is set for release on October 31, and he indicated that the record's focus on a dance-oriented sound was, in many ways, a response to some of the overly materialistic themes in hip-hop.
Usher said, "but
with this album, I'm trying to take it back. I'm trying to do a U-turn.
"Let's go back in time and pick up where we left off when we were dancing, when it wasn't about what you had," he added. "When music was just all about feeling good, making it to the dance floor that night or that weekend... or the skating rink. Just bringing it back to the essence of what dance and entertainment really is -- that's what I'm going to do with this record.
can listen to together and say,
'Well, we'll work through this," or "Let's get busy," or whatever. But this is definitely a record all about you and all about myself." [RealAudio]
Usher said that he is currently deciding between no less than three songs for the possible first single from "All About U," including "U-Turn," "Pop Your Collar," and "I Can't Let You Go."