USHER CONSINDERING RE-HIRING HIS MOM AS HIS MANAGER » Word on the sidewalk is that R&B singer Usher is having a hard time coping with the fact that his new album, Here I Stand, didn’t do as well as he had expected it to. So now he’s considering hiring his mom back as his manager. If you remember, back here in 2007 - around Mother’s Day, Usher had decided it was time to retire his mother from her duties as his manager, something she’d been doing since forever (15 years to be exact).

Now all of a sudden he wants mommy back because his album tanked. According to the NY Daily News, he’s blaming his new manager, Benny Medina, for the lack of success of his new album. Even though the CD debuted at #1 on the Billboard album charts, it only sold about 433,000 copies in its opening week. His Confessions album, released in 2004, also debuted at #1, but sold 1.1 million copies when it debuted. And its been over a month since Here I Stand was released, and so far the album has sold less than 800,000 copies.

A source tells the New York Daily News, “Usher was livid. He threatened to fire everyone. People have been telling Usher to listen to his mother. Nobody knows how to sell him better than she does. Usher can be stubborn. But he may be ready (to re-hire his mother).”

That’s what his cocky ass gets for trying to be all extra and get rid of the person who’s responsible for his success. CONTINUE READING

Usher and his 8 month old son Usher V grace the cover of the August 2008 issue of Essence Magazine. In this issue Usher talks about marriage, and being a father.

Usher on Fatherhood:

“He’s gonna admire me, he’s gonna look up to me. He’s gonna say, ‘I wanna be’ or he should say - ‘I wanna be like my father.”

Usher on his Marriage:

“They think that it was forced. I’ve heard a lot of comments like, “Oh, she trapped him.” “He got a baby by her, and then she’s married and she’s set for life.” “No. She wasn’t pregnant when I asked her to marry me. There’s some sort of huge conspiracy over this, the fact that I made these choices in my life. No I grew older. As a man, I have to take responsibility and take a hold of my life. I’m accountable for what happens to my life now.”

Are y’all feeling this cover? I think it’s cute.

Usher performing “In This Club” as the opener for the 2008 BET Awards, which aired last night live from Los Angeles.

The 2008 BET Awards went down last night, and while there were a few lackluster performances (Usher’s being one of them), there were a few memorable, surprising, and exciting moments. One being Alicia Keys’ performance when she brought out SWV, En Vogue, and TLC! Another notable performance of the evening was Ne-Yo’s, where he showed us he can hang with the big dogs when it comes to his dance moves - he even brought out the Jabbawockees (winners of MTV’s America’s Dance Crew). Chris Brown did his thing as well, and surprised everyone when he brought out Ciara. Did Rihanna approve of this beforehand? I’m curious to know. And speaking of Rihanna, did anyone else notice how far she’s come along, as far as her live vocals? I was really impressed when she performed Take A Bow! And last, but most certainly not least, on my list of the best performances of the night, Lil’ Wayne! He kind of scared me towards the end of the show because it seemed like he wasn’t going to come out. The show was already running 15 or 20 minutes over when he was introduced. But he did come out, and he showed us exactly how and why he has sold nearly 1,500,000 copies of Tha Carter: III so far! He started out with Got Money (feat. T-Pain), paid homage to Static Major (R.I.P.) with Lollipop, and ended off his performance with A Millie. He had the whole crowd hyped, and ended off the show perfectly.

While the 2008 BET Awards did have its good moments, much of the show left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. I expected a lot more from Usher. His performance was probably the most hyped up (pre-show), and ended up being one of the absolute worst of the night. While I love Keyshia Cole’s Heaven Sent, she really needs to work on her live vocals … and her stage presence. She had a lot of energy, she just didn’t know how to keep it all together. She looked like she was doing too much to me.

In my opinion, the 2007 BET Awards were much better. The performances, the overall show, and oh yeah … the host! Who the hell approved of D.L. Hughley being the host of this year’s show? I hope they received a pink slip in their box this morning. BRING MO’NIQUE BACK!!!

Follow the break for nearly 50 photos from all of last night’s performances
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Usher - “Love In This Club”

In case you missed the live coverage we did on the 2008 BET Awards last night, don’t worry. T2W is here to fill you in with the actual performances from the show! There were a lot of surprises in last night show and we have all of the performances thanks to HipHopMusicDotCom. Click play to view Usher’s performance of “Love In This Club” above!

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Usher covers the new July 2008 issue of Vibe Magazine, it’s also known as the Sexy Swagger Issue. In this new issue Usher talks about everything from firing his mom, being married and his new found ’swag’. Check out the outtakes from this new issue below. Continue reading for excerpts from this issue.

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Mashonda recently sat down for an interview with Hip Hop Weekly. When asked about her recent break up with rapper/producer Swizz Beatz, Mashonda said:

“Alicia Keys is her own woman and she has made her own choices. I don’t have a problem with her. I will say this though, I am not a scorned woman. I have a responsibility to raise [my son], he’s my number one priority and everyday I strive more for him and of course my music.”

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I got a few e-mails from some concerned readers who were wondering where I was. I haven’t posted since last Monday (June 2nd). The reason being, I just graduated high school last Wednesday (June 4th), and me and some of my friends are driving down to Myrtle Beach tomorrow for Senior Week. I won’t be back until next Monday, so in the meantime, Terrell, Kennesha, and Mike will be holding the site down just as they have been doing for the past couple of weeks. Keep me in your thoughts and prayers!!

Here are some candids of Usher arriving at the Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan.

(PHOTOS: WIRE IMAGE)

Janet Jackson recently talked her new book, “Me”, that’ll be in stores in November at a press conference and her new “Rock Withchu” Tour. Someone asked Janet about the next single. Janet responded:

“That’s pretty difficult to say, only because of the record label at this point. We started off with “Feedback” and the label and myself haven’t quite seen eye to eye since the “Feedback” single so they’ve kind of basically stopped all promotion. I’m trying to figure out a way to say this, but just to say it and to be quite honest, they just stopped all promotion whatsoever on the album so I don’t think you’re going to hear another single off this album.”

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