Usher is currently killing it in Las Vegas. With several show dates stretching all the way until January 1, 2022, the Confessions artist has been applying pressure with his residency, and his highly anticipated shows have even drawn out the likes of LeBron James, Floyd Mayweather, Kevin Hart, Ella Mai, and several other notable celebrities.
Now, weeks after the start of his Las Vegas residency, Usher has landed the cover of Billboard's 2021 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players issue. During his interview with the outlet, Usher discusses his decision to go to Vegas, his progress on a potential Confessions 2, and of course, his viral comments about T-Pain that stemmed from Netflix's recent music documentary This Is Pop.
For those who may have forgotten or overlooked the initial story entirely, T-Pain was recently one of the artists prominently featured in Netflix's This Is Pop docuseries. In the series' second episode, the phenomenon of autotune is explored, and in a rather sad scene, T-Pain reveals that Usher confronted him about his autotune usage and slammed him for ruining the music industry.
T-Pain says that he and the R&B legend had a conversation on an airplane circa 2013, and to his surprise, Usher told him, "You kinda f*cked up music." The Rappa Ternt Sanga artist talked about his psyche at the time, saying, "Literally, at that point, I couldn't listen. Is he right? Did I f*ck up music? And that is the very moment -- and I don't think I realized this for a long time. That's the very moment that started a four-year depression for me."
T-Pain has since publicly expressed his continued love and respect for Usher and reiterated that the two R&B stars are very much on good terms, and now, in his interview with Billboard, Usher has echoed the autotune pioneer's sentiments.
"I’m happy that T-Pain said something," Usher revealed. "I’m not sure if it was before or after our actual conversation, after I heard what was said. It was very hurtful to know that he had experienced that kind of hardship in life. I wouldn’t wish that on any person. Private conversations for me have always been intended to uplift. But when or if people get pieces of it, they can always have some other interpretation. But we’ve spoken since and we’re good."
[via]