*Usher served up a stellar Tiny Desk performance over the summer and now the R&B crooner is revealing why you won’t catch him doing a ‘Verzuz’ battle.
Usher shared his thoughts on the matter during an appearance on the People Every Day podcast to discuss his Las Vegas residency, People reports.
“I think if you ever came to my show, you would understand that I don’t even think a Verzuz could handle all of the songs that I have to be honest,” Usher told host Janine Rubenstein. “It’s like, I could do it by myself. But I don’t wanna do that. That’s not the purpose of Verzuz, me versus me.”
He continued, “But I think it’s great. It’s great to celebrate music. But the appreciation of it starts with understanding what it is and how long has it taken to do this legacy. And if you choose to compare it, what are you comparing to? Are you comparing it to itself?”
The initial Verzuz battle debuted on Instagram Live in March 2020 amid the COVID pandemic. The virtual music series was created by Timbaland and Swizz Beatz and has streamed battles featuring Snoop Dogg, DMX, Benny Blanco, Ryan Tedder, Babyface, Teddy Riley, Gladys Knight, Patti LaBelle, Gucci Mane and Jeezy, Ashanti, Keyshia Couple, Soulja Boy and Bow Wow and Ja Rule and Fat Joe… to name a few. There are currently two seasons of Verzuz with 43 episodes total.
“I’m a different animal, man. I’m cut from a way different cloth man. And when you put those songs on, I’m telling you, I don’t think anybody in the world would want smoke with them songs,” said Usher of a potential faceoff with one of his male peers.
He recently announced his Las Vegas residency at Park MGM added 25 new dates, slated to kick off on March 3, 2023 and run through July 15, 2023, per PEOPLE.
“Having an audience come to you is always great. I love the fact that I’ve been able to really celebrate all of the years of my music and see a very mixed, eclectic crowd of people. But I think more than anything, the fact that it fits my lifestyle,” he said.
Usher added, “I’ve been able to still focus on the things that I love, that are creative, that are kind of ancillary to what I do in music. Whether it’s in film or rather in production or working with other artists and still have family time, but yet still do what I love, which is performing.
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