Usher Promotes His Non-Profit And Says He Wants Custody Of His Sons To Be Father He Never Had

Usher Promotes His Non-Profit And Says He Wants Custody Of His Sons To Be Father He Never Had

On the quiet Usher’s new record ain’t sellin’, but are you buyin’ his woeful Daddy story?

On Billboard charts, his latest studio album, “Looking 4 Myself,” has been number one. Offstage is where Usher doesn’t have it all.

He is in a public battle with ex-wife Tameka Foster for custody of their sons, Usher, 4, and Naviyd Ely, 3. Cameras rolled last month as emotions overwhelmed the singer during a court hearing.

Driving those emotions was what Usher, in an interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts, called his “steadfast belief that a father is important in a child’s life. To have the time that I’ve had with them has made them the young men that they are. I want to raise them to be responsible future adults.”

Asked what he wanted to impart to them, Usher said, “No one knows your child like you do. And it is taking the time to actively be there. It’s a day in, day out process. I’m actively doing it every day that I possibly can, and being the father to them that my father was unable to be to me.”

If his album’s title suggests he is searching for his inner-self, one thing Usher has found is his passion for giving back. More than a decade ago, Usher created a nonprofit called the New Look Foundation. The organization recently held its third annual World Leadership Conference at Emory University in Atlanta.

“Music is what I love to do, but this is my heart’s work,” Usher, 33, told Roberts. “This is what truly makes a difference. … Everybody has that story of someone that was able to influence them to make a difference in their life.”

Usher said, “This is what I’d love to be remembered for. Sure, having number-one albums, selling out concerts … but [also] being this type of mentor and being a positive influence to someone else.”

We wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t point out that despite the fact that Usher’s new singles are all on the radio etc… the album ain’t really selling that well. Usher only moved 128,000 his first week — good enough to get him the #1 spot on Billboard but over 200K less than “Raymond v Raymond” did in 2010. Not only that, it’s actually his weakest first week sales since 1997’s “My Way” came out selling only 67,000. That’s really bad when you consider that “Climax” is Usher’s second longest running #1 single on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart (“You Make Me Wanna…” is 1st).

So is all this focus on his custody battle and his non-profit foundation actual just strategic marketing to put Usher back in the public’s good graces???

And while we’re talking about “Graces,” we can’t help but find it fishy that Usher’s got his girlfriend running his career and his foundation (she sits on the board) so in essence he’s really pushing HER agenda.

Which leads us to wonder if Grace Miguel is driving Usher’s career right into the ground?

We already know what Tameka would say about this — nobody is hating on Grace’s lightskinned a$$ cuz she’s the right shade not to get played. Is she right about that?

Source Photo Credit: Guy D’Alerna