Usher’s new album is an “art-in-motion diary” which reflects on some of the “heavy transitions” in his life.

Usher says his upcoming record Looking 4 Myself is about his personal life.

“There’s an emotional side to it. Over the last three years of my life, it’s no secret I went through some heavy transitions and in that I really came out new. I came out feeling a sense of entitlement and a sense of ownership of all of that I went through to become better and in being able to survive it. So I was looking for something in the music,” he told MTV News during MTV First.

“I was looking for something in life. I was looking for something in it has always been right here. It has always been there. So I kind of used the music as a diary in a way, but a creative, artistic, art-in-motion diary.”

Usher has explained the concept behind the lead single from the album, Climax.

The promo sees him as a jilted lover who is contemplating shooting his girlfriend’s other interest. Usher insists the song isn’t about sex.

“Climax was an interpretation to really give people a better understanding ’cause I felt like people really looked at the record for what you heard first, which was Climax. So, people thought sex. It’s not about sex. Well, climax is about sex, but not the song. Just so we’re clear,” he smiled.

“The song is really about kind of the crescendo of a relationship, where you’ve re

T.I. is currently recording his upcoming album Trouble Man, with 45 songs in the can. During an interview with Billboard’s Juice, Tip revealed that he has a duet with Usher lined up for the project, tossing his name into the fold while listing his dream collaborations.

“I like to work with a lot of different people that can provide a lot of different sounds,” he said. “Usher and I have been putting our heads together on how we can present that perfect collaboration between him and myself.”

SOURCE

Check out a 5 minute interview with Usher recorded for BBC News, where Usher speaks on very much of Looking 4 Myself.

How many Grammys have you won?
7

How many US #1′s have you had?
9

If I said to you, you can only have one more Grammy or one more US #1, which would it be? Which would mean more to you?
It would mean more to me to have a #1 Grammy

How did you get your name?
My father named me. I’m actually Usher Raymond IV. My father’s name is the third.

Tell me how you break into singing?
It was a robbery, I broke in. I’m just joking. My big break was in Atlanta, GA at a talent show. I went on to be apart of a talent search, actually a TV show in America. I was recognized and signed by a label.

Watch the video here.

Usher has compared the release of his new studio album ‘Looking For Myself’ to a boxer standing toe-to-toe with his opponent in the ring.

The ‘Climax’ singer told Billboard that in the creation of his seventh studio record he is “striving for greatness” and has made sure to give his all.

“It’s all about striving for greatness and offering the best I have. It’s no different than a boxer: Standing in front of the person trying to tear his head off, he has to give his all to make it out of that ring,” he confessed.

Here’s what the 33-year-old singer had to share with the mag:

On his new sound: “Electronic music has given me a new story, a new opportunity to build something I think a mass audience will understand.”

On debuting “Climax” on Twitter: “I really wanted to offer the greatest courtesy to my fans first—they are ultimately who brought me to this point, and I want to make sure they understand my journey. Twitter is kind of like my outboard communication, one of the places I’ve chosen to speak directly to my fans.”

On his new album, Looking for Myself, out June 12: “The cool thing about Diplo and the thing that made me want to work with him is that you can’t put him in a specific category or a box. He does everything. That represents what this album is. This album doesn’t fit into a specific box. It is an all-world experience that gives you a multitude of genres, a multitude of experiences: electric soul, revolutionary pop, classic, new tradition, dance, tech. And it brings me to more of a relevant place.”

Usher has promised fans his upcoming album ‘Looking For Myself’ will feature a string of big collaborations and says the album has a very different feel to any of his previous records.

The ‘Climax’ singer is already known to have collaboration with the likes of Justin Bieber and Rick Ross on his seventh studio record, but says there are more duets and producers he worked with that have yet to be revealed.

“I’m all about collaboration man,” Usher revealed to capitalfm.com. “This album is full of it!

“You know I worked with Luke Steele of Empire of the Sun,” the ‘Without You’ singer teased. ‘I worked with many producers that I worked with in the past.

In recent months, as she’s battled for full custody of her two kids, Tameka Raymond has slung some harsh accusations at ex-hubby Usher. Now, the R&B star is stepping up and defending himself.

According to TMZ, Usher has asked a judge in Georgia to dismiss his ex’s suit, insisting that her case is based on lies.

Back in November, Raymond claimed that the ‘Lil Freak’ creator has repeatedly violated the terms of their joint-custody agreement. In particular, she charged the singer with traveling outside of Georgia with the children, hiring nannies without her approval and depriving her of money to hire a nanny of her own.

She also said he took away her Saks 5th Avenue card, something he patently denies, and last month, she tried to make him take a drug test.

The warring former spouses are due in court on Feb. 27, when things will undoubtedly get a whole lot uglier.

We really would like to send out a Happy Birthday to MR. MUSIC himself, Usher. He gets a little older today and we must say we are partying for him . This man continues to break down walls, he is a true entertainer. Enjoy your birthday URIV.

The National Civil Rights Museum, the historic site of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., has announced it will present the 2011 Philanthropy Freedom Award to Usher Raymond for the work of Usher’s New Look Foundation. Established in 1999, the foundation certifies young people in four leadership pillars – talent, education, career and service – to ensure their success as leaders throughout the world. Usher is one of the best selling music artists of all time and has won seven Grammy Awards, four World Music Awards, six American Music Awards, and twenty-two Billboard Music Awards.

The core programs managed by New Look include the New Look Leadership Academy, Moguls In Training, Powered By Service and the World Leadership Conference. New Look has also made impacts internationally in Kenya, Haiti and Manila. There are five chapters of the foundation: Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New Orleans, New York and Detroit.

Some of the work by the foundation includes:

Allegations of song theft are on the rise. Most of these disputes never get to a jury, but R&B superstar Usher is on the verge of facing one over allegations he stole material for one of the biggest hits of his career, “Burn,” from a songwriter named Ernest Lee Straughter.

Last month, a California federal judge found there to be sufficient possibility that Usher and co-defendants who produced the song had access to Slaughter’s work, “Reasons,” created in 1998. The judge accepted a musicologist’s report that noted substantial similarity between the songs and denied a motion to dismiss the case on summary judgment. That means a jury might have the rare opportunity to listen to two songs and determine if the Usher song was stolen.

But before that happens, Usher’s camp is pleading with the judge to re-examine whether there was any chance he was familiar with Straughter’s work.

Attorneys for the defendants, including Usher, producer Jermaine Dupri, EMI April Music, Sony Music, Arista Records, and others filed a motion on Friday that asks U.S. District Court Judge Christina Snyder to reconsider her August order denying summary judgment.

In the case, Straugther alleges he created a song entitled “The Reasons Why,” which showed up on an album by the R&B group Reel Tight under the name “No More Pain” in late 1998.

To make the claims stick, Straughter needs to show two big elements – that the defendants had access to his work and there was substantial similarity in the songs.

Here’s a YouTube clip of Usher’s “Burn” and a clip of Reel Tight’s “No More Pain.” Hard for us to hear significant resemblance, but an expert for the plaintiffs submitted a report that the two songs shared measurable similarities, including a “highly unusual” 18-bar introduction, musical instruments that enter at the exact same bars, similar guitar and vocal stylings, the pitches and phrasings of certain melodies, and other compositional congruity.