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Usher said he’s been prioritising self-care and affirmations as he prepares for his upcoming 11 February Super Bowl halftime performance at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.

In a cover interview with Vogue, the 45-year-old R&B icon told the outlet that he’s made a note to make sure that he’s in the best possible mental space when he takes the stage on Super Bowl Sunday. After the end of his twice extended Las Vegas residency and as he began to prepare for his halftime show performance, the singer said it was essential for him to practise more self-care.

“When is the last time you looked in a mirror and really looked at yourself?” he asked the Vogue culture editor during their interview. “When you looked in that mirror, did you tell yourself you loved yourself? Did you tell yourself that you forgive yourself?”

He went on to admit that a key part of his morning routine is repeating those kinds of aforementioned affirmations to himself in front of the mirror. The “My Boo” singer added that the affirmations serve as a much-needed confidence booster before he performs on stage. He told the outlet, “It’s a little psyched-​out to say this, but it made me feel good. I was like: You need to look at yourself and say: Hey, whatever you’re dealing with, I love you.”

Reciting affirmations to himself isn’t the only way the singer practises self-care; he revealed to the outlet that he also tries to practise meditation daily and attend regular therapy sessions to counter any imposter syndrome or negative thought processes he may have.

He also credits exercise, eating healthily, and showing up for his longtime partner Jenn Goicoechea as well as his four children, are other ways that help him keep a good head on his shoulders. He shares his oldest sons – Usher “Cinco” Raymond V, 14, and Naviyd Ely Raymond 13 – with former partner Tameka Foster. Meanwhile, he and Goicoechea are parents to daughter Sovereign, 3, and son Sire, 2.

On September 2023, the “Good Good” artist released a statement sharing his desire to wow audiences with a show guaranteed to blow their minds and put R&B music at the forefront. He said, “It’s an honor of a lifetime to finally check a Super Bowl performance off my bucket list. I can’t wait to bring the world a show unlike anything else they’ve seen from me before.”

The hype has been steadily building around his upcoming halftime show performance with a teaser trailer released on 12 January, taking viewers back to 1997 when he was just an up-and-coming singer on the cusp of stardom and charts his climb to global fame. The clip starts with a choir rendition of “Peace up, A-Town down” – from the intro of Usher’s 2004 hit “Yeah!” with Lil Jon and Ludacris – before chronicling his 30-year career through vignettes of old footage and snippets of some of his most famous music videos.

With his ninth studio album, COMING HOME, set to release on 9 February across all streaming platforms two days before his Super Bowl performance, Usher seems to be setting the stage for his long-awaited comeback. The R&B icon hasn’t released a solo album since 2016’s Hard II Love. The newest album will reportedly include singles like “Good Good” featuring Summer Walker and 21 Savage, “Risk It All” with H.E.R., and “Standing Next To You” with Jung Kook.

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