“You know what, it didn’t work out with Justin,” the 45-year-old Grammy winner told “The Breakfast Club” radio show in a clip posted on Instagram Friday.
“I honor and recognize that my brother … I think that it might’ve been the fact that he is just wanting to tell a different story right now and I understand that.”
Usher confirmed he asked Justin Bieber to join him during his Super Bowl 2024 Halftime Show and revealed why he declined.Getty Images
Usher, who mentored Bieber, now 29, as a teen starting in the music industry in the late 2000s and early 2010s, confirmed he had “a brief conversation” with him and that they decided they’ll collaborate “in the future.”
“No love lost or anything like that,” he added.
The “My Boo” hitmaker also revealed he spoke to several potential halftime show collaborators ahead of the big performance in addition to Bieber. He brought out Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon, Ludacris and Will.i.am.
The star-studded show was broadcast to 30.1 million households, according to Forbes — beating out last year’s concert, during which Rihanna revealed her second pregnancy.
“I think that it might’ve been the fact that he is just wanting to tell a different story right now and I understand that,” he told “The Breakfast Club” in an interview shared on Friday.breakfastclubam/Instagram
The “Yeah!” hitmaker also theorized that Bieber will one day perform at the Super Bowl.breakfastclubam/Instagram
“He has a career that deserves it. It just didn’t happen, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to,” he explained.breakfastclubam/Instagram
While the “Baby” singer opted to watch the game and his former mentor’s performance from a VIP box with his wife, Hailey, at Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, Usher feels confident that he will one day perform at the annual championship game.
“He’s gonna play the Super Bowl. I’ll go ahead and give you that in the future,” he told “The Breakfast Club.”
“He has a career that deserves it. It just didn’t happen, but that doesn’t mean it’s not going to.”
Usher also revealed he asked several other people to join him on stage aside from Bieber.AFP via Getty Images
He performed with Alicia Keys, H.E.R., Jermaine Dupri, Lil Jon, Ludacris and Will.i.am.AFP via Getty Images
Usher’s interview confirmed Page Six’s previous report that Bieber didn’t take the stage with him simply because it didn’t excite him.
“There’s no bad blood between Usher and Justin. Justin just wasn’t up for it — he just wasn’t feeling it,” our source said after Sunday’s game.
Bieber has been lying low in the music world since pulling the plug on the remaining dates of his “Justice” tour in 2022 following his diagnosis with Ramsay Hunt syndrome, which left part of his face temporarily paralyzed.
He previously called off several dates of his “Purpose” tour in 2017 due to mental health struggles.
Bieber has been shying away from the stage lately but performed at an NHL hockey earlier this month.Getty Images
He watched the 2024 Super Bowl from the VIP suite with his wife, Hailey Bieber.AFP via Getty ImagesWhat do you think? Be the first to comment.
He did, however, perform for the first time in more than a year at an NHL All-Star party earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Usher used his appearance in Vegas to marry his longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Goicoechea, 40, as they tied the knot on the same day as the Super Bowl.
Usher will embark on his “Past Present Future Tour” this August.
