Usher was a major force in helping get Justin Bieber’s pop star journey off the ground, as he and Scooter Braun created the label Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG) to sign Bieber and manage his career. Justin Timberlake was also pursuing Bieber at the time, and Usher looked back on this “bidding war” in a new People interview.
He explained:
“When you are at the top of your game, some of the greatest things will be presented to you, and it was, I think, right after [my album] Confessions that I was introduced to Justin Bieber and Scooter Braun. I presented Scooter an offer that I felt like he couldn’t resist. […] We built a friendship, but this would obviously create a partnership that would span us forever, and it was a bit of a bidding war between me and Justin Timberlake. […] I was like, ‘I’m not certain that I could understand each and every producer that this artist could benefit from, but what I can tell you is I’m going to give you my passion, and I’m going to give you every bit of what I have to offer.'”
For the record, there seem to be no hard feelings toward Timberlake from Usher, as he said, “I’ve always wanted to do a record with Justin, and I have reached out many times, but we’ve never managed to make it happen.”
Read more from the interview here.
