Usher clarified that he was not Beyoncé‘s “babysitter” or “nanny,” but he did “watch over” the superstar before she became famous. The “Yeah!” singer, 45, appeared on Shannon Sharpe’s Club Shay Shay on Wednesday, January 31 and elaborated on his connection to Bey, 42, from back in the day.
“Daryl Simmons, he had a group by the name of The Dolls, and they came to Atlanta for the first time. This is before Destiny’s Child became Destiny’s Child,” Usher said. “I think I looked over them while they [were] doing something in the house; I had to watch over ’cause I was like the, you know, the authority ’cause I guess I was the teenager at the time.”
Usher, who is three years older than Beyoncé, said that he was “making certain” that the “Halo” singer and her bandmates “didn’t get in no trouble in the house” when he was watching them when they were young.
The father-of-four also recalled recognizing that Beyoncé “had a talent and also a brilliance and a brightness” at a young age. “[It’s] really great for my sister, to see that she’s done so amazing and continue to thrive and just get bigger and better,” he said. “Whether it’s musically or in her life or creativity, all of it, man.”
Usher previously spoke about knowing Beyoncé back in the day during an appearance on the UK radio show Capital Breakfast With Roman Kemp in August. “Fun fact, I knew Beyoncé when she was 12 years old, 11 years old,” he said on the show. “She used to be in a group by the name of The Dolls. I don’t know if I could consider myself their babysitter, but I had a time where I had to watch The Dolls.”
“I was at Daryl Simmons’ house. [Daryl] was working with [The Dolls] at the time, and I just happened to be over there and they were working on a session,” Usher further recalled. “I kind of found my way into being their like, I don’t know, chaperone, nanny, or something like that — the oldest person in the room.” Usher and Beyoncé later collaborated as adults with Lil Wayne on the hit song “Love In This Club, Pt. II” in 2008.
Usher and Beyoncé have both become huge stars in the music industry. Usher is gearing up to perform at the 2024 Super Bowl halftime show on February 11. Beyoncé headlined the halftime show at the 2013 Super Bowl, and she also made a surprise appearance with Bruno Mars during Coldplay‘s show at the 2016 Super Bowl.