- Usher said his children gave him “notes” before his Super Bowl halftime performance on Sunday.
- Usher, 45, has three sons and one daughter.
- He began dating Jenn Goicoechea in 2019.
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Usher said his children have strong opinions about his highly-anticipated Super Bowl LVIII halftime performance.
The “OMG” singer shared details about his family during a Thursday interview with The Talk.
Usher’s two eldest children — Usher “Cinco” Raymond V and Naviyd Ely — are with his ex-wife Tameka Foster. He later welcomed his two youngest children — Sovereign Bo and Sire Castrello — with his current girlfriend, Jennifer Goicoechea.
“I’ve been receiving tons of notes from Naviyd,” Usher said. “Usher, he gave me a couple of notes. He gave me a few songs he felt like I should definitely cut, songs I should keep.”
The 45-year-old said his children won’t appear on the Super Bowl stage, but they’d “be around.”
Over the years, Usher has spoken candidly about fatherhood and parenting, including in 2020 when he told People that crying in front of his sons inspired his song, “I Cry.”
Here’s a look at his girlfriend and four children.
Usher’s girlfriend, Jennifer Goicoechea, is an SVP of A&R at Epic Records.
Usher isn’t the only person in his family who’s heavily invested in music. Goicoechea told Rolling Out in 2015 that she grew up in Miami with her Italian mother and Puerto Rican father. Her interest in music began in childhood when she used to shadow her mother, who was a production manager for Act Productions.
The experience Goicoechea gleaned from working with her mother eventually landed her a job with Ciara. She later founded her own management company, Boogs’N’Effect Management. According to her Instagram bio, she’s now the SVP of A&R at Epic Records
It’s unclear when Goicoechea and Usher met, but photos from Getty Images show that she attended his birthday party in October 2018. They were later photographed kissing backstage at the October 2019 Hollywood Bowl, according to People.
She’s made several public appearances with Usher — including Vanity Fair’s 2023 Oscar party — and become a fixture on his Instagram page. In October 2023, Usher celebrated Goicoechea’s birthday with a sweet Instagram post.
Goicoechea welcomed two children with Usher during their relationship. Sovereign Bo was born in September 2020, while Sire Castrello arrived one year later in October 2021.
Usher’s eldest son — Usher “Cinco” Raymond V — was born in 2007.
MTV and other outlets reported in November 2007 that Usher and Foster welcomed Cinco at an Atlanta-based hospital. He’s now 16.
“We are so happy and proud of our beautiful son. What a blessing!” Usher said in a statement at the time.
In a November 2022 interview with Tamron Hall, Usher admitted that Cinco preferred to go by a nickname to separate his identity from his dad.
“I have one son, Cinco, who does not like to be called Usher, who tries to get away from it,” Usher said.
In 2013, Cinco almost drowned after his arm got stuck in a pool drain while trying to retrieve a toy, Billboard reported. One year later, Cinco was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. Usher praised his sons’s bravery in an interview with People, according to ABC News.
“A child that every day has to prick himself and has to be cautious of what he eats and also to carry this disorder around; that really is the type of bravery that we all aspire to have.
Usher’s second son — Naviyd Ely — was born in 2008.
Foster and Usher welcomed Naviyd in December 2008, according to People. He’s now 15.
“Tameka and the baby are doing fine,” the former couple said in a statement at the time.
During his November 2022 interview with Tamron Hall, Usher said Naviyd had a true love for entertainment and often watched his dad’s shows. Usher added that Naviyd’s not afraid to critique his dad.
“He’s like, ‘You missed this thing. you didn’t do this thing.’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, that’s the point. It’s not supposed to be the same every night,'” Usher said.
Following the release of his 2016 film “Hands of Stone,” Usher told People that he stepped back from his career to focus on his two children.
Naviyd has made several public appearances with his family, including in September 2016 when he accompanied Usher to his Hollywood Walk of Fame ceremony.
Usher’s only daughter — Sovereign Bo — was born in 2020.
Usher announced his daughter’s birth in an Instagram post in September 2020. She’s now 3 years old.
“We are feeling blessed and full of love with the arrival of our beautiful baby girl, Sovereign Bo Raymond,” he wrote in the caption. “‘Isn’t She Lovely’ by Stevie Wonder on repeat.”
Usher shared details about his daughter’s name in a May 2021 interview with Extra.
“Sovereign, man, is such a beautiful word and name to me, you know, a supreme ruler is obviously the defined name,” he said. “She’s definitely ruling the household, but Sovereign Bo — Bo is at the end of it, so [she’s] my little ‘reign-bo.'”
Most recently, Sovereign appeared in Usher’s music video for “Ruin.”
Usher’s youngest son — Sire Castrello — was born in October 2021.
Usher announced that Sire Castrello was born in October 2021 on Instagram. He’s now 2 years old.
“Hi my name is Sire Castrello Raymond … I am the newest addition to the Raymond crew. I was born Sept 29 2021 at 6:42pm weighing 7lbs 13oz. Hear me roar … A.K.A Ra Ra,” he wrote in the caption.
On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Usher said he did a “terrible job” choosing the music playlist during Sovereign’s birth and tried to redeem himself during Sire’s birth.
“The second time, I came fully equipped. I had my Mophie. I had speakers. I had backup batteries,” Usher said. “I had a whole playlist that I had worked on for about two weeks. It was crazy. It was great.”
Usher has shared photos of Sire to his Instagram account, including to celebrate his son’s first birthday in September 2022.
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