Usher is one proud dad.
The singer stopped by TODAY recently and gave Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones an update on his kids. His oldest child, Usher V, is headed to Howard University in Washington, D.C. this fall. Meanwhile, his youngest son Sire also recently graduated from preschool, while daughter Sovereign is getting ready to start kindergarten.
When asked what it feels like to watch his children reach these milestones, Usher said, “Like you watch yourself all over again but you get a chance to get it right and do all of the things that you would have wanted to have.”
The father of four also talked about his own upbringing.
“I wasn’t raised with a father, and but my mom was there,” Usher said. “My mom was a dad and a mom for the most part.”
He said he tries to give his children the freedom to have fun and be creative.
“But I get a chance to really just see their imagination just run wild,” he continued. “Parents sometimes can be very overbearing and like so protective. I try to give my kids the space to just be free and just have fun and use their imagination.”
The conversation then turned to Usher’s recent Architectural Digest feature and the home he shares with his wife, Jennifer Goicoechea Raymond, and their family.
Usher told the magazine that he wanted the house to be a place where his children could dream and play. The kids have a pink-and-blue playroom with a small stage and foam pit, along with bedrooms decorated around their individual interests.
Naviyd’s room includes artwork, skateboards, and music memorabilia. Sovereign has butterflies, clouds, rainbows, and ice cream cones painted on her ceiling. The home also features artwork by Justin Bieber, Usher’s late stepson Kile, and his eldest son, Usher V.
“Our house is about imagination and history and celebrating the things and people who have come and really, really made a foundation for it,” Usher said.
