Ok…is it me or is Usher showing ‘fever’ in his cover shot for Vegas Magazine? The necklace, the v-neck…that look. *sigh* The July/August issue  hits stands next week and Ush is the first male on the cover of mag in its entire six years in production (I guess that explains the pearls ). In the issue, Usher talks about his new fragrance Usher VIP (his third fragrance with Elizabeth Arden), recording sessions in Vegas, and his upcoming album and more. He even discusses how he plans on being back real lovemaking music for the masses:

“The sex in music, the good sex in music, the lovemaking in music, we’ve begun to depart from it. Right now it’s all about hitting it and quitting it. I think there are a ton of women out there who want to be made love to and want to have that song going that they really want to make love to.”

“In time I’m going to grow older, but I hope that I can be remembered for being a great father to my sons, a gentleman, a renaissance man.”

More photos and video from the shoot below:

Usher in Tom Ford and Louis Vuitton.

“What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. I ain’t perfect; I got issues just like everyone else. But staying busy makes it a little bit easier.”

Tying to pin down what Usher has been up to lately could take hours of interviews and a river of ink. At the moment, he’s set to release his sixth studio album, Monster, as well as the third fragrance in his collection, VIP. Then there’s his philanthropy work and his eponymous foundation (through which 20 teens will get to direct the first video off Monster). On top of all that, he’s the father of two young sons, one-and-a-half-year-old Usher Raymond V and seven-month-old Naviyd Ely Raymond. (”That’s all I need, a daughter to make me superweak,” he jokes about adding to his brood.) In June, he announced his separation from his wife of two years, Tameka Foster.

With this much going on in his life, it’s no wonder that Usher sequestered himself and his crew in Las Vegas to produce Monster. Usher and his team, including music superstars Pharrell, Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox, rented out the third floor of the Palms Resort Casino, then made a daily commute to the resort’s in-house recording studio, where everyone from Elton John to Mary J Blige to Axl Rose has laid down tracks. “Vegas is good livin’, a product of positive energy, upward thinking,” Usher says. “Every time we’d go out to a club, there would be motivation there. [Recording in Vegas] allowed me to open my mind and just be creative and think outside the box.” …

Usher is doin it!

When I look at this photo I think of a young Ben Vareen…

Behind the scenes video from Usher’s Vegas Magazine Photo Shoot

Shouts out to SimoneSmallsPR for the article/photos.