Usher’s upcoming Las Vegas residency got the wrong kind of publicity last week when he was accused of paying strippers with fake “Ush Bucks.†According to TMZ, he and his team were just leaving the bills around town to promote the residency, which opens July 16 at the Colosseum at Caesars. These are his confessions. “The idea behind Usher Bucks was really as a way of promoting the residency,†Usher finally spoke out in a new interview with Billboard. “And since then, there has been more conversations, thus proving roads lead to Las Vegas. Stay tuned. We’ve been working on the merchandise for the night and that was the start of it.†If by “more conversations,†he means an entire news cycle dedicated to calling him cheap, then yes, congrats on that exposure. As long as we’re all clear: You can be in love with strippers (word to T-Pain), but you also have to compensate them fairly.
Ush Bucks are apparently just the beginning of Usher’s marketing strategy. “I have a really great team, behind the scenes and on the stage putting together the show promoting the show, coming up with ideas of how to promote the show and market the merchandising,†he added. “A lot of great detail and thought has gone into the experience. From the moment you walk into the Coliseum to the moment you leave the Coliseum we’re going to definitely make it an environment to enjoy, experience and celebrate.â€