Usher, 44, admitted he was once sort of Beyonce‘s former “babysitter,” in a new interview. The singer appeared as a guest on a recent episode of the UK radio show Capital Breakfast With Roman Kemp, and revealed he knew the 41-year-old “Halo” crooner when she was just 11 or 12 years old. He also said he acted as a “chaperone” to her and others at one point, when he was around 14 years old.
“Fun fact, I knew Beyoncé when she was 12 years old, 11 years old,” he said on the show via People. “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.”
Usher was signed to his first record contract with LaFace Records at just 14, after he had an audition with record executive L.A. Reid. The experience is what led him to interacting with Beyonce and her former group mates.
“I was at Daryl Simmons’ house,” he continued, referring to the record producer and songwriter who is known for working with L.A. and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, the co-founders of LaFace Records. “[Daryl] was working with [The Dolls] at the time, and I just happened to be over there and they were working on a session. 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 Beyonce would later collaborate as adults with Lil Wayne on the hit song “Love In This Club, Pt. II” in 2008. It ended up spending an impressive 14 weeks on the charts and hit the No. 18 spot on the Billboard Hot 100.
After meeting Usher as a child and then breaking into the music industry with Destiny’s Child in the 1990s, Beyonce went on to start a very successful solo career with the 2003 album Dangerously in Love. She is now currently performing to sold out crowds on her Renaissance Tour, which also features her oldest daughter Blue Ivy Carter, 11, whom she shares with husband JAY-Z. Usher is also enjoying a successful music career with his Las Vegas residency, My Way, at Dolby Live at Park MGM.