Talk about using family connections! On Wednesday, Usher shared a "quick story time" about how his son recently used his phone to connect with PinkPantheress -- and it worked.
The 45-year-old GRAMMY winner took to his Instagram Story to share the incident over several slides. According to the musician, his 15-year-old son, Naviyd, stole his phone "about a week or so ago" to DM his "favorite artist," PinkPantheress. Usher shares screenshots of the messages exchanged between Naviyd and the 23-year-old songstress, who is seemingly amused by the entire interaction.
The teen introduces himself in his opening message, letting the viral pop singer know he's using his dad's phone to reach out to her. In one message, Naviyd asks PinkPantheress to follow his Instagram account, much to her surprise. "hahahahahaa," she writes back, "this is wild!" Naviyd replies that he didn't think she was going to answer, and thanks her for liking his post.
Instagram messages between Usher's son Naviyd and PinkPantheress
Usher shares that he noticed the singer's DM when he got to his phone, and immediately went to investigate since he didn't recognize her account. When he realized what his son did, he apologized to PinkPantheress, who sweetly offered to host the father-son duo at a future show.
Although Usher shared that he wanted to punish Naviyd by pretending he couldn't attend, he eventually gave in. "I had to send him considering his level of dedication and creativity to figure out getting your attention by stealing my phone," he writes in a message sent to PinkPantheress. "Hopefully you guys get to link."
Instagram messages between Usher and PinkPantheress
And link they did; in a post on his Instagram page on Sunday, Naviyd shared several photos from his night at PinkPantheress' concert, including a few photos with the singer backstage.
"To hell with it," the enterprising teen captioned the gallery of photos.
Usher shared a screenshot of the video call from Naviyd on the night of the concert, in which PinkPantheress is seen waving to the 2024 Super Bowl Halftime Show headliner.
Screenshot of video call between Usher and PinkPantheress
Usher ended his Instagram story time by sharing his parental takeaway. "This was a great moment for Naviyd ... this was him movin on something he was passionate about. Yes... he violated my trust in the process and for that I will never trust him around my phone, but I should have known better," he wrote.
"Nonetheless, I appreciate the hustle and him makin it happen. From a text, to a concert, to the artist. He masterminded this whole thing and made it happen. #HustleHard," he concluded.
Usher's Instagram Story on April 24
Naviyd is clearly learning from his father when it comes to making things happen. It's only four months into the year and Usher has already completed his historic and often sold-out Las Vegas residency, rocked the Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show, tied the knot with his longtime love, Jennifer Goicoechea, and received the key to his hometown, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The father of four previously opened up to ET about making two of those events happen within the same weekend. Chatting with ET at the 55th annual NAACP Image Awards, Usher shared that even though the world knew he was engaged, he and Goicoechea had a sweeter way in mind to cap off his banner year.
"It was an incredible moment that we felt was great for us," he told ET. "It was a button at the end of an incredible Las Vegas run. My mother was there, her mother was there, the kids were there, our immediate family was there. Matter of fact, everybody was surprised. I'm like, 'No, no, no, we're having a wedding right now. We're gonna go have Elvis officiate us.'"
Usher and his wife, Jennifer Goicoechea, attend the 2024 NAACP Image Awards
"It has been a hell of a year but it's been a hell of a career," he told ET. "At 45, you hope that you're just getting warmed up or either you are receiving these types of accolades as a result of your tenure, your 10,000 hours. You begin to reap the benefits of it, so I'm really happy to be recognized here and for what I love to do, which is to help the youth."
Usher and Goicoechea have been linked since they were first photographed together in 2016. They then sparked rumors of a romance when they seen at producer Keith Thomas' birthday celebration in Atlanta, Georgia, in June 2019. The couple confirmed their relationship when Usher was photographed kissing the Miami-born music executive backstage at the Hollywood Bowl in October 2019.
The eight-time GRAMMY winner and Goicoechea have since welcomed two children together, daughter Sovereign Bo, 3, and son Sire Castrello, 2.
The marriage is Usher's second: the R&B crooner was previously married to Tameka Foster, with whom he shares sons Usher Raymond "Cinco" V, 16, and Naviyd.
See more on Usher's incredible year so far, below.
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