Las Vegas Weekly

August 8, 2009 · 10:58 AM

For Usher, there’s no place like Palms

By Melissa Arseniuk

Usher walked the red carpet at the VEGAS Magazine party at Playboy Club, celebrating his cover appearance for the magazine.

Photo: Denise Truscello / VEGAS Magazine

Usher says the Palms is his “second home,” and last night the R&B singer had a few hundred guests over to his second living room for a little cocktail party.

VEGAS Magazine (a Greenspun Media Group sister publication of the Las Vegas Weekly) co-hosted the get-together, which was held in Usher’s honor at Playboy Club. The singer is cover model of the magazine’s current, men’s issue.

Since the Palms is what Usher refers to as his “home-away-from-home,” the venue was an appropriate choice for the party.

The 30-year-old star has recently been living on property while working on his upcoming album, tentatively titled Monster. The five-time Grammy Award-winner and his entourage overtook the entire third floor of the resort’s Fantasy Tower while they laid down tracks for the soon-to-be-released CD.

After spending countless hours in the Recording Studio at the Palms, the artist is in the final stages of the recording process and is all smiles as a result.

“I came here to Vegas to close out the album and we did our last few sessions last night,” he said on his way into the VEGAS Magazine party last night.

“Within the next few weeks -- few days -- we’re going to be finished with it,” he said, noting, “most of the album was recorded here.”

He said living and working on-site was convenient because it allowed him to go into the studio whenever the mood – or inspiration – struck him.

He also said that the album will be a reflection of his personal experiences.

“On this album, the influences came from places I’ve gone myself, the reality of circumstances of choice,” he said.

The fashion-forward star made headlines in June after he filed for divorce from his wife of two years, former stylist Tameka Foster. The pair have two children together but had been living separately for nearly a year when Usher filed for divorce two months ago.

In light of his personal struggles, fans can expect Monster to be a more intimate release compared to the club track-filled albums that came before it.

“Through all of your situations, you learn something, or you should learn something,” Usher said. “Well, I’m documenting it in that way.”

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