Mother Knows Best: Usher Rehires His Mom As His Manager

By Jawn Murray, BlackVoices.com

Looks like mother really knows best!

It's now official that R&B singer Usher has rehired his mother, Jonetta Patton, as his manager.

As the 'New York Daily News' speculated on July 7, Usher has officially ended his business relationship with Benny Medina and replaced him with his mother.

Apparently Usher has made the management overhaul because of the lackluster response to his recent release, 'Here I Stand.'

The CD hit stores in May and debuted at number one its

first week, but only sold 433,000 units. In comparison, his last CD, 2004's 'Confessions,' had sales of 1.1 million in its first week.

Additionally, Lil Wayne's album 'Tha Carter III' debuted three weeks later and sold more than a million copies, which reportedly had the singer outraged.

Usher was also apparently upset by the ratings from the BET Awards. Billed in commercials as: "The BET Awards with an electrifying opening performance by Usher," the show only drew 5.8 million viewers.

In comparison, the 2007 BET Awards with Beyonce as the opener pulled 6.3 million viewers.

Music industry insiders suspect that consumers, female ones in particular, were turned off by Usher's tabloid-worthy personal life and fallout with his mother.

"His core audience is black women and honestly, no black woman wants to support a man who treats his mother badly," one industry insider told me.

Usher made headlines in 2007 when he fired him mother days before Mother's Day for apparently not approving of his relationship with his fiancé, Tameka Foster.

The couple had a wedding scheduled in July 28, 2007, but the singer abruptly called it off.

The singer wed Foster, his former stylist, a week later in Atlanta at his attorney's office.

Mr. and Mrs. Raymond welcomed their first child, Usher Raymond V in November 2007.

Recently, Usher told 'Vibe' that he didn't fire his mother, but instead: "[Paid her] the ultimate compliment - to retire her to be a full-time grandmother."

But now that Patton has be un-retired, I'm told her first order of business it salvage her son's poorly-received CD, 'Here I Stand.'

An executive at Usher's label told me that a re-release of 'Here I Stand' with new tracks is already in the works. The repackaged CD could hit retail outlets before Christmas.

I wonder if he'll re-hire his former publicist Simone Smalls next. Hmmmm!?!?

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