USHER - NEW DAD USHER: `MAN, IT'S BEEN A HARD YEAR'

NEW DAD USHER: `MAN, IT'S BEEN A HARD YEAR'

R+B star USHER has an extra special reason to be thankful for the safe birth of his baby son - because it ends a year of drama for the singer. The Yeah! singer and his new wife Tameka Fosterwelcomed baby Usher into the world on Monday (26Nov07), and the pop star is now hoping for a peaceful family Christmas. He tells Essence magazine, "Man, this has been a hard year, but it's taught me courage. It's taught me strength... It has taught me what it is to stand as a man, really." And Usher insists the hardships he and Foster had to endure before they wed, as America's black media and jealous fans turned on them, will make any future marital issues easy to solve. He adds, "Tameka and I have been fortunate enough to go through the thick of it in the beginning. We've had the opportunity to huddle up as a team, to make sure that we're clear and speak as one voice."