How Usher Lives His Best Life

Best Recipe

Tuscan egg toast—basically a fancier version of eggs in a basket—that I make for my two sons on their birthdays. I cut out the center of a slice of bread, fry an egg in the middle, then drizzle it with truffle oil and sprinkle with herbes de Provence and salt and pepper.

Best Adventure

Anything with a major adrenaline rush: Skydiving, zip-lining, surfing, bungee jumping, wakeboarding—you name it and I've tried it. During a recent trip to Panama, I jumped off a huge cliff into a lagoon, then looked up and thought, What if I'd just broken my neck?! It was the most dangerous thing I've ever done.

Best Advice

"If you stay ready, you ain't gotta get ready." James Brown told me that right before we performed together at the Grammys in 2005. I've never forgotten it, and I'm always telling people, "Well, James Brown once told me..."

Best Collection

My dress shoes. I shined my grandfather's as a kid, so I gained an appreciation at an early age for really nice Italian leather shoes.

Best Family Tradition

Reunions, or what I call red-cup celebrations: Everybody's hanging out on the lawn, drinking out of those plastic cups, eating fried chicken, and dancing to loud old-school music. Sometimes the simpler the celebration is, the better.

Best Mistake

Getting married at 28. Most people probably think I regret it since I ended up getting divorced, but it helped me learn that sometimes I think I know more than I actually do.