Usher: What Michael Jackson Means to Me

March 26, 2010— -- In anticipation of his new studio album, "Raymond v. Raymond," five-time Grammy winner Usher sat down with "Nightline" to share personal reminiscences and talk about musical influences.

And for the first time, Usher opened up about how hard it was emotionally to sing at Michael Jackson's funeral.

Usher will perform in front of a live audience on "Good Morning America" on Tuesday, March 30, the same day his new album is released. CLICK HERE to find out how you can attend!

Here are some thoughts he had about his life.

Watch the full story tonight on "Nightline" at 11:35 p.m. ET

"I think some of my early musical memories would have to be in the church. 'We Made It,' that was a song that my mother would always sing on Sundays, every other Sunday she would perform. I'd watch her sing in the choir, and eventually I decided to join her youth choir.

"I'd sing in the choir, understanding how working with other singers would work from unison to drop notes, and understanding sustained notes and understanding harmonies. I'd have solo moments within songs because I would choose to, because I choose to just kinda run."

"L.A. Reid definitely wanted the world to know who I was, and wanted me to work with the best. He sent me to NYC and I moved there for a year. Having been around that lifestyle of hip-hop and that energy, it just gave me a different understanding of music.

"I'd hear songs from Al Green like 'Love and Happiness.' Some of the most incredible moments of my life were in those clubs, believe it or not. Here I am 15 years old in nightclubs and having that experience, and that's just a different movement and different energy. I was like 'Wow, I can barely even have parties at my house and I'm now at a nightclub?!'"