Usher opened up about the important lessons that he picked up from conversations with Michael Jackson.

The 45-year-old “Yeah” superstar is a longtime fan of the late King of Pop. He even performed a tribute to Michael back in 2014 and sang at a public memorial for him back in 2009.

They shared some moments together before Michael‘s untimely death, and Usher learned a lot from his time with the “Thriller” icon. He shared what he got from their time together in a new interview.

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“It was an admiration of what I do as an entertainer that he offered me,” Usher told The Hollywood Reporter. “He didn’t really say a lot. Whenever we had conversations, they were fairly brief, but what he did tell me is he appreciated the fact that I’m a song-and-dance man and the fact that that’s not an easy thing to do.”

He continued, saying, “It is celebrated by people who did it and didn’t have a choice when they were back in the earlier days. It was almost as though he was telling me to keep it authentic.”

“And I battle with it, because sometimes I absolutely want to have more support, so I add extra backgrounds and stuff like that, but it actually detaches me from the experience that I want to have with my fans and what I want to offer them,” the singer explained. “So that’s why I always try to give my all when I’m singing, try to stay away from the technical side of it and keep it as raw and authentic and analog as I possibly can. I do use it to assist me. I don’t use it to assess me.”

Usher references Michael on his new album Coming Home.

He also recently revealed a former Super Bowl Halftime Show performer who had some advice for him before he takes the stage this weekend.