Were Usher and Alicia Keys ever a couple?

This is roughly where I’d ask you if you caught the Usher concert that took place on a football field for some reason, but honestly, that joke feels a little too easy at this point. Even the most committed football fan would have trouble denying that Usher’s halftime show at the 2024 Super Bowl was one for the books, complete with far-too-evocative-looking pianos, proof of just how situational a shirt can be, and a hearty dose of the one and only Alicia Keys.

We all know the rules of the internet by now: since Keys and Usher were seen in close proximity to one another, it’s only natural that we all begin to wonder very loudly if the two have any romantic history. Well, with respect to that inquiry, I stand before you all as I prepare to take far too much joy in bursting this particular bubble.

Were Usher and Alicia Keys ever in a relationship?

By all accounts, Usher and Alicia Keys have never found themselves falling down the same romantic hole together. They did, however, once join artistic forces for the Billboard Hot 100 charter “My Boo,” a duet they released in 2004, which perhaps explains the apparent comfort they have with one another. For those of you who didn’t already know that, however, I’m sure that’s just made you even more suspicious about Usher’s and Alicia Keys’ personal, intimate lives.

If so, I’m sorry to say that I can’t help you there. I do not personally know Usher or Alicia Keys, and even if I did, I would probably still get very little nutritious mileage out of any information regarding whether or not they are or ever have been romantically involved (i.e. about as much mileage as you’re getting right now).