“By the time we are live in July, you will have heard new music,” Usher told PEOPLE of his latest tunes, which he plans to release ahead of his Las Vegas residency

Usher. PHOTO: PARAS GRIFFIN/GETTY

Usher’s newest 𝚋𝚊𝚋𝚢 Sire Castrello is only 5 months old, but the singer already sees “something special” in the infant.

“Me and him have a really cool relationship. He’s different than any of my other kids,” the father-of-four told PEOPLE, noting that he’s more rambunctious with Usher V, 14, and Naviyd Ely, 13 — both of whom he shares with ex-wife, Tameka Foster — and 17-month-old daughter Sovereign Bo, whom he shares, along with Sire, with girlfriend Jenn Goicoechea.

Baby Sire — who was welcomed into the world as 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” played — is more “stiff” and “a little non-trusting,” the crooner said.

“I’ve managed to have a little code going with him when I talk to him and how we speak to each other,” Usher said. “He makes me mush…. My new little boy, he’s something special.”

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Being one of the best-selling artists of all time, Usher is something special, too. Just last week he announced a new headlining residency show in Las Vegas, his second within a year. In summer 2021, the “Yeah” singer had a highly successful 20-show run at Caesars Palace. His new show will debut July 15 at Dolby Live at Park MGM.

“Here being in this new venue, I think we’re starting a new narrative in Las Vegas, a new expectation of what you should expect to come to Las Vegas to experience,” he said. “I’ve actually made plans to vibe up a bit and give people something that’s different than what they experienced the last time they came into this environment.”

Usher also promised the residency will include new music, hopefully off an album he’s aiming to release this year.

“By the time we are live in July, you will have heard new music,” he said. “My plan is to get back to servicing music the way that we did before.”

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COVID, he said, altered his path in terms of the album.

“In COVID, while we have been in quarantine, my ideas changed. I actually learned new things. I was able to really be reflective and find out what things matter and really have some true, honest, deep conversations with people and myself, to take some ownership of some of where my life has gone and some of the things that I’ve come through. It is honest,” he said. “So, yeah, I’m going to release an album this year, hopefully, but now it’s just a matter of the timing, and what the name of the album is and all of that.”

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Although Usher’s first Vegas residency is a memory, it will be remembered for being one of the first post-lockdown shows in “The City of Entertainment.”

“The biggest lesson that I learned is the show must go on. You gotta realize what type of adversity I was up against in creating that show,” he said, recalling how the delta variant was on the uptick during the early run of the 2021 residency. “It wasn’t easy.”

At the time, dancers and production crew were getting sick almost daily.

“We had this very uphill battle to even put the show on. It was a miracle that we were able to do it, but that gave me the chutzpah to be prepared for whatever is coming my way, and my life has been a testimony of that. I think all of ours have,” he said. “You know, when COVID came it felt like everything stopped. It felt like life shut down. But life goes on, and the show must go on, and we have to figure out how to make the most of what we have and try to give as much as we possibly can.”