The Super Bowl Halftime headliner reflects back on his rise to fame in music alongside Justin Timberlake and *NSYNC

Usher and Justin Timberlake both rose to fame in the early ’00s with silky smooth voices and boyish good looks. They’ve both even headlined the Super Bowl. But competitors, they are not.

In a wide-ranging interview for this week’s PEOPLE cover story, Usher, 45, shares his thoughts on being compared to Timberlake, 43, and what their relationship has really been like throughout the years.

“I think people more than likely need to find comparisons, but we are all unique artists and have our creativity,” says Usher. “I love the producers that he works with, so much so that I worked with them. And I think he loves the producers that I worked with so much so that he worked with them.”

Usher on the cover of PEOPLE.

For his part, as a kid Usher was inspired by the merging worlds of R&B and hip-hop showcased by artists like Bobby Brown, New Edition and the Boys. He hustled to crack into the music business when he was a preteen.

“I’d be sitting outside of nightclubs where people would come out at maybe 4 o’clock in the morning, and here I am singing [Boyz II Men’s hit] ‘End of the Road,’ ” he remembers.

Though he performed on Star Search at age 13 and is a contemporary of Timberlake and Britney Spears, “I wasn’t a Disney kid,” he says, chuckling at the mature nature of his songs. “They probably would have kicked me off the lot.”

Usher in Santa Monica in 2000.SGRANITZ/WIREIMAGE

But that didn’t stop him from admiring the work of former Musketeer Timberlake and his group *NSYNC.

“I can remember as a kid going to their foundation events and just supporting *NSYNC and trying to get as close as I possibly could to them, because I just respected what [their manager] Johnny Wright was doing.”

Justin Timberlake and Usher at an *NSYNC charity event in Florida in July 2004.KEVIN MAZUR/WIREIMAGE

Years later when they were both successful solo artists, Usher says he tried to work with Timberlake. “I’ve always wanted to do a record with Justin and have reached out many times, but we’ve never managed to make it happen,” he says. “I think that he’s an amazing performer.”

That said, Usher’s happy to be in a league of his own. “I’m in competition with no one other than myself, and I’ve always tried to beat my own record,” he says. “Beat my own expectations and try and better myself. And if anything, I’ve been motivated by people like Justin.”

Justin Timberlake and Usher in New York City in 2003.LESTER COHEN/WIREIMAGE

He continues, “I think that he has a legacy that should be respected and not compared to anybody else. Do I feel at times that the score was a bit unfair in terms of how people even judged us or some of the things that may have been given to him?” The star pauses, then offers, “He had better management staff, you know what I’m saying, access to things I didn’t. I’m cool with that.”

According to the star, everything has worked out as it was supposed to. This year both singers have new albums for fans to enjoy: Timberlake’s Everything I Thought I Was, due out in March, and Usher’s Coming Home released Feb. 9.

“I’m confident enough to celebrate any and every artist and can stand on the stage with any of them,” he says, “and we entertain and have a great time because music is a place of celebration.”