Usher Reveals That He Is Expecting a Boy

"I hope that he's just a healthy son," he says of his and Tameka Foster's first child

Photo: Rick Mackler/Globe

Newlyweds Usher and Tameka Foster are going to have a boy, he revealed to PEOPLE Tuesday.

When asked what he is looking forward to most about being a new dad, Usher, 28, said his desires are pretty basic.

“I just want my son to fully be coherent and to be healthy, first and foremost,” he told PEOPLE at the USHER for Men and USHER for Women fragrance launch party at Cipriani in Manhattan.

“I’ve found that it is a step-by-step process. You can wish for a million and one things. But I hope that my son has the same energy I had as a child,” Usher said. “Hopefully, he won’t be as bad as me. I hope that he’s just a healthy son.”

Usher is already getting what he hopes for, considering he announced, “I want it to be a boy,” on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in August.

On that same show he also gave some hints about what he’d name his male progeny. “If it’s a boy, I’m going to name him Usher,” the musician – full name Usher Raymond – said. “I’m hoping to name him that. I’ve been playing with a few names. I’m the fourth. Usher Raymond IV. I just want to pass the name on. Maybe I’ll change the middle name.”

Mom-to-be, Foster, 37, told PEOPLE she’s feeling “beautiful” but having odd cravings.

“I eat ice all day,” she said. “It’s a weird thing. I love it. Now I’m thinking about ice. I want to find some ice.”

Foster also admits that while she’s aiming for a natural birth, it might not happen.

“I don’t want drugs,” she said. “I’ll try. I say that now. You call me about ten hours into labor. I’ll be asking for everything. Vicodin and everything.”

Also on hand was Usher’s mother, Jonetta Patton, who has reportedly clashed with Foster. Patton did not attend their wedding, but is looking forward to the couple’s birth. “I’m very excited about being a grandmother,” she said.

• Reporting by JEFFREY SLONIM

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