Usher Releases New Single Exclusively Via Cereal Box

Stylish singer-songwriter Usher (real name Usher Raymond IV) has bucked the recent trend surrounding surprise and/or mystery releases, largely eschewing the internet to make his new single, Clueless, available exclusively via download codes packed in select boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios being sold at US chain-store megalith Walmart.

No, seriously — the official Twitter account of cereal mascot Buzz The Bee has confirmed the now-widely reported promotion, which is a direct expansion (for some reason) on an earlier collaboration between the U Remind Me hitmaker and the anthropomorphic insect. Back in August, the pair faced off in an advertisement depicting a sort of dance-based chat about the health benefits of Honey Nut Cheerios. Because, you know, bees communicate through dance. Duh.

Usher isn't the only famous face to tangle with Buzz; both Nelly and feline icon Tardar Sauce, the Grumpy Cat, have had separate encounters with the cereal's mascot. Perhaps the most significant thing to come out of Usher's ad at the time of its August release was the inadvertent revelation of the title of Usher's long-awaited forthcoming eighth studio full-length, which we now know is called UR, and the first unveiling of recent single She Came To Give It To You, featuring Nicki Minaj.

UR will also boast guest spots from esteemed contemporaries such as Pharrell Williams and Drake, as well as the likes of Diplo, Skrillex, Ed Sheeran and more. It was originally slated for release this year, but has since been pushed back to early 2015.

Still, perhaps we should have seen this sort of promotion coming — since the advertisement first aired, Buzz The Bee has been posting increasingly clingy tweets directed towards Usher that read like the world's saddest one-way friendship.

See? It's downright depressing.

There's no word on how Aussies can get their hands on the new track, at least officially — Usher will apparently not be uploading it to usual channels such as SoundCloud or YouTube or the like, and even though Cheerios are definitely available on supermarket shelves Down Under, we're not so well stocked on the "Walmart" side of things... so it seems as though we're destined to remain Clueless-less for now.