Usher and Justin Timberlake draw a lot of comparisons ... but Usher says he's got a leg up on his counterpart -- 'cause he beat him in a Justin Bieber bidding war.
The singer-songwriter revealed in an interview with People that, way back in 2008, he met Bieber and Scooter Braun and offered to bring JB onto his record label ... but first, he said he had to pull out a thicker wad of cash than Timberlake.