John Legend Quotes & Sayings

For me I'm actually doing what I normally do when I do my solo thing and the other thing is actually more new to me. — John Legend

I think writers are prone to hyperbole sometimes. — John Legend

My family is very musical, I was surrounded by it. And from four years old I was the one that asked my mother could I take piano lessons.It wasn't forced on me. It was something I wanted to do. And ever since, I've never stopped, I've never stopped playing music. I never went through a period where I didn't want to do it. — John Legend

I've always followed politics, and I think politics is everybody's business because we're electing someone who's going to be making important decisions that will affect all of our lives. — John Legend

Some people start with the lyrics first because they know what they want to talk about and they just write a whole bunch of lyrical ideas, but for me the music tells me what to talk about. — John Legend

I'm craving more soul, I'm craving more truth, I'm craving more socially - just people that are aware of what's going on in the world. — John Legend

I think it's hard to really write a song that will educate someone because songs are meant to be ... you don't want to be too didactic in a song because it doesn't make for good music. And I think the role of songs can be to inspire people but there needs to education and prose to back that up. — John Legend

We weren't allowed to have secular music in the house growing up. I was home-schooled, and gospel was the only choice we had. — John Legend

As a nation - and as a world - we need more truth. — John Legend

We all must follow a different path to let our light shine, and that's what makes us so unpredictable and unique. — John Legend

London is a good fashion city. They're a little more daring. There's the element of the aristocracy, which is always interesting. — John Legend

I always saw myself as a singer-songwriter, a solo-artist, that's why working with other artists was never satisfying for me. — John Legend

I was always the front man for what I was doing from when I was 6. — John Legend

Sometimes I start just on the piano with a melody or musical idea that kind of leads me to certain lyrics. — John Legend

We have a serious problem with incarceration in this country. It's destroying families, it's destroying communities and we're the most incarcerated country in the world, and when you look deeper and look at the reasons we got to this place, we as a society made some choices politically and legislatively, culturally to deal with poverty, deal with mental illness in a certain way and that way usually involves using incarceration. — John Legend

I believed in myself and I am a firm believer you have to think the things you want and visualize. — John Legend

I was a busy kid in high school - a little bit of an overachiever, I guess. Prom king was kind of silly, but the rest of the stuff was important to me. — John Legend

Anybody under the age of forty knows hip-hop, gospel and R&B pretty well, and it's all a part of what we consider to be 'black music.' There is a natural synergy between the three. — John Legend

In my neighborhood in Springfield, Ohio, there were a lot of young kids. We all played tackle football after school, but I knew very early on that I was not an athlete. — John Legend

I was the front man of the choir and then when I was 12 and I was the leadsinger of my highschool groups. — John Legend

I like cool jackets - a nice fall or winter coat. You can get a lot of use out of it, and you'll wear it frequently, so it can really set the tone of your uniform for the season. — John Legend

Witnessing the extreme poverty in remote parts of Affrica can make you feel sad and powerless until you realize how little it takes to change these people's lives fundamentally in sustainable ways. — John Legend

That's the evergreen nature of a great song. They can be resurrected. They can be covered. They can find new relevance due to changing circumstances in history. — John Legend

The best training is to play by ear: trial by fire. — John Legend

As a young black boy, it made me proud to see black leaders that did something amazing and made the world change. — John Legend

The issue I focus on the most is extreme poverty. I think it's kind of out of sight out of mind. I wish there would be more stories about that to connect people to what's happening. To personalize it, to make it real to people, to inspire them to action. — John Legend

My head's under water but I'm breathing fine — John Legend

I played classical as a kid. — John Legend

Fleeting joy and fading ecstasy, here it goes again, oh,
Sneaking fruit from the forbidden tree, sweet taste of sin — John Legend

I'm honestly not a great gift giver. I could give better - my girlfriends have always complained about that. — John Legend

I'm trying to be me and embrace all the parts of me that have grown up, listened to more music and soaked up more influences. — John Legend

I was in an a cappella group in school, so it particularly helped me keep my piano chops up. — John Legend

My line is probably a little more conservative than some of my compatriots in the business. But again, I think it's all - like, it just - it comes down to me knowing who I am and knowing how I want to be seen in the world, how I want to discuss things. — John Legend

The future started yesterday, and we're already late. — John Legend

J. Ivy is a brilliant man with an incredible voice and a way with words. I've known him for over a decade and owe my stage name to him believing in me back then before I even had a record deal. I'm excited for him to share his truth with the world. — John Legend

I think people relate to the music because I have a sense of empathy, and I think I have a good understanding about relationships, and I talk about them in a real, honest way — John Legend

John legend is a nickname that somebody started calling me a while ago and part of it is 'cos I sound like an old man when I sing. — John Legend

I care more about the fans in general, just making sure they enjoy what I do. And then also I kind of had this kind of ideal of the kind of music I want to make and what I'm aiming for kind of creatively and just the quality of the music that I'm trying to make. And I have that in my head. — John Legend

I don't like going to football games. I like watching them on television. When you go to a game, it's hard to focus. There's so much going on, and it's cold. I'd rather sit and watch it and get replays and commentary. — John Legend

I feel like spirituality definitely comes through in my music, but I don't make any specific efforts to make it that way. — John Legend

Artists in general never stay in the same place, we keep growing. It's still you, you still have that core that you always had, but you work with new people and hear new things. — John Legend

To me, as a musician, there aren't any boundaries genre-wise as far as what can you listen to to inspire you. — John Legend

Some people, you know, should just go to college and do what they do and have a great job and not worry about trying to be famous as a singer. It's not for everyone. — John Legend

There's something in your heart
And it's in your eyes
It's the fire, inside you
Let it burn
You don't say, "Good luck"
You say, "Don't give up"
It's the fire, inside you
Let it burn — John Legend

I only want to be associated with music that is high quality. That's my main criteria. — John Legend

Recently, John and I got to go to Selma and perform it on the same bridge that Martin Luther King walked over. Once a landmark of a divided nation, the spirit of this bridge now for all people regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation or social status. This bridge was built on hope and welded with compassion. Common — John Legend

Well, what's interesting, I try not to think about the radio when I'm writing a song. I want people to love the song, and that means it might not be exactly thinking about the radio, but it's thinking about your audience and saying, 'I want people to like this song after it's done.' — John Legend

The fun part about collaborating is that you naturally just bounce off each other's energy and learn off each other. — John Legend

When we see people that are impoverished and people who are dealt an unfair hand, then if we have the power to help them, we should try to do that. — John Legend

I don't think I'm craving any more fame. But success and being recognized for making great work all around the world, I think it's a great thing. — John Legend

No matter how big or successful and famous you become, if you do that, that's the most fulfilling thing, is making music that you love and that you're proud of. — John Legend

Damn, I love you, but this is crazy,
I have to fight you almost daily,
We break up so fast,
And we, we make up so passionately,
Why can't we just trust each?
You can't hate me and be my lover,
Passion ends, and pains begins, I come back ... — John Legend

I never went through a period where I didn't want to play music. I've always loved it and it's always been a huge part of my life. — John Legend

Why wouldn't I help? What good reason do I have as a human being with power and a sense of empathy and morality, why wouldn't I do something? — John Legend

I spent a lot of time, a lot of energy trying to be a better artist and I still [do]. I spend a lot of time focusing on my craft. If you're going to take your passion into something beyond just something for fun on the side, you got to spend a lot of time on it to be great, and then you've got to make smart decisions about who you collaborate with [and] where you live [to] put yourself in the right situations to meet the right people to catch those breaks. — John Legend

I keep learning, listening, growing and experimenting. — John Legend

I think I'm happier, not just because of winning Grammys and selling records, but because it's really fulfilling to have all these things happen with something you love to do. — John Legend

Some of them [family names] have sentimental value for some reason or another, some of them just sound beautiful. Some of them are because of people that are meaningful to us in our lives. So it's hard to say which one we'll pick. Sometimes they say you have to see the child before you decide. So maybe when we see her we'll make a last-second decision. — John Legend

I do believe that part of us ending racism is us seeing each other's humanity and learning to love each other, even if we look different or worship differently or live differently. — John Legend

John Legend is a nickname that some friends started calling me, and it kind of grew into my stage name. — John Legend

You know, my family is very musical, I was surrounded by it. And from four years old I was the one that asked my mother could I take piano lessons. — John Legend

People see me as pretty low key in a lot of ways. And for me, like, even choosing to be John Legend and to be who I am as a star, as an artist, it's a risk 'cause I - you know, I graduated from college and worked as a management consultant, and I could have had this very kind of buttoned-up life and worn suits to work every day. — John Legend

If a few people decide not to buy my album it's really not going to change my life that much. — John Legend

My first big break came with Lauryn Hill on a track called Everything is Everything, I played piano on that track way back in 1998. — John Legend

The biggest weapon is to stay peaceful — John Legend

In terms of the technology I use the most, it's probably a tie between my Blackberry and my MacBook Pro laptop. That's how I communicate with the rest of the world and how I handle all the business I have to handle. — John Legend

I just want my music to measure up to. Part of it's just thinking about my place in history and how this music is going to be perceived, if it's listened to 30, 40 years from now. — John Legend

I do speak to kids a lot. I am very clear with them that not all of them should aspire to be me and not all of them should be aspire to be LeBron. — John Legend

The most important thing about technology is that it can seamlessly work its way into your routine and your life. — John Legend

There's a certain confidence that comes with being sure about the way the world works. — John Legend

Hip-hop and R&B are especially fertile bases of collaboration. It always makes good records and good music. — John Legend

I just want it to be timeless and timely at the same time. — John Legend

I want to move people. — John Legend

To have the chance to see your music be elevated and to have almost universally positive response to that music, makes me feel better every day. I feel more confident and inspired, and that's fun. — John Legend

At the end of the day, there's only a few major stars in the music business, and then there's all these people that are aspiring to be that. — John Legend

A just society is not one built on fear or repression or vengeance or exclusion, but one built on love. Love for our families. Love for our neighbors. Love for the least among us. Love for those who look different or worship differently. Love for those we don't even know. — John Legend

We're just ordinary people. We don't know which way to go. — John Legend

I always felt that rap didn't cause crime; it just reflected it. — John Legend

I don't actually go to a lot of games because I think football on TV is better. Even though I'm pretty busy, I watch 90 percent of Ohio State's games. — John Legend

I don't love the idea of three superstars coming together to form a dream team, I'd rather teams are built more organically, just as a fan it's more interesting to see. — John Legend

My first attempt at a kiss was in fifth grade, but it didn't go so well. Later, I used Boyz II Men and Jodeci songs to come on to girls. I had more success. — John Legend

Happy that New York passed marriage equality tonight. A victory for human rights. Progress. — John Legend

I wrote the song "Show Me" as a prayer to God asking simple, honest questions about life and death and why there is so much suffering in the world. As I grew with the song I realized I shouldn't limit these questions solely to God; I should ask those questions of others and of myself. — John Legend

Musicians are in-season all the time. — John Legend

Every artist wants some sort of feedback, because you make this music and you hope people love it and you want to hear if they love it and what they love about it, what their favorite song is, what they think the next single should be. I like to hear those things. — John Legend

Music was my life ... It was everything to me, even though I was in school majoring in English. I was still very focused on music and always finding ways to perform, so that was what set me up to want to become a recording artist. — John Legend

I used read about Dr. King a lot as a kid. Independently, from being assigned it or being told by my parents or anything, I was just really excited about him. So I just started reading about him very young and was inspired by his legacy and looked to him as a role model. — John Legend

You believe in equality for women and men. And that means that, not only do you believe in it kind of in the abstract but you actively think people should seek it when it comes to the way you hire people, the way you compensate people, the way you treat women and men in professional settings and school, whatever the case, giving them equal opportunities without disadvantaging them because of their, for the fact that they're women. And to me that's what it means for me to be a feminist. I don't think it's that controversial. — John Legend

I feel like my job is to make impact, spread love, tell great stories, inspire people, that's what I am going to do. — John Legend

I hear melodies and hooks all day. I've always been that way, since I was a kid. — John Legend

Love your curves and all your edges All your perfect imperfections — John Legend

I thought it would be funny to take a photo in the White House bathroom, I take pictures everywhere I go, but I don't think I can top that one. — John Legend

There are more black men incarcerated today than there were slaves in 1850. — John Legend

I'm pretty adventurous with food, so I'm not afraid to try anything. — John Legend

I used to work for a management consulting company, so I dressed differently - business casual, probably a lot of things from Banana Republic. My wardrobe now is definitely more expensive, but I always dress for the occasion. — John Legend

You learn so much from taking chances, whether they work out or not. Either way, you can grow from the experience and become stronger and smarter. — John Legend

I have a great band, with very talented players, and we give everything we have every night. — John Legend

My mother, I want her to like my music, but she's not exactly my target audience. So I care more about the fans in general, just making sure they enjoy what I do. — John Legend

The weirdest thing about Hillary Clinton's email 'scandal' is finding out some of our senators still don't use email. — John Legend

Music business is not for everyone. But if you have it in you, you have that passion, if you have that energy in you that you really want to make something creative and make something that's going to impact the world, then go for it, do it and don't let anybody tell you no. — John Legend