PETALING JAYA, September 14 — American singer and 12-time Grammy Award winner John Legend wants fans to celebrate the different kinds of love through his latest studio album, Legend.
The Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards (EGOT) winner's latest album that was released five days ago is split into two acts.
It also features Black artists such as Jazmine Sullivan and rapper Ty Dolla.
Legend said in a press conference earlier today that love was a common trait throughout the album and his career.
Produced by Legend himself and prolific producer-writer Ryan Tedder, songs in Act 1 are to evoke sensual pleasures of lust, self, and adventure while Act 2 is to conjure up feelings of Sunday morning with its focus on healing, intimacy and soulfulness.
"Like my concert Love in Las Vegas, love was chosen as an integral part of the title.
"We go through the different ups and downs in relationships, and I love talking about the different nuances that we deal with love when we’re with any relationship.
"And I also think we write songs through our experiences — I’ve been a husband for nine years now and a father for six years now — and their love has really inspired my music a lot.
"And through this album, one gets to explore the different sides of love — whether it’s in a deep way, infatuation, lust or whether it’s going through a really tough time with someone,” he said.
Declaring his love for wife Chrissy Teigen, Legend said that some of the songs from the double-album that was dedicated to her include Waterslide, Nervous, Dope and Home.
As to why the self-titled name Legend was chosen, the All of Me singer said that all the 24 songs in the double-album truly represented his stories, inspiration, and experiences.
"I felt like me without the shirt in the album and I was just channeling my raw emotions to the world — and hence that name.
"I think the album also reflects the different sides of who I am — such as to a time during my bachelor days and also to the present day of me being in a committed relationship with my wife and kids.
"Why I decided to split the songs into two albums was for its two different moods — and I also wanted all these 24 songs to be released because I had been working on them for the past two years."
On working with other artists and being inspired by Black artists, Legend said that he has always welcomed collaborative work such as blending in rap and duets into his songs.
His work has also been inspired by the music of Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Prince and Whitney Houston.
"Singer-songwriter Jazzmine Sullivan is also one of my favourite singers and I was glad to collaborate with her for my song Love.
"Having artist Rick Ross and singer Jhene Aiko has also been great as I got to blend rap with duets and that was amazing.
"Each of them brought their strengths to the table — something that complements what I do and makes the entire project a great one,” he said,
At the recent 74th Primetime Emmy awards on Monday, the Never Break singer performed his song Pieces from the latest album during the "In Memoriam" segment which paid respects to notable performers who had passed away.
