John Legend's Quotes

I listen to all those kinds of music, from classic soul to hip-hop to Brazilian music to, you know, jazz to indie to alternative. So whatever. I listen to all if it. Classic rock and classic pop, all of that.

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.

I think they need to get a more reliable way of watching television on the laptop. Because I travel so much, if I want to watch my favorite sports team it might not be showing in that place, so I want a reliable way to watch whatever I want to watch on my laptop.

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.

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.

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.

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.

My first album, 'Get Lifted,' was a hip-hop soul album that had some of its roots in the church, as far as the sonic choices, in the way that I sing and write songs. I have always had that as part of my background and part of my influence when I am making music.

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.

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.

The most I ever spent on technology is building a studio - I built one at home in Los Angeles. I can't tell you how much exactly, but the whole process is very expensive.

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.

Well, I was always a bit of a political junkie. Even as a kid I would read biographies of presidents and of civil rights leaders like Martin Luther King and Frederick Douglass and Booker T. Washington.

Well, Jeff Buckley for me is one of the greatest singers I've ever heard. And the reason why is he has an amazing range, amazing emotional power in his voice. And the music he put around it also just had this passion and this soul to it and this spirit to it that very few artists have, and he passed at a very young age.

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.'

Experience is a great teacher.

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.

In the 1970s, for all the Stevie Wonders, I'm sure there were five artists that were making forgettable music.

Soul is about authenticity. Soul is about finding the things in your life that are real and pure.

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

I don't feel like that many musicians are competitive with each other.

I don't get to listen to music for fun very often; a lot of what I'm hearing is for work and isn't released yet.

I played classical as a kid.

I think writers are prone to hyperbole sometimes.

I want to move people.

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

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

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.

It's really about making the best music you can make. It's really about working hard.

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

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.

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

Marvin Gaye was one of the coolest. I look to him as a style icon and as an artist.

Musicians are in-season all the time.