Fame, glory, awards — but John Legend has also faced grief, personal fallouts and political turmoil

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Of each the places you mightiness expect to find John Legend, an innocuous co-working abstraction successful cardinal London is beauteous acold down the list. Yet, connected an unseasonably lukewarm autumn afternoon, this is the venue the vocalist has been corralled into, someway making his mode past workers connected their luncheon break, playing ping pong, gathered by the java instrumentality oregon savouring the past bites of their Pret lunches.

“I’m great!” beams 45-year-old Legend arsenic helium enters a clinically trendy gathering room, each bully manners and seasoned professionalism. One imagines a personage of his stature (that is: 10 million albums sold, 16m Instagram followers hooked connected his each move) mightiness similar the presumption of a king-sized furniture successful a palatial edifice country implicit the quasi-inspirational artwork that hangs connected the walls — not slightest due to the fact that helium arrived successful the superior lone 3 hours agone and has a gig tonight, the latest halt connected his two-year An Evening with John Legend tour. During the tour, helium was joined successful Ohio by household members for a rendition of I Don’t Have to Change from his debut medium Get Lifted, the 20 twelvemonth day variation of which, is released adjacent period (December 20).

For many, this is the overriding representation of Legend (born John Roger Stephens) — sitting astatine a expansive piano, wearing a tux and surrounded by loved ones. Most radical cognize him arsenic a wholesome household man. A doting hubby and begetter of four, who croons his mode to the apical of the charts with sentimental ballads specified arsenic 2013’s All of Me, dedicated to his woman of 11 years, exemplary and Insta-juggernaut Chrissy Teigen. He is, without exaggeration, 1 of the astir accomplished musicians of his generation, with 12 Grammys, 2 Emmys, an Oscar and a Tony to beryllium it. Yes, that makes him an EGOT. No, the database of accolades doesn’t extremity there.

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But we’ll get connected to each that later. Because, fixed the results of the caller US election, it would beryllium remiss to not besides sermon his governmental credentials. This is simply a antheral who spent his teens speechmaking astir civilian rights heroes specified arsenic Martin Luther King Jr and, astatine 15, wrote a self-prophesying effort that vowed to marque Black history. How? By becoming “a palmy signaling artist” who uses his level to “fight for alteration and justice”, helium says. “And I’ve been trying to beryllium that idiosyncratic since then.”

Sure enough, helium endorsed Barack Obama successful 2008, played astatine his inauguration and, galvanised by the campaign’s “Yes We Can” energy, released Wake Up!, an medium of protestation songs with The Roots, successful 2010. He’s the laminitis of the non-profit FreeAmerica, which aims to betterment the US situation system, and regularly rails against injustice, beryllium it nutrient insecurity oregon the overturning of Roe v Wade. Both helium and Teigen person gladly made enemies of recently re-elected president Donald Trump, who erstwhile referred to the mates arsenic the “boring instrumentalist and his filthy-mouthed wife”.

Any force of Trump’s is, I feel, connected the close broadside of past

Legend smiles astatine the notation of that past point. “We person specified contempt for his quality and his values that we ever felt it was a badge of honour to beryllium radical helium didn’t like,” helium says, underscoring his pridefulness with emphatic manus gestures. “Any force of his, I feel, is connected the close broadside of history.”

No prizes for guessing that Legend was connected Team Kamala, then. He campaigned for her, arsenic helium did for Hillary Clinton successful 2016 and Elizabeth Warren successful 2020. “It’s ridiculous that we’ve gone this agelong without a pistillate being president of the United States. Britain’s had pistillate premier ministers, truthful person galore countries astir the satellite — our neighbour to the south, Mexico, conscionable elected their archetypal pistillate president,” helium says, gaining momentum. “Women are fractional the world, they supply a antithetic position and experience.” Any right-minded idiosyncratic would agree. But arsenic it transpires, America was not ready. Not conscionable for a pistillate president, but a Black pistillate president, nary uncertainty a effect of the nation’s fraught radical divisions that person lone been exacerbated by Trump.

But we’re not really gathering to sermon the election. Legend is successful London for a amusement to beforehand 2 milestone releases. The first, My Favorite Dream, dropped successful precocious summertime and marks his euphony for children debut, adjacent featuring a way with vocals from Teigen and their eldest children, Luna, eight, and Miles, six — ah, there’s that wholesome household antheral again. The full happening whitethorn dependable a spot twee, but with accumulation by Sufjan Stevens and Legend’s old-soul vocals, it’s a grounds that inactive has the imaginable to charm big listeners. Besides, pursuing the couple’s highly-publicised miscarriage successful 2020 and the consequent accomplishment of their 2 youngest children, Esti and Wren, successful 2023, for Legend, the medium serves a greater purpose.

“When we posted astir the miscarriage, we were going done heavy grief and I wasn’t definite astir america sharing photos of that,” says Legend. “But Chrissy truly thought it was the close happening to do, and she was right. I deliberation Chrissy, on with others, has been capable to assistance unfastened a speech astir this contented that truthful galore women person to woody with successful soundlessness and with immoderate shame.”

Chrissy Teigen and John Legend be with lad Miles and girl Luna up of the opening ceremonial of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 connected July 26

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Now, though, with My Favorite Dream, the Legend household is sharing a much hopeful connection astir overcoming grief and bonding arsenic a family. “It’s a batch easier erstwhile you person 2 caller small babies that bring truthful overmuch joyousness and excitement to the house,” helium beams. “They brought truthful galore smiles and laughs to our faces, and truly inspired maine to marque this caller album.”

A speedy glimpse astatine either Legend oregon Teigen’s societal media profiles provides impervious of each those smiles. See comedic vlogs of their kids cooking with Teigen, oregon videos of them attempting to support up with Legend down the piano. “Chrissy and I are comfy being our authentic selves successful public,” says Legend of the family’s online presence. “And we don’t stock everything. We cognize there’s definite things that are for america and for our family.”

Still, there’s nary mode to foretell the tide of online opinion. Teigen learned that the hard mode successful 2021, erstwhile she was concisely “cancelled” aft Courtney Stodden accused her of online bullying successful 2011. Surely that indispensable person been beauteous scary? “Yeah, it was difficult,” says Legend. “She had to truly woody with it. Even though I was close determination supporting her, nary 1 tin recognize what it feels like.” It intelligibly hasn’t deterred the mates from posting, though. When it comes to online hate, it’s simply a substance of “putting it successful perspective,” says the singer. “Sometimes you’ve conscionable got to instrumentality a interruption from it, crook it disconnected and cognize that the radical successful your beingness emotion you. As overmuch arsenic societal media is simply a portion of our lives, we don’t fto it predominate and marque america hide what truly matters successful life.” Rest assured, Legend’s household values won’t beryllium disappearing from our feeds immoderate clip soon.

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Such scenes of home bliss are a beingness distant from the representation of Legend painted connected his debut medium Get Lifted, which turns 20 successful December. A remaster is connected the mode to observe the occasion, implicit with remixes and “special guests”. “I’m excited for radical to perceive what we’ve done to link what we did 20 years agone to what’s happening now,” helium says. Does that mean joining the dots betwixt Legend’s existent persona and the 26-year-old playboy who made infidelity dependable sexy connected tracks specified arsenic She Don’t Have to Know? The tender lyricism of Ordinary People whitethorn person been the rocket substance that launched his vocation into the stratosphere, but let’s not hide the songs astir flirting, cheating and past grovelling your mode retired erstwhile you get caught.

Legend laughs. “I gag astir it, but I deliberation each medium is expected to bespeak wherever you are successful your beingness astatine that time,” helium says, diplomatically. “And each medium should besides bespeak your maturation arsenic a person. Get Lifted was close for maine astatine that time..” Fair enough. But what of the different elephant-in-the-room connected the record, Kanye West? The interaction helium had connected Legend’s aboriginal vocation is arguably immeasurable. After being introduced successful college, they worked unneurotic connected demos which would yet germinate into each of their debut albums; Get Lifted was the archetypal merchandise connected the rapper’s statement GOOD Music. West, truthful the communicative goes, was adjacent the idiosyncratic who nicknamed the vocalist “Legend”.

I’m inactive acrophobic astir Kanye. I anticipation he’s doing well

These days, the brace are not truthful close. In 2018, West published substance messages from Legend asking him to “reconsider aligning [himself] with Trump”. Legend has ever maintained, however, that their narration lone became strained aft helium refused to enactment West’s ain statesmanlike run successful 2020. Since then, the rapper has further polluted his nationalist image, pursuing a bid of antisemitic statements successful 2022, which led to West swiftly being dropped from aggregate marque deals. “I didn’t recognise that person,” says Legend, stiffening up a small astatine the notation of West’s comments. “It made maine acrophobic astir immoderate intelligence wellness struggles helium was going through. And I’m inactive acrophobic astir him. I anticipation he’s doing well, and is learning and increasing from the mistakes helium made.” Despite their governmental differences, the vocalist remains gracious and empathetic towards his aged collaborator. “I’m ever grateful for Kanye’s relation successful my life. I genuinely emotion and admit him, and I privation the champion for him.”

Perhaps it’s this cognition of gratitude and genuine attraction for others that’s helped Legend’s vocation basal the trial of time. It’s 1 happening to scope the top, rather different to enactment determination for 2 decades. The instrumentalist has antecedently spoken of feeling awkward erstwhile helium archetypal began introducing himself arsenic John Legend each those years ago, alert that the hubristic signifier sanction was a gangly bid to fill. Surely now, though, with that stacked awards cabinet, helium indispensable consciousness he’s earned the moniker?

“I ne'er accidental I’ve lived up to it, I ever accidental I’m trying to unrecorded up to it,” helium says, with a sheepish smile. Still, there’s a twinkle successful his oculus that indicates that possibly — heavy down, astatine slightest — John Legend knows he’ll spell down successful history.

Get lifted (20th day edition) is retired connected December 20

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