LISTEN | John Legend talks new music and his 'unmatched' love for his SA fans

If you are in SA and a John Legend fan, the American superstar wants you to know he thinks you are top-tier and tells everyone who cares to listen that his “best fans” come from SA.

TshisaLIVE had the opportunity to chat to the 12-time Grammy winning artist after he released his eighth studio album, LEGEND, and the one thing he wanted to make sure gets out was his unmatched love for SA and his fans from the rainbow nation.

Listen to what he had to say: 

“I always tell everyone this, but my SA fans are truly my best fans in the world. I tell this to other countries, I tell this to other South Africans, so I'm not just saying this to you, so I can't wait to make my way back.”

John dropped his much-anticipated eighth studio album in September, and it has been getting rave reviews. As he prepares to share his music globally as Covid-19 restrictions ease up, John told TshisaLIVE he had SA on his mind.

“I can't wait to come back to SA, I miss y'all so much.

“We've been doing some shows since August of last year. I know SA has had restrictions longer that the US has had and maybe we should have done what you all were doing because we still had a lot of the spread of the disease and a lot of people dying from it (Covid-19) still ... even though we'd like to think that we [are] past it.

“So we've been doing shows in the States and some parts of Europe, and it's been beautiful being connected to the audience again. I love it, it's amazing, but there's some risk to it still and I'm hoping we can mitigate as much of that risk as we can.

John also opened up about some of the songs that were healing for him and his family when they went though some struggles, which included losing their child at 20 weeks.

“Home is the one I wrote for my kids. I thought a lot about what I wanted to say to them as they get older, as they grow older and have disagreements with me and Chrissy in life, and I wanted [to] write this song as a statement about what it means to be a father and what it means to me to always love your kids, to support them and always be there for them as long as I am breathing. That song really meant a lot to me.”

The Ordinary People hitmaker shared his secret to creating classic, timeless music. He said the trick was to be inspired by other artists and the idea of collaborating with others to create something new.

LEGEND is a double album with sides titled ACT I and ACT II.

ACT I of the album recalls the worldly, sensual pleasures of Saturday night — full of lust, self, sex and adventure. It opens with Rounds, an immersive joint featuring Rick Ross, an artist with whom Legend has collaborated perhaps more than any other. 

Other tracks include smouldering R&B bedroom romp Splash featuring Jhene Aiko and rapper Ty Dolla $ign, Dope, a “summery, feel-good track” featuring rapper JID and Love featuring Jazmine Sullivan. This side climaxes in the immediately addictive and utterly uplifting All She Wanna Do featuring Saweetie.

ACT II evokes the feeling of a Sunday morning, with its focus on healing, intimacy, soulfulness and commitment. It includes Honey, a “sultry, jazz-inspired” R&B track featuring Muni Long  and Wonder Woman, a touching tribute to the power and grace of all the women in Legend’s life, featuring the nostalgic, soulful Dap Kings. Other tracks on ACT II include Pieces, a devastatingly beautiful ballad about living with loss and grief.

Click here to stream LEGEND.

Just a few days after chatting to TshisaLIVE, a video of John singing one of his new songs, Nervous, went viral on TikTok when one upcoming SA musician accepted John's duet challenge.

The American singer, songwriter, pianist and record producer posted a TikTok video singing Nervous, inviting his fans to duet with him. SA singer Mthandazo Gatya participated in the #OpenVerseChallenge on TikTok, adding an African touch with a maskandi beat to the song. 

The duet had many deep in their feels as it went viral on social media.

Even Legend was impressed and commented on Mthandazo's TikTok post with fire emojis.

Mthandazo shared his excitement on Twitter, thanking his supporters. He said he leaves everything in God's hands and hopes to collaborate with John some day.

Watch the duet below: