It is dancing music, not meant for cognition, but for locomotion. “I Do,” like so many songs on the album, is simple and energetic. To Legend’s credit, these attempts aren’t really in vain.
#John legend all of me cover series#
It feels less like a series of love letters and more like a series of attempts at the Billboard Hot 100. This crippling dissonance between lyrics and reality strips the album of sincerity and character. Yet Legend’s lyrics all seem to communicate the struggles of an overly romantic 20-something. His marriage to Chrissy Teigen is a widely publicized fairy tale most notable for the couple’s appearance in Legend’s “All of Me” music video.
#John legend all of me cover full#
The lyrics are full of sappy, romantic strife, but it’s unclear who Legend is singing about. His corny description of his lover’s lips as his “Favorite Place” is laughable, and he only occasionally works with broader ideas and themes, such as on “Conversations in the Dark.” Everything Legend says on this album has been said elsewhere, thousands of times. For the most part, it is empty romance - sweet words of love that, in the end, mean very little. Legend’s singing obviously draws a lot of attention to the words he’s saying, but the lyrics on Bigger Love are nothing to write home about. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s “The Next Episode.” This is the kind of thing an artist like Legend would be expected to avoid, but he takes any comparisons in stride and simply moves on to singing. “Actions” is hard to listen to, in large part due to very obviously sharing a guitar sample from David McCallum’s “The Edge” along with Dr. Some of these influences are simply a matter of genre: trap, blues, soul, R&B, Legend’s classic piano balladry and dozens of other genres blend together to support the singer. Even on pulled-back songs such as “Slow Cooker,” the music is full, ready to burst at the seams.īigger Love is entrenched in influence and personality, supported by teams of producers and featured artists that Legend can count on to best adapt whatever style he aims for. Piano, guitar, strings, drums, vocals, horns and every instrument under the sun cram the dynamic range of Legend’s songs. Bigger Love is hyperproduced, every second of it oozing with saturation. The album is chock full of variety but doesn’t deviate too far out of Legend’s comfort zone, always keeping up with him with a wide instrumentation range.Īnd that’s where Legend falters. The atmospheric snaps on “U Move, I Move” tunnel into the brain like the most insidious kind of earworm. The drums in “Wild” are epic and booming, underlying exultant, uplifting vocals, sometimes reminiscent of the overbearing work of Imagine Dragons. Bigger Love sounds exactly like the spectacle Legend wants it to be. On his new album, Bigger Love, Legend pulls out a number of producing resources in order to maintain that awareness. One of a select few in show business to claim the title of EGOT, his family-friendly style has yielded him fame and fortune. Listennn.It’s hard to ignore John Legend. ( DJ Khaled featuring Kanye West, Consequence and John Legend) ( Slum Village featuring Kanye West and John Legend) (with The Roots, featuring Black Thought)Īs featured artist List of singles as featured artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name (with The Roots, featuring Common and Melanie Fiona) Singles As lead artist List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name Video albums List of video albumsĮxtended plays List of extended plays Live albums List of live albums, with selected chart positions
"-" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.Ĭollaborative albums List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications
Legend played piano on Lauryn Hill's " Everything Is Everything". Other artists included Jay-Z's " Encore", and he sang backing vocals on Alicia Keys' 2003 song " You Don't Know My Name", the Kanye West remix of Britney Spears' " Me Against the Music", and Fort Minor's "High Road".
He sang on Magnetic Man's " Getting Nowhere", Kanye West's " All of the Lights", Slum Village's "Selfish", and Dilated Peoples' "This Way". Prior to the release of Legend's debut album, his career gained momentum through a series of successful collaborations with multiple established artists. American musician, singer and songwriter John Legend has released seven full-length studio albums, four live albums, two video albums, three extended plays, 39 singles and two promotional singles.