John Legend People Quotations

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'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.

As a politician, you have to deal with someone wanting you to fail every day. I think I prefer being in a situation where generally people are rooting for me, and if they aren't rooting for me, they aren't out there to see my downfall. I respect the people who have the stomach for it.

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.

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.

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.'

Thanks to the fans and all the people in radio who believed in what we were doing, because it didn't sound like anything else and we made it a hit.

Everyone I know who'd been (there) said (South Africa) was beautiful, the people were beautiful, and it was a nice mixture of Africa and Western culture. I knew from friends that my music was popular (there), so I was excited to go.

Critics like to describe and categorize things, and categories often have a way of limiting people.

I feel like my job is to make impact, spread love, tell great stories, inspire people, that's what I am going to do.

I gravitate toward people that are a little more outrageous than I am. And we complement each other well.

Sometimes I just think people are haters. And if they're haters, you can listen to what they have to say but you have to take it with a grain of salt.

If a few people decide not to buy my album it's really not going to change my life that much.

I think people relate to the music because I have a sense of empathy, and I think I have a good understanding about relationships, and I talk about them in a real, honest way

But in my mind I've always been a solo artist- I've just been working with a lot of great people like Kanye and Alicia Keys and Jay-Z.

I think the most important thing is that I'm making music that the people enjoy. So the fans, the people that are out there listening to music and consuming music, I want them to enjoy it and love it. And so that's more important to me than Grammys.

Artists in general never stay in the same place, we keep growing. It's still you, you still have that core that you always had, but you work with new people and hear new things.

I want to move people.

Now that I'm coming out with my own record people can see I'm a solo artist.

Witnessing the extreme poverty in remote parts of Affrica can make you feel sad and powerless until you realize how little it takes to change these people's lives fundamentally in sustainable ways.

The best way to fight poverty is to empower people through access to quality education

People tell me all the time that my songs help them express things to loved ones that they may not be able to say themselves.

You see all these things that make you feel desperate or sad, but you realize changes can be made, and it doesn't take a lot of money on our part to make a change in people's lives.

If I collaborate with people, ideas...they take interesting turns and twists, and I'm excited for that and that process and excited to see what we come up with.

​W​e're so used to having everything we want at our fingertips so I think that when things get tough it's ​difficult ​for people to persist through that.

I have a structured songwriting process. I start with the music and try to come up with musical ideas, then the melody, then the hook, and the lyrics come last. 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.

We're just ordinary people. We don't know which way to go.