Latest news with #GetLifted
Yahoo
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
John Legend Has ‘No Regrets' About His Early Work With Ye, Even If He's Become a ‘Force of Hate'
John Legend is opening up about his relationship with Ye. The singer sat down with Hot 97's Ebro in the Morning to promote the North American leg of his 40-city world tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his debut album Get Lifted and was asked about some of the comments his longtime collaborator (formerly Kanye West) has said about him. More from Billboard John Legend Says He's Shocked by Ye's 'Descent' Into 'Antisemitism' and 'Anti-Blackness' Amyl & The Sniffers Defend Bob Vylan, Kneecap Over Glastonbury Backlash Post Malone Falls Off Stage Mid-Toast During Arizona Show 'He was very obsessed with the sweaters, and he said I smell like mashed potatoes,' Legend said of Ye's comments during an interview with DJ Akademiks a few months back. 'What kind of potatoes? Cheesy, garlic? … All of it makes me sad, though. All of it does. And it's not for me, because obviously, I smell great.' Legend added: 'It never affects me personally, but just the whole story is sad. Like, seeing this guy praise Hitler, seeing this guy be this force of hate and just vitriol and nastiness. Somebody who has made some of the great art of this century as an artist, as a performer, as a fashion designer, all of the things that he's done to make the world more beautiful and interesting and then for him to be this now, it's sad.' Legend was then asked about their early years working together, and the 'Ordinary People' singer had nothing but great memories and said those days were inspiring. 'He was full of so much energy and creativity and optimism and we really believed that we were starting a new movement in music, and being a part of that was inspiring,' he recalled. 'It was truly inspiring. That's why it's sad now because we did amazing things together as a collective, as a movement. Just think about all the amazing music that came from it. The G.O.O.D. Fridays, all the things that happen during the first 10 years of his career, just thrilling and to be part of that was amazing. I have no regrets. Even though he's gone completely left now, I'm so glad that we did what we did together.' Back in the spring, Ye was interviewed by DJ Akademiks while donning a black Ku Klux Klan robe and hood and he said Legend always wears sweaters no matter the weather and smells like mashed potatoes. You can watch Legend's full Hot 97 interview below. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
The Guardian
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
John Legend review – a somewhat bloodless performance from a wonderful singer
'Get lifted' is Glaswegian slang for being taken into police custody. It seems unlikely, to say the least, that John Legend knew this when choosing Glasgow to open his Get Lifted 20th Anniversary world tour. Still, his appearance is appropriately arresting, strolling on stage in the sort of dazzling white suit that looked so fine on Marvin Gaye and Al Green. 'Can I be sexy tonight?' he asks – the very definition of a rhetorical question – ahead of She Don't Have to Know, a breezy ode to cheating. The tour is a celebration of his classic debut, an album that announced Legend as a soul man who could, it seemed, be spoken of in the same breath as giants of the genre. In his 20s when Get Lifted was released, he's now 46: a middle-aged star playing the songs of a hungry – and horny – young musician; a husband and father singing of infidelity and reconciliation. Perhaps because he no longer feels the words he wrote back then, there's something bloodless about much of the performance. He is a wonderful singer and his nine-piece band skilled, but the set is drilled to the point of being dull. Legend is a former management consultant – as he mentioned during one of the interminable 'my musical journey' talky bits – and one suspects that somewhere backstage is a PowerPoint plotting every priapic strut and yelp. His between-song chat is so cheesy that when he asks us to 'Make some noise for Philadelphia!' it isn't clear whether we are being urged to cheer the city or the spread. His playing is expressive enough; no need for all that commentary. The ballads Ordinary People and All of Me, solo at the piano, are beautiful songs beautifully performed. Take My Hand, Precious Lord shows off his gospel roots. There is even a curveball Beatles cover, I Want You (She's So Heavy), stitched seamlessly to the end of his own I Can Change. Those are highlights, but the show as a whole drags. At two hours we are detained too long and it is a relief to be released. John Legend plays Co-op Live, Manchester, 29 May, then tours the UK until 1 June
The National
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The National
John Legend performs to empty seats at Glasgow gig
A US popstar has been left red-faced after he came to perform in one of Scotland's biggest venues only to be met with empty seats. R&B singer John Legend played at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow on Tuesday, but he wasn't welcomed by as many doting fans as he might have hoped. Video footage taken shortly before the gig started shows the venue, which has a maximum capacity of 14,300 people, looking rather sparse. The main floor area had been converted into seating, and multiple sections of the stalls were closed off – presumably because not enough tickets had been sold. To try and solve that problem, organisers started selling two tickets to the gig for the price of one. READ MORE: Scottish beer giant BrewDog launches new partnership with ... West Ham? Rather embarrassingly, it seems even the promise of a free gig wasn't enough for some. The All of Me singer has already raised some eyebrows in Scotland after naming his tour Get Lifted. By the looks of it, most of his fans were lifted from the building...
Scotsman
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Scotsman
John Legend, Glasgow review: 'supremely gifted'
Sign up to our Arts and Culture newsletter, get the latest news and reviews from our specialist arts writers Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... John Legend, Hydro, Glasgow ★★★★ Is the Hydro half-empty or half-full for the opening night of John Legend's tour? For this supremely gifted musician, it has to be the latter. Legend wasted no time urging the audience to their feet, determined to heat up the room and honour the title of the Get Lifted album, whose 20th anniversary he was marking. John Legend | Getty Images Legend presented as an old school soul man in a white satin suit but he has hip-hop connections plus jazz flair and a fluent band who could go with any flow across the seamless two-hour set, whether navigating a ton of dry ice to deliver the Afro funk brass and bass wobble of Alright, adding a reggae rhythm to the low-slung, funky I Can Change or a Latin infusion to She Don't Have to Know. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I wrote a few songs about infidelity', he confessed, casting the audience as his illicit affair. He committed to resurrecting the lost art of the slow dance with a willing partner from the crowd but also took his performance back to church - practically a family business - beseeching on his knees. Delving further back into his roots, he outlined his early collaborations and breaks with the likes of Lauryn Hill, Alicia Keys and Kanye West ('we miss the old Kanye,' he sighed) and also bust out an unexpected soul blues maelstrom cover of The Beatles' I Want You (She's So Heavy), with rumbling bass, rock drums and guitar solo.
Glasgow Times
27-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Glasgow Times
I saw John Legend perform at Glasgow's Hydro
US singer John Legend brought soul to the Hydro on Tuesday night by performing an intimate set to a smaller crowd than the arena is used to. A trio of backing singers signalled his entrance by teasing vocals before the Ohio-born star appeared dressed in a satin suit. He then asked: 'What's up Glasgow?' - before demanding, 'Get on your feet, c'mon,' to perform Get Lifted. (Image: John Legend performs at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow, May 2025. Picture by Calum Buchan.) (Image: John Legend performs at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow, May 2025. Picture by Calum Buchan.) (Image: John Legend performs at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow, May 2025. Picture by Calum Buchan.) (Image: John Legend performs at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow, May 2025. Picture by Calum Buchan.) Used to Love You - the 2004 debut he wrote and produced with rapper Kanye West - then followed. With a little swagger, he then launched into the tracks that featured on his 2004 debut Get Lifted including the Snoop Dogg featured I Can Change and Alright. (Image: John Legend performs at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow, May 2025. Picture by Calum Buchan.) (Image: John Legend performs at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow, May 2025. Picture by Calum Buchan.) (Image: John Legend performs at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow, May 2025. Picture by Calum Buchan.) The night was about celebrating the two decades since that album's release, and vocally Legend has never sounded better. This was particularly evident when he took it back to church for a performance of Take My Hand, Precious Lord. His voice was just beautiful. (Image: John Legend performs at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow, May 2025. Picture by Calum Buchan.) (Image: John Legend performs at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow, May 2025. Picture by Calum Buchan.) He then laughed: 'I am having so much fun going back 20 years with you all.' This moment marked the start of him reminiscing about his career. He revealed he played piano when he was just starting out on Lauren Hill's Everything is Everything before demonstrating the beat he created with his voice for Kanye's Jesus Walks - which featured on the rapper's debut The College Dropout - and the sound was quite something. He also boasted his CV included writing credits on Estelle's American Boy while he sang background vocals on Alicia Keys' You Don't Know My Name. (Image: John Legend performs at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow, May 2025. Picture by Calum Buchan.) (Image: John Legend performs at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow, May 2025. Picture by Calum Buchan.) This section of the show lifted the mood instantly as the atmosphere up until that point had been rather lacklustre. A crowd that small in the Hydro just gets lost, and it showed. READ NEXT: I saw Gary Barlow perform in Glasgow's Armadillo - my verdict READ NEXT: I saw Sophie Ellis-Bextor perform in Glasgow's Armadillo - my verdict (Image: John Legend performs at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow, May 2025. Picture by Calum Buchan.) (Image: John Legend performs at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow, May 2025. Picture by Calum Buchan.) (Image: John Legend performs at the Ovo Hydro in Glasgow, May 2025. Picture by Calum Buchan.) Ordinary People however, impressed with the audience modestly singing along while the Meghan Trainor duet Like I'm Gonna Lose You showcased the prowess in his voice. Surprising a fan, he got her on stage for a dance, and she seized the moment making the audience laugh. Finishing things off, he showed off his own dance moves again on Green Light which featured Outkast's Andre 3000 while All of Me was the moment of the night. He signed off: 'It's been so beautiful hanging out with you.'
