The Unusual Way John Legend Played Piano on The Tonight Show Shows His Insane Skills
The Voice star performed his 2004 hit single in honor of the 20th anniversary of his debut album, Get Lifted.
John Legend took The Tonight Show to church with an unforgettable performance of his 2004 hit single, "Used to Love U," in honor of the 20th anniversary of his Get Lifted debut album.
The Voice star wore a shiny white suit as he played piano on his feet, as opposed to his typical seat at the bench. Accompanied by The Roots, Legend was backed by an energetic church choir, who swayed in front of colorful stained glass windows.
Things got extra groovy when The Roots' Black Thought joined to deliver a rap about a relationship gone wrong (this version of "Used to Love U" featuring Black Thought is one of the extra tracks included on the anniversary edition of Get Lifted).
"We did a remix of it for the third LP of the deluxe edition here," Legend told Jimmy Fallon earlier in the episode.
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"And 9th Wonder produced it — who's worked a lot with Black Thought, as well, over the years, and ois ne of the legendary hip-hop producers and scholars of hip-hop," said Legend. "He did a really dope remix, and we're going to do it tonight."
When Legend posted a clip from the live rendition on his Instagram, "Lose Control" singer Teddy Swims commented, "They don’t even know this is going down as one of the most historic live performances of all time."
On March 18, Legend unveiled dates for the Get Lifted 20th Anniversary world tour, which kicks off May 25 in the U.K. before heading to Europe, and then North America.
"I'm so excited to announce that I'm heading back on the road for the Get Lifted 20th Anniversary Tour! Join me and my band for an unforgettable performance of the entire Get Lifted album—the album that introduced me to the world—plus a few favorites from my career that *all of you* know and love," he wrote on Instagram.
John Legend played piano on The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
During his interview with Fallon, Legend spoke about the new anniversary edition of Get Lifted, but he revealed that his first album credit was actually on Lauryn Hill's seminal album, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill, released in 1998.
"So the first time I met Lauryn Hill, I was still a student at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, so I was going to school there, and I used to play at this church up in Scranton," he explained to Fallon. "So Scranton's a couple hours north of Philly, and I would drive up there every weekend. And one of my choir members' name was Tara Michel, and she went to high school with Lauryn Hill.
"The Score had already been a huge success for the Fugees, and 'Killing Me Softly,' and everybody was wondering when Lauryn's going to go solo. She was working on her solo album, and Tara was like, "Johnny, come to come to Jersey with me, and we're going to meet Lauryn Hill. She's working on her solo album,'" Legend continued.
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"And so they're in there working on the album, and I get on the piano just to show her what I could do. It was like a mini audition... and then she was like, 'Why don't you play piano on this song I'm working on now?' And it was 'Everything Is Everything' from The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," he recalled.
"So that was my first credit on any album," Legend added. "And it was, you know, one of the greatest albums of all time."
