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John Legend On The Music In ‘La La Land’ And ‘Underground’: ‘A Bit Jarring’

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 06:32 PST, Jul 3, 2016

John Legend usually sings with a lot of soul, but this time “soul” had another meaning for him. According to the Mirror, Kim Kardashian served John Legend and his wife, Chrissy Teigen, a dish of “soul food.”

John Legend and his wife were supposed to be the judge on whether Kim Kardashian’s soul food would pass the test, and it is safe to say that the dish was received well by Legend and his food-savvy wife. According to the Mirror, John Legend gushed about the food, saying that the dish would be something that a person would have after church, even saying that the dish seemed very “old school” in essence.

When he is not too busy indulging in great dishes cooked by his wife or his friends, John Legend is busy with his music and is also no stranger to the world of film, as his song “Glory” won him an Oscar after it was featured on the soundtrack of the film Selma.

According to Vanity Fair, John Legend takes on his biggest film role to date in the upcoming throwback musical La La Land, set to be directed by Whiplash director Damien Chazelle and co-starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.

Damien Chazalle spoke on the movie and what is in store for audiences, calling it a “contemporary love story” that follows “two dreamers in Los Angeles who are trying to make it.”

According to the director, the dreams of the couple bring them closer together but also pull them apart, and the musical deals with the delicate balance between reality and a dream life.

“To me [this] is what musicals are all about.”

John Legend plays the role of Keith, a bandleader, and his natural talent and aptitude for making music almost inevitably had John Legend composing a song for the movie. Legend says that the film La La Land is special to him as not many classic Hollywood musicals are remade in modern times.

At 37-years-old, John Legend has managed to win 10 Grammys, a Golden Globe and an Oscar. According to Variety, Legend has also been making waves with his production outfit, the Get Lifted Film Company.

A recent project under his company has been greenlit for a second season, Underground. Despite the busy schedule, John Legend has no plans of giving up his first love and vocation: music.

John Legend spoke about production playing a part in his career as he moves forward, saying that he is not giving up his day job.

“I’m finishing an album now, I’ll tour on it and do all the things I’ve always done.”

He went on to say that his touring schedule won’t prevent him from reading scripts while he’s on the road.

“All of us have a mandate to try to tell great stories and make the world a more interesting place by getting those stories out there. So while I’m on the road, I’ll be reading scripts.”

Having a natural ear for music, Legend applied his masterful taste into being a curator for the soundtrack of Underground. Having mixed up modern contemporary music along with the 1850 setting to create something unique, Legend has proven himself in multiple aspects of his artistry.

John Legend spoke on the choice of music for the show, saying that while he knew some viewers would find his choice of music “a little bit jarring,” he decided to make his peace with it.

“It was an artistic choice that we made and went with it. And we felt that it was the right artist choice because we wanted to take the story off of a museum wall and out of the library and make it feel current and relevant. I think music had a big role to play in making that happen.”

[Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP]

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