Aren't you tired? Do you have space for the awards?
Where do you put the awards, John?
Um, I am not tired, I am feeling good,
I'm excited to be here, and I do have space for the awards.
Right next to my piano.
But congratulations. You have... you have so many awards,
and most, I think, not more importantly,
but one of the most prestigious things is you have the EGOT.
-Yeah, that's pretty cool. -Right? That's the Emmy, Grammy
-and Oscar and a Tony. -Yeah, that's really cool.
(cheering, applause)
-Yeah. -Is that, like, a... is that, like, a secret club?
Are you guys in, like, a text chain with each other,
-where you...? -There are only 15 of us,
-Right. -and, um...
(applause, whooping)
I only have the e-mail of, like, two of them.
I feel like... I feel like you should start a club
as EGOT winners, and then you have, like, a dinner,
even if it's once a year, and then at the dinner,
you just, like, pat yourselves, just be like,
"Could you pass the salt, 'cause we're the best,
we're the greatest, yes, we are, we are the greatest."
All the rumors about the Illuminati,
we could be... we could be the Illuminati.
-You could be the Illuminati. -Yes. That's a great idea.
-You could sing the theme song for the Illuminati. -Yeah.
That would be dope. ♪ Illuminati... ♪
-(laughter) -The thing is...
If we were real Illuminati, we couldn't talk about it.
-Right. -No songs.
Secret songs, maybe.
We'll cut this part of the interview out.
-(laughter) -Or will we?
Um... let's talk about the music, John Legend.
-Yes. -You have a new song.
-Yes, it's called "Preach." -It's called "Preach."
And you know what I've really loved about you is,
you're an activist not just in words but in action as well.
You put your money where your mouth is.
-Yeah. -You are somebody who has been an advocate
for criminal justice reform.
What is "Preach" about?
"Preach" isn't about any particular, uh, cause.
It's about saying we can't just be about words
and thoughts and prayers, we have to be about action.
-Right. -And so, um, whatever that means to you,
I think everybody should take it personally and say,
you know, "What in my life do I want to see change in,
"and I should be a part of that change
-instead of just talking about it." -Right.
And you also have, um, a part of the--
a campaign that goes with this really,
-called Free America. -Yeah. Yeah.
Well, my Free America campaign has been going for years now,
and one of the things we talk about
is criminal justice reform,
how we're the most incarcerated country in the world,
and we should do something about it.
And so I've been doing something about it.
I've been going to meet with changemakers
all around the country, we've been trying to change laws.
We were part of the team that fought for the amendment
that got voting rights restored in Florida,
and, uh, we've been involved in propositions in California
that reduce penalties for certain crimes,
and we've been part of district attorney
election campaigns as well, trying to get people in office
that are gonna do the right thing for the community.
So we've been getting really involved all around the country
trying to make the change that we really want to see.
-The music video for "Preach," -Yeah.
is really, like, powerful.
I mean, it tells a few stories of different people.
It tells the story of, you know,
a young black couple pulled over by the police,
and how their lives can change overnight.
It tells a story of a family of immigrants
-who are trying to come into the U.S., -Yeah.
and what happens to them.
Do you feel that music and art has an obligation
to speak about what we're experiencing in society?
Well, I think artists just have to be truth tellers,
and we have to, if we see something going on in society,
and it inspires us to create,
it inspires us to create art, music, video, whatever it is,
then we should listen to our inspiration and go out there
and make art that reflects what we're thinking about
and what's happening in the world.
And I think that's what an honest,
authentic artist would do.
And a lot of the artists that I've looked up to
in my life and in my career, like Stevie Wonder
and Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan,
so many artists have used their voice to do that.
And so, to me, that's part of what the definition
of an artist is.
You-you, um... yeah.
(cheers and applause)
You have many views on what an artist should be,
and I think that's probably one of the reasons,
combined with your talents,
that you have no become a judge on The Voice.
-That's right. -That's really exciting.
-Yes. -But it feels like a lot of your co-judges
are a little threatened by you and your voice.
Yeah, they've been trying to shut me down.
-They blocked me, all of them blocked me. -Right.
They only get one block each,
and they could use it on any coach
-that they want to use it on. -And they blocked you.
-And they all chose to use it on me. -Wow.
-Is that-- Is that a compliment, though, to you? -Rude.
Supposedly. They all say it's 'cause they're threatened by me,
-they're afraid of me. -(laughs)
You think it's sabotage, John Legend.
And I'm like, "Well, that's no consolation to me.
You're trying to, you know, ruin my chances of winning."
-Right. -But it's okay, I'm learning.
What are you most excited about when you work with a new artist?
And how do you coach them?
Because, one thing about John Legend,
that, I mean, you may or may not know this,
everyone knows that your voice is amazing,
but a lot of people don't realize
that your voice is almost perfect.
When this guy sings live,
as you'll hear later on in the show, it's...
-(cheering and applause) -No, it's-it's...
It's ridiculous.
I've-I've heard you live, and it's like...
You know what happens? Sometimes you go to a concert,
and then the artist is singing,
and then you're like, "What album is this from?
How come it doesn't sound like this at..."
When you sing, I go like, "Yeah, I have this song.
I listen to this at home. This is the same song."
So, what do you look for in an artist
-when you're trying to coach them? -Well, uh...
part of what the whole conceit of The Voice is
is, obviously, you want to just listen to their voice
before you even turn around and see what they look like.
-Right. -So for so many of us,
you know, we watch television, we see videos,
and we-we're looking at the whole package.
But at the beginning, it's really just about,
-"Does this voice move me?" -Uh-huh.
And, so, that's what makes you turn around.
But, obviously, there's more that goes into an artist
than just having a great voice.
-You have to be a good performer. -Right.
You have to connect with people.
There are so many other things that go into...
You have to pick the right songs.
You have to not get too nervous
when it's time for you to show up and perform.
And, so, when we coach them,
we're just trying to help them be the best one they can be.
That means picking the right songs,
not getting too nervous, making the right choices,
and hopefully they go out there and deliver.
Let me ask you, uh, about your Presidents' Day, John Legend.
-Yes, Presidents' Day. -Because, uh...
It was the coolest Presidents' Day of my life.
Yeah. You know... you know why he says that?
Because he was having dinner with a-a president
-by the name of Barack Obama. -An actual president. Yes.
-(cheering and applause) -That's, uh...
That was pretty cool.
I-I can imagine it was pretty cool.
I was with him and Steph Curry,
who's, like, the greatest shooter of all time,
-so it's like... -Right.
You know, it was good times.
-We-we, uh... -(laughter)
Uh, Steph's wife is part of a restaurant there
-called International Smoke in San Francisco. -Uh-huh.
And they were hosting us because the president was doing
his My Brother's Keeper Alliance gathering there in Oakland.
And, so, the night before the gathering,
where we were gonna be on a panel together
and talk to the young people, uh, he hosted us for dinner.
And, uh, it was pretty cool.
Is it... is it a little weird sitting with Barack Obama
and then, like, hearing Trump give a speech the next day?
Honestly, it is really jarring, the juxtaposition.
I'm not making a joke, honestly.
Just listening to Obama talk
and then listening to Trump talk,
and just the level of nuance that Obama's capable of
and just his worldliness and intelligence about life
-and his good character... -Uh-huh.
Uh, it's just...
-It's actually really jarring. -(laughter)
And I'm not... I'm not trying to be funny.
-No, I get what you're saying. -It's like... it's like,
we have a complete moron and asshole
in the White House right now, and...
-(laughs) -(cheering and applause)
-And... -Have you been talking to Michael Cohen?
And... and...
he's, like, he's not a good human being.
And, so, when you're with someone
who actually is a really good human being,
it's a very jarring juxtaposition.
Well, you know what, I'm excited to have you,
as an amazing human being, on the show.
Uh, you're gonna be performing the song "Preach"
-for us right here in the studio. -Yes.
The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. on NBC,
and "Preach" is available now.