ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – Music icon and EGOT winner John Legend will return to Northeast Florida on Tuesday night.
Legend will be hitting the stage at the St. Augustine Amphitheater to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his breakout album Get Lifted, the project that launched his career and went on to win three Grammys, including Best New Artist.
News4JAX had the opportunity to speak with legend ahead of his St. Augustine tour stop, and he told us more about Get Lifted — the album that he said changed everything.
Press play above to watch the interview
Legend said he wanted to use this tour as an opportunity to take fans back down memory lane.
“It’s interesting because it takes you on a journey. A young man in relationships, infidelity, being single, and then figuring out what it meant to be committed to somebody. The ups and downs of love,” Legend told News4JAX.
Legend started writing the album as a student at the University of Pennsylvania and kept going while working full-time in corporate America — still hoping for that big break.
“Finally after trying and trying to get a record deal, being told no many times, persisting, I finally got signed in 2004, and by that time I was really confident that I had found something special to offer to the world. To have really special music that was going to make an impact. And it was Get Lifted,” Legend said.
From his debut single “Used to Love U” to hits like “Number One” and “So High,” the album went on to win three Grammys.
But it was “Ordinary People” that stopped the industry in its tracks and put Legend on the map.
“I think part of it was how different it sounded from everything else on the radio. It was simple, in part, just hearing my voice and a piano. I think people, because it was so simple, as an arrangement, it allowed people to really listen to the lyrics and the melody,” Legend said.
He was only 26, but Legend said the music he wrote back then is still healing people, decades later.
“I would meet people all the time who said it helped them in their relationship. Helped them go through difficult times with their partner. I think because of all of that, it really connected with people,” Legend said.
As he prepares to hit the stage at The Amp, he said the audience will hear the entire album, from deep cuts to the hits.
“It’s a party. Such a celebration. And I want everybody to come to the show ready to celebrate with us,” Legend said.
Legend is set to hit the stage at 8 p.m. Tuesday.