John Legend Releases Piano Versions of ‘Legend’ Tracks: “The Songs Are About Love”

John Legend is sending “love” this holiday season with a special project.

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The singer has released an EP titled Legend (Solo Sessions) featuring piano-led versions of five songs from his 2022 album, Legend, with original tracks “Honey,” “Nervous,” “Wonder Woman and “One Last Dance,” along with a cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s famous “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The new renditions find Legend’s falsetto voice singing alongside beautiful piano melodies, a stark contrast to the pop and R&B-leaning originals. The songs on Solo Sessions also feature spatial audio.

“The songs are about love,” Legend tells Apple Music in a statement. “They’re songs about expressing yourself and being inspired and telling your authentic truth when it comes to who you are and how you feel about the people you love. I really thought about each song and what songs I could do cool versions of on piano. Some of them, I would want to stick closer to the original vibe and energy of the original recording. But some of them, I thought it’d be fun to do a really fresh take on it. I wanted to record them in a way that was more intimate so that people could really feel and listen to every lyric.” 

The EP is part of the “From Apple Music With Love” campaign wherein subscribers will receive exclusive gifts from artists throughout the holiday season. Sam Smith, DJ Khaled and Harry Connick, Jr. are among the other participating artists. Gifts include live concert recordings, reimagined songs and more.

Legend is the “All of Me” singer’s eighth studio album. In 2022, he headlined his first Las Vegas residency, Love in Las Vegas, which ran at Planet Hollywood’s Zappos Theater from April through October. He’s currently serving as a coach on season 22 of The Voice. He won’t return for season 23, on account that he and wife Chrissy Teigen are expecting another baby in early 2023.

Photo courtesy ID PR

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