John Legend reveals Black Eyed Peas link to ‘Ordinary People’

John Legend joined Capital XTRA Breakfast with Robert Bruce and Shayna Marie for a chat this morning.

During the conversation he revealed a surprising origin story behind one of his most iconic songs. He said that ‘Ordinary People’ was originally written for the Black Eyed Peas.

Speaking to Robert and Shayna, the multi-award-winning artist shared: “This song, it started in New York in a studio with Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas, and we were writing ostensibly for the Black Eyed Peas… one of the hooks that we wrote was the chorus to ‘Ordinary People.’”

After a few days working on it, Legend decided the song was too personal to give away. “I was like, ‘You know what? I want to keep that one for myself. Let me take that one back!’”

He later developed the verses while touring with Kanye West in the UK, writing lyrics during sound checks before recording a demo. “Everyone just loved it so much, just stripped down with just me and the piano and so that became the final version,” he said.

Legend also revealed that the song’s release was partly accidental. “It was supposed to be a snippet on a sampler CD, but my A&R put the full song on without telling me. A radio station in Chicago decided to play it and it took off from there.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Legend spoke about his personal growth, saying therapy has helped him become his true self after 25 years in music. “I think I’m just more myself than I ever have been. I don’t feel like I have to put on a mask,” he said.

He added: “Being a parent, having loss, confronting childhood — I sound like I’m doing therapy speak, but that stuff is important to being your full self and knowing your full self.”

Tune into Capital XTRA Breakfast with Robert Bruce & Shayna Marie weekdays from 6:30am-10:00am, also available on the Global Player app.