For all those fans anticipating the latest from John Legend, the multiplatinum Grammy-winning R&B crooner has a gift: the video for "Green Light," the first single from his upcoming album, Evolver. Legend probably never has to hunt for love, but the clip has him chasing after a beautiful starlet at a lavish Beverly Hills party. It may sound like it's been done before, but Legend insists that the visual experiments he and director Alan Ferguson used distinguish "Green Light" from past videos.

"The song is simple," Legend explained. "It's just me trying to pick up a girl at a club and convince her to come have some fun with me. [The video] definitely has that story line in it, but we just take it kind of different places to do some unexpected visual things. We have this surreal kind of dance sequence, and it features synchronized swimmers and showgirls. We just throw a little extra twist on it." What exactly is that extra twist? Well, it's actually a reflection of the song itself — the video meshes vintage and contemporary elements and sends fans slipping through time.

"We wanted to mix a current, modern feel with an old-school, classic Hollywood feel because the song has kind of a big-band quality to it as well as a more modern dance-song quality," the singer said. "We wanted to mix the two different parts." No stranger to star-studded collaborations, Legend tapped Outkast's Andre 3000 to make a cameo on "Green Light."

"Andre obviously blessed it," he said. "The tempo and the feel of the song are really perfect for Andre's style. So I felt like it was a perfect match, and then he came and gave a great verse. He really loved the song, and he really wanted to do it." Though perfect for Andre, the quick tempo of "Green Light" is something new for Legend, who mixes it up on the upcoming LP.

"The album has a balance of uptempo, midtempo and ballad songs," Legend said. " 'Green Light' is the most uptempo, but there's a few other uptempos on the record. There's a couple reggae tunes, a couple of classic John Legend ballads and then a few midtempo songs as well." Still, the singer isn't straying too far from what fans are used to hearing, so expect Legend's signature wooing.

"I think it's hard to find a general theme [for the album]," he said. "It's a lot of love and relationship songs, as people probably would expect from me. There's not an overarching lyrical theme that goes throughout. It's just a bunch of good songs, I think." And a bunch of good collaborators as well. Legend got production help from Kanye West, Will.I.Am and Pharrell Williams, and a guest appearance from Estelle, whom he recently signed to his HomeSchool Records imprint. Evolver hits stores in October.

Coming out in November is another film directed by Malcolm D. Lee. 'Soul Men' stars Samuel L. Jackson, Bernie Mac, Sean Hayes, Sharon Leal, Jennifer Coolidge, Isaac Hayes, Affion Crockett, John Legend, Adam Herschman, Fatso Fasano, and Jackie Long. 'Soul Men' is about two former backup soul singers Louis (Samuel L. Jackson) and Floyd (Bernie Mac) who travel cross country to perform at a tribute concert in honor of their famous former band leader, played by John Legend. They haven't spoken to each other in 20 years but reluctantly agree to travel together for the tribute performance. Both Jackson and Mac will do their own musical and dance performing in the film. Earlier this year, Lee had directed 'Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins' with Martin Lawrence, while Jackson was seen 'Jumper' and 'The Cleaner', both of which are now available on DVD. BlackVoices.com

John Legend performed at the 26th annual Martin Luther King Jr. concert series at Wingate Field last night, July 21, 2008 in Brooklyn, New York. And he brought along his HomeSchool Records artists - Estelle & Vaughn Anthony.

New pics added: John Legend and Mary J. Blige pose for a photo with actor Hill Harper on the set on Big Boi's video for the song "Sumthins Gotta Give" July 9, 2008 in Los Angeles, California.

We're just ordinary people, we don't know which way to go...happily, John Legend isn't always so uncertain.
A lot of these places are disappearing,’ says John Legend with a rueful smile. He is sitting at a grand piano in the middle of a huge room at Legacy Recording Studios in Manhattan, where he’s been putting the finishing touches to his third album. ‘These days people record things at home or at smaller studios, so a lot of the bigger places are going out of business. 'But it feels special being in this room – it feels like you’re doing something important. And working here is a luxury that I can afford at this point in my career.’ His new album, due out in October, includes tracks made with a variety of A-list R&B and hip-hop producers, including Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas and Pharrell Williams. It has been recorded in numerous studios in Atlanta, Miami and Los Angeles, as well as at Legacy in New York. Read more.

Don’t blame hip-hop for everything that’s wrong in this world.
There was crime before hip-hop; there was poverty in the black community long before hip-hop. All these things were in existence before hip-hop, yet hip-hop ends up getting blamed for it. I loved listening to it and I never sold drugs – I went to college and got a corporate job.

Amy Winehouse is the ultimate rock star.
I think she and Mark Ronson made a great record. Hearing an album like Back To Black is one of those things that pushes you to try to make an even better one. People not only bought into the music, which was great in itself, but they bought into her whole persona and her rebellious energy. She’s the quintessential rock star.

Britain has the coolest music scene.
I love Birmingham and Manchester but I spend most time in London. In a lot of ways I feel that London is similar to New York. It’s got such energy; there’s always something going on. I have friends there now and I have fun every time I visit there. British music is exciting right now and has real credibility, especially when it comes to soul-inflected artists like Amy Winehouse.

Brad and Angelina are part of America’s royal family.
I don’t really know much about yours – I think I might have met Sarah Ferguson once – but America has its own stars who are kind of royalty, like Will Smith and Jada Pinkett, and Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes.

Some people are cynical about Bono – I’m not.
You can tell he does his homework. He knows the subjects he’s talking about and he really cares. He’s made a lot of positive things happen and has done a great job with his celebrity. He’s not all over the newspapers for doing silly stuff and he gets a lot of coverage for doing positive things that actually mean something.

I need to be more famous...
I want to make music that everyone loves and if I’m successful I’ll become more famous. Kanye is really successful, and that level of fame isn’t overwhelming for him. If it is not overwhelming for him, I think that I can handle it, too.

... but you don’t need to be famous to sell records.
In fact, there seems to be almost a negative correlation between how much media coverage you get and how many records you sell. It’s the people who aren’t selling a lot who are the ones being followed around. Britney didn’t sell a lot of copies of her last album, but she’s getting more coverage than ever. Jessica Simpson and Lindsay Lohan make music and get a lot of attention, but they don’t sell a lot of records.

I feel like I have everything I want in life.
But I’m still not satisfied. I want more.

Five-time Grammy Award–winner John Legend will perform — for free! — at Wingate Field in Crown Heights on Monday, July 21. The performance by the vocalist, who released “Live from Philadelphia” earlier this year, was kept secret by the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. concert series until last week. Organizer Debra Garcia is making up for lost time by trumpeting Legend’s legend. “He’s tremendous, and it’s going to be so exciting to have him in Brooklyn playing free to the public,” said Garcia. “He’s an unbelievable performer, and we’re so lucky to have him. “We had to wait until a certain date to announce, and [the reception has] been incredible. The [Wingate Field] audience went wild last night [when it was announced] and the hotline hasn’t stopped.” So, perhaps Legend will record his performance and release “Live in Brooklyn” next? “That’s not up to us,” said Garcia, “but … I can’t imagine anything better.”

John Legend performs at 7:30 pm on July 21 at Wingate Field (Brooklyn Avenue and Winthrop Street in Crown Heights). Admission is free. For information, call (718) 222-0600 or visit brooklynconcerts.com.

New pic added: John Legend watches an NBA basketball game with his girlfriend Christine Teigen, Friday, March 21, 2008 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Calif. Legend sang the National Anthem and also performed at halftime of a game between the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets. (Photo by D. Ross Cameron)

My friend Kees, invited to JL's listening party in Amsterdam, also had the chance to have another one-on-one interview with John. And he was kind enough to ask him a few questions on behalf of our site, john-legend.net.

• When the video for "Green Light" will be out?
Material has ben shot very recently and the video should be out in a couple of weeks. (directed by Alan Ferguson)

• As for "Evolver" - will it be released before the Grammy deadline at the end of September?
John would like to have it finished but his feel for quality comes first. The Grammy's is not something he will rush the process for, he'd rather make the perfect album than get someting out that he does not feel totally satisfied about.

• How does he feel about his HomeSchool Records especially since Estelle is doing so well? Can we expect his next signee, Vaughn Anthony's cd to drop anytime soon?
He does not get to spend as much time for the label as he'd like. The huge succes of Estelle's single "American Boy" here in Europe has greatly surprised him and it is still picking up in the US. I sense from his words that a second Estelle album might be finished sooner than Vaughn's. But his brother is constantly working on material and recording so we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed I guess... (HomeSchool page)

• When will we see him touring in Europe again?
Nothing is definite but a European tour could be expected in early 2009, possibly already in January/February.

Also, John was asked at the press meeting why his new music is quite beat heavy. His reply was that this was definitely his own choice and that he feels no pressure from his record company what music to make. And he said that he is very competitive so letting other succesful people produce his music is not an easy decision to make.

About "If You're Out There":
JL said it is very much inspired by the upcoming elections in the USA and that he will be helping Obama and the democratic party to get as many people to register and vote as possible.

Thanks again to Kees for the info! <3

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