Daily: What were you like in college?Legend: I was more shy than I am now. I got there really young. I was 16, and I had just come from Springfield, Ohio which was a small town. I was younger than everybody so it took me a while to get acclimated, but I think music was the thing that always connected me to people, and made me feel like I belonged and made me popular. So, I think a lot of artists like me are shy in a personal setting, and then their art gives them a chance to express themselves and introduce themselves to people.
Daily: Do you enjoy playing at universities?Legend: I love it, did you see that crowd tonight? It was great. I remember being at school and I remember the feeling of going to concerts and it’s so cool to be on the other side entertaining these kids…I feel like I was them 10 years ago.Daily: What was your most memorable concert?Legend: One was recently at Madison Square Garden, which was my first time headlining at Madison Square Garden, which is obviously a legendary venue. I’ve lived in New York for a long time and played in every venue in New York just about, and for me to finally be at the point in my career where I can headline there was pretty exciting. I was able to bring in some great guests. I brought in Kanye, Estelle, India.Arie, Buju Banton, Rick Ross; and we had a nice celebration there.Daily: Northwestern students are really into sustainability, and I read you went on a tour to promote sustainability. Could you tell me about that?Legend: Sustainable development means living responsibly and trying to make the world better for everyone, including the hundreds of millions of people who are living in extreme poverty. Particularly, I’m focusing on education and focusing on the fact that we need to provide a quality education for every child so that they have an opportunity to succeed. Right now, even in America, which has so many resources, we’re failing to do that. Daily: Northwestern has prominent vocal and performing arts programs. What advice would you give to these students?Legend: Just try to be the best you can be, first of all. Be a writer if you write, just write a lot and try to listen to the greatest writers. If you’re a pianist, a vocalist, keeping working on it, trying to be better, listen to the greats and learn from them. If you have the talent and the persistence and the dedication then you’re well on your way, and then you just have to meet the right people.Daily: How have you and your brother been collaborating to push his career forward?Legend: We’ve been writing together. We’ve written some of the songs that he performed tonight together. Obviously he’s out on tour with me so that gives him the opportunity to introduce himself to people all around the world, which is great.Daily: You sang a Beatles’ song during the concert, why did you choose to sing “I Want You”?Legend: Why not, I love that song. It’s one of my favorites, and we love doing it. The band loves it, and it’s a nice little surprise in the show if you haven’t seen it before. It just jams. Daily: What is your favorite song to perform?Legend: I would have to say “Ordinary People,” as cliché as that sounds. Just the way the crowd reacts to the way we do it and the way they sing along just feels good. After you hit them with “Green Light,” which feels like a good ending, you just bring it down and it’s simple and it’s a sing-along song so it feels good at the end of the show.
