When he’s not busy acquiring the esteemed EGOT title or being an awesome dad, John Legend is critiquing aspiring artists on their musical talents; this time, it’s on new reality show Songland. As contestants, undiscovered songwriters pitch their songs to an esteemed panel of music producers such as Grammy-nominated Ester Dean (Ciara, Keyshia Cole), in hopes of creating the next big hit.
On the show’s premiere episode on (May 28), Legend appeared as the celebrity guest judge where he eventually recorded the revised version of the winner’s song. After hearing the reworked track, Legend felt such a connection to it that he had to record it.
The instrument driven track begins with an acoustic guitar, giving an unplugged feel and eventually builds into more layered production. With lyrics very fitting for the current times, Legend sings on the first verse, “Too many brothers fallen / Too many mother cry / Too many prayers that bounce back from the sky / Too much talking, too much cheating / Too many father’s losing sleep / Too many broken heart we can’t make right.”
Songland airs on Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST on NBC.
Listen to “We Need Love” below.
