John Legend has been making soulful R&B music for a long time.
For those who don’t know, Legend is a singer, songwriter, producer and actor who debuted in 2004 with his album Get Lifted.
He is also one of only 15 people to have the famous EGOT series of awards, namely an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. Still, Legend has been performing music for much longer than that—ever since he was in college, he was a musical director and president for a co-ed jazz and pop group.
Still, he’s gone on to greater fame as a judge on The Voice.
Although he’s a huge star now, Legend thought he would go back to his roots for a surprise performance.
As he explains in the video, Legend started paying his way through college by doing music work with local churches.
Although he says he hasn’t performed in a church in a long time, Legend also says that he feels comfortable being back in Philadelphia since it’s the town that he went to college in—and he feels confident in his song choice for the performance.
Needless to say, nobody at the Calvary Baptist Church in West Philadelphia had any idea that he was going to show up.
Once he gets to the church, he hides out in the back room as the pastor introduces him.
Although he’s definitely excited, you can tell that he’s just a little bit nervous. After the pastor announces him, the church crowd goes wild!
After he walks out and introduces himself to the crowd, he starts into a stirring rendition of “How I Got Over,” a gospel hymn that dates all the way back to 1951 when it was composed and published by Clara Ward.
Just as he promised, Legend’s rendition of the song is full of energy and definitely rouses the audience!
Throughout the performance, Legend is supported by the church’s own choir for some beautiful and joyful harmonies.
As the song progresses, it builds to a huge crescendo while the crowd claps along to the beat. When it’s finally over, everybody gives him a big round of applause. As he mentions at the very end, Legend wanted to go back to surprise the members of the church community and to get back in touch with his musical roots.
Needless to say, the performance was a huge success!
Aside from being a fun performance and a great experience for the church, it’s also a great reflection on Legend’s character.
When people get rich and successful, it’s easy for them to think of themselves as detached from or above the rest of society or from their roots. Still, anytime those people go out of their way to give back or get in touch with the common man, it’s clear that they care and that they haven’t forgotten where they come from.
Even though he didn’t have a direct connection with the church he performed at, Legend still stopped by to share his talents and offer a little bit of celebration—and the results speak for themselves.
Congratulations to John Legend and the Calvary Baptist Church Choir on a great performance! Watch the full clip below:
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