One of John Legend's biggest hits nearly went to another group of musicians.
Legend joined fellow musician Norah Jones on the Tuesday (December 16) episode of her Norah Jones Is Playing Along podcast where he detailed the backstory behind his song "Ordinary People," one of his first singles featured on his 2004 debut album Get Lifted.
"It was wild making that song because I was originally writing the chorus for the Black Eyed Peas. I'm friends with will.i.am and the rest of the Peas and we had the same manager at that time," he said. "We had written together before for my album, but this session wasn't supposed to be for my album, it was supposed to be for the Black Eyed Peas. He would just play me beats that he had made and I would hum whatever ideas came to my head, and one of the ideas I hummed was the chorus for 'Ordinary People.'"
Legend said the concept he and will.i.am developed at the time had a "hip hop kind of energy," but the longer he thought about it, the more he felt like the song would work better for his own project.
"I was finishing up Get Lifted at the time and I had just gotten signed to Columbia Records and I was like, 'you know what, I should keep 'Ordinary People' for myself but I'll let you produce it,'" he recalled.
Legend and will.i.am had planned to "arrange and produce up" the track but they ultimately decided it was better kept simple, "just me and my voice on the piano." He added that the demo he recorded ended up being the version that came out and became his "signature debut single."
Elsewhere in their chat, the musicians reflected on how their careers "paralleled" when they both first got into the industry but that they never crossed paths until working on their song "Summertime Blue," which came out this year. They also teamed up for a few duets in the episode, including a jazzy rendition of a classic holiday tune.
On Norah Jones Is Playing Along, Jones sits down with special guests "from all walks of life and every musical style" for candid conversations and unforgettable musical moments. Past guests include Sam Smith, Alessia Cara, Sarah McLachlan, Jason Isbell, Laufey and more.
Follow along with new episodes of Norah Jones Is Playing Along or catch up on what you have missed at iHeart.com.