Bigger Love

Last updated

Bigger Love
John Legend - Bigger Love.png
Digital version and stylized graphics colors of lighter green instead of dark green.
Studio album by
John Legend
ReleasedJune 19, 2020
Studio
Length55:51
Label
Producer
John Legend chronology
A Legendary Christmas
(2018)		Bigger Love
(2020)		 Legend
(2022)
Singles from Bigger Love
  1. "Conversations in the Dark"
    Released: January 10, 2020
  2. "Actions"
    Released: March 20, 2020
  3. "Bigger Love"
    Released: April 17, 2020
  4. "Wild"
    Released: August 13, 2020

Bigger Love is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter and musician John Legend. It was released on June 19, 2020, through Columbia Records. The album includes the singles "Conversations in the Dark", "Actions", "Bigger Love", and "Wild". The album won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards. [1] The album was further promoted by a limited North American tour leg that began on September 1, 2021, after several stops on the original US and UK tour itinerary were either postponed or canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [2] [3]

Contents

Background

Bigger Love was written mostly in 2019. [4] Recording for the album finished in February 2020. [5] Legend stated he hoped the album would bring joy and be uplifting in light of the George Floyd protests that were taking place during the album's release. [5] He released the cover art and track listing on June 12, a week before the release. [6]

Artwork

The cover art was painted by artist Charly "Carlos" Palmer. The piece features a smiling portrait of the singer-songwriter covered in blooming flowers and a starry sky against a pop of turquoise backdrop.

Singles

Three singles were put out before the album was released. [5] "Conversations in the Dark" was released on January 10, 2020. [7] "Actions" was released on March 20. Legend performed "Actions" on The Tonight Show . [8] The title track, "Bigger Love", was released on April 17, 2020. "Wild", a collaboration with American musician Gary Clark Jr., was released on August 13, 2020. [9]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic 59/100 [10]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash 6/10 [11]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [12]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Pitchfork (6.4/10) [14]
The Independent Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [15]

The album received generally mixed reviews from critics. [10] Rolling Stone rated the album 3.5/5 stars, stating that the album's "self-aware" themes fit well with the current environment of the COVID-19 pandemic. [13] Rated R&B recognized the album on its 30 Best R&B Albums of 2020 list, stating, "Bigger Love celebrates everlasting love as John Legend serenades with soothing falsettos, bold instrumentation, and groovy new sounds." [16]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Ooh Laa"
2:59
2."Actions"
  • Oak
  • The Orphanage
  • Nice [c]
  • Ten4 [c]
  • Cautious Clay [c]
2:54
3."I Do"
2:47
4."One Life"
  • Anderson .Paak
  • Gitelman
3:14
5."Wild" (featuring Gary Clark Jr.)
 TMS 3:16
6."Bigger Love"
2:50
7."U Move, I Move" (featuring Jhené Aiko)
Karlsson3:43
8."Favorite Place"
  • Digi
  • Oak [c]
  • The Orphanage [c]
2:48
9."Slow Cooker"
  • Stephens
  • Campbell
  • Elias Näslin
  • Toluwanimi Adeyemo
  • Lias
  • Saadiq [c]
4:22
10."Focused"
3:02
11."Conversations in the Dark"
  • Wattenberg
  • Pom Pom
3:55
12."Don't Walk Away" (featuring Koffee)
Di Genius3:40
13."Remember Us" (featuring Rapsody)
  • E. Hudson
  • Murdock [a]
4:51
14."I'm Ready" (featuring Camper)
Camper3:51
15."Always"
  • Camper
  • West [a]
  • Branden Rowell [a]
3:26
16."Never Break"
  • Mr Hudson
  • Wells
  • Benjamin Rice [v]
4:13
Total length:55:51
Japan bonus tracks [17]
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
17."Conversations in the Dark" (John Legend vs. David Guetta)
  • Wattenberg
  • Pom Pom
  • Guetta [r]
3:30
18."Bigger Love (Remix)" (featuring Mau y Ricky)
  • Tedder
  • Skelton
  • Cautious Clay
  • Di Genius
  • Jon Leone [v]
3:22
Total length:62:55

Notes

Personnel

Musicians

  • John Legend – lead vocals (all tracks), background vocals (tracks 1–4, 8, 9, 11–15), piano (4, 15), additional keyboards (4)
  • Oak – additional background vocals (track 1); background vocals, keyboards, drum programming (2)
  • Alex Nice – additional background vocals (track 1); background vocals, keyboards (2)
  • Keith "Ten4" Sorrells – additional background vocals (track 1); background vocals, keyboards, drum programming (2)
  • Cautious Clay – background vocals (tracks 2, 6, 18), bass (2), saxophone (6, 18)
  • Jamelle Adisa – horns (tracks 2, 9); horn arrangement, trumpet, fluegelhorn (13)
  • Natalie Imani – background vocals (tracks 3, 4, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15), ad-lib vocals (6, 18)
  • Ayana George – background vocals (tracks 3, 4, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15)
  • Keri Lee – background vocals (tracks 3, 4, 9, 10, 12, 13, 15)
  • Raphael Saadiq – guitar (tracks 3, 9), bass (4), additional bass (5)
  • Garrison Brown – additional drums (tracks 3, 5), drums (9, 15)
  • Matt Jones Orchestra – orchestra (tracks 3, 4, 7, 8, 13–15)
    • Matt Jones – string arrangement
    • Stephanie Matthews – violin
    • Caitlin Edwards – violin
    • Clayton Penrose-Whitmore – violin
    • Scott Tixier – violin
    • Drew Forde – viola
    • Tahirah Whittington – cello
  • Jeff "Gitty" Gitelman – additional bass, guitar, keyboards, synthesizers, string arrangement (track 4)
  • Anderson .Paak – drums (track 4)
  • Pete Kelleher – background vocals, keyboards, synthesizers (track 5)
  • Ben Kohn – background vocals, bass (track 5)
  • Sam Roman – background vocals (track 5)
  • Jake Torrey – background vocals, guitar (track 5)
  • Gary Clark Jr. – guitar solo (track 5)
  • Tom Barnes – drums, programming (track 5)
  • Di Genius – guitar, programming (tracks 6, 18)
  • Trey Campbell – background vocals (tracks 7, 9)
  • Jhené Aiko – lead vocals (track 7)
  • Nate Mercereau – guitar, bass, drums, keyboards, French horn, string arrangement (track 10)
  • Steve Wyreman – guitar, keyboards (track 10)
  • Shaina Evoniuk – strings (track 10)
  • Pom Pom – background vocals, bass, programming (tracks 11, 17)
  • Gregg Wattenberg – background vocals, guitar, bass (tracks 11, 17)
  • Jesse Fink – background vocals (tracks 11, 17)
  • Chance Peña – background vocals (tracks 11, 17)
  • Mia Wattenberg – background vocals (tracks 11, 17)
  • Danae Greenfield – piano (tracks 11, 17)
  • Benzi Ezelson – piano (tracks 11, 17)
  • Koffee – lead vocals, background vocals (track 12)
  • Rapsody – rap vocals (track 13)
  • Scott Mayo – horn arrangement, flute, alto flute (track 13)
  • Danny "Ezra" Murdock – live drums, drum programming (track 13)
  • Eric Hudson – additional instrumentation (track 13)
  • Peter Lee Johnson – additional strings (track 13)
  • Curtis Hudson – guitar (track 13)
  • Camper – background vocals (track 14)
  • Tayla Parx – background vocals (track 14)
  • Dmitry Gorodetsky – upright bass (track 14)
  • Greg Wells – piano, Hammond organ (track 16)
  • Mr Hudson – programming, string arrangement, percussion, guitar (track 16)
  • Nasri Atweh – background vocals (track 16)
  • Mau Montaner – lead vocals (track 18)
  • Ricky Montaner – lead vocals (track 18)

Technical

  • Mike Bozzi – mastering
  • Gerry "The Gov" Brown – mixing (tracks 1–9, 11–18)
  • Bobby Campbell – mixing (tracks 3–9, 12–15, 18)
  • Ricky Reed – mixing (track 10)
  • Matt Becks – mixing (tracks 11, 17)
  • Greg Wells – mixing (track 16)
  • Oak Felder – engineering (tracks 1, 2, 8)
  • Hotae Alexander Jang – engineering (tracks 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12–15, 18), John Legend vocal engineering (7), additional engineering (10), engineering assistance (16)
  • Jhair "Jha" Lazo – engineering (tracks 4, 6, 18)
  • TMS – engineering (track 5)
  • Rich Rich – engineering (tracks 6, 18)
  • Lias – engineering (track 9)
  • Ethan Shumaker – engineering (track 10)
  • Nate Mercereau – engineering (track 10)
  • Anthony Kilhoffer – engineering (tracks 11–13, 18)
  • Leo Bescotti – engineering (tracks 11, 17)
  • Richard Biethan – engineering (track 16)
  • Tim McClain – engineering (track 18)
  • Gregg Rominiecki – Jhené Aiko vocal engineering (track 7)
  • Danny Johnson – mixing assistance (tracks 1, 2)
  • Theo Wayland – mixing assistance (tracks 1, 2, 5)
  • Sean Massih – mixing assistance (track 2)
  • Kyle Metcalfe – mixing assistance (tracks 3, 4, 7, 8, 12–15)
  • Keith "Ten4" Sorrells – engineering assistance (tracks 1, 8)
  • Natalie Ranalli – engineering assistance (tracks 3, 4, 9, 14)
  • Charlie Marshall – engineering assistance (track 16)

Visuals

Charts

Chart performance for Bigger Love
Chart (2020)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [18] 52
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [19] 42
French Albums (SNEP) [20] 179
Japanese Albums (Oricon) [21] 165
Scottish Albums (OCC) [22] 93
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [23] 30
UK Albums (OCC) [24] 63
UK R&B Albums (OCC) [25] 1
US Billboard 200 [26] 19

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References

  1. ↑ "63rd Annual Grammy Awards". Grammy Awards . Retrieved March 15, 2021.
  2. ↑ Centeno, Tony M. (October 1, 2021). "John Legend Returns to South Florida for the Second Leg of His Bigger Love Tour". Miami New Times. Archived from the original on October 1, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Official John Legend VIP Experiences". CID Entertainment. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
  4. ↑ Dinges, Gary (June 17, 2020). "EGOT winner John Legend says new album 'Bigger Love' is his 'best work' yet". USA Today.
  5. 1 2 3 Saponara, Michael (June 17, 2020). "Inside John Legend's 'Bigger Love' Album, Which He Hopes Can 'Lift People Up'". Billboard.
  6. ↑ Grant, Shawn (June 12, 2020). "John Legend Reveals Cover and Tracklist for 'Bigger Love' Album". The Source.
  7. ↑ Aniftos, Rania (January 10, 2020). "John Legend Unveils the Sweet 'Conversations in the Dark' Ahead of Upcoming 'This Is Us' Episode". Billboard.
  8. ↑ Zemler, Emily (March 25, 2020). "Watch John Legend Perform 'Actions' on At-Home Edition of 'Fallon'". Rolling Stone.
  9. ↑ Sources concerning the single release of "Wild":
  10. 1 2 "Metacritic Review". Metacritic . Retrieved July 13, 2020.
  11. ↑ Murray, Robin (June 19, 2020). "Clash Magazine Review". Clash . Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  12. ↑ Kheraj, Alim (June 19, 2020). "John Legend: Bigger Love – synths, snogging and schmaltz". The Guardian . Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  13. 1 2 Dolan, Jon (June 18, 2020). "John Legend's 'Bigger Love' is a Bear Hug We Need Right Now". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  14. ↑ Pearce, Sheldon (June 24, 2020). "John Legend Bigger Love". pitchfork.com. Pitchfork.
  15. ↑ O'Connor, Roisin (June 17, 2020). "Album reviews: Neil Young – Homegrown, and John Legend – BIGGER LOVE". independent.co.uk. The Independent.
  16. ↑ "The 30 Best R&B Albums of 2020: Staff Picks". ratedrnb.com. December 18, 2020. Retrieved January 15, 2021.
  17. ↑ "Bigger Love / ビガー・ラヴ – Tower Records". Tower Records . Retrieved August 24, 2020.
  18. ↑ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 29 June 2020". The ARIA Report . No. 1582. Australian Recording Industry Association. June 29, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – John Legend – Bigger Love" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Top Albums (Week 26, 2020)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  21. ↑ "John Legend". Oricon . Retrieved September 22, 2020.
  22. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 7, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – John Legend – Bigger Love". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  24. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  25. ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 9, 2020.
  26. ↑ "John Legend Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 7, 2020.
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