You & I (Nobody in the World)

Album: Love in the Future (2013)
Charted: 66
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The fourth single from Love in the Future, this is a song of devotion to Legend's then-fiancée, Chrissy Teigen. The track was released to Adult Contemporary radio in the US on April 29, 2014.
  • Legend wrote this with Dan Wilson, the Semisonic frontman who has enjoyed tremendous success writing with other artists ("Not Ready To Make Nice" with Dixie Chicks; "Someone Like You" with Adele). Wilson, knowing Legend's reputation with the ladies, suggested a theme for their collaboration: "A super-loving song about getting ready to go on a big date, or to a party."

    Said Wilson, "I told him my thought: a song about date night, getting ready with your girlfriend, watching her beautify herself, teasing her that it's taking a long time, but also proud that she's looking good... It seemed like a sweet thing for us to write a song about."
  • The track was produced by Legend's long-term collaborator Dave Tozer with Frank Ocean's production partner James "Malay" Ho. Tozer described its instrumentation to SonicScoop: "This song is a real journey," he said. "It's a nice breather for where it is on the record. It's got a moody guitar to set the tone, then it blossoms open. Then there's this '80s Linn drum snare giving it power in the second chorus. Then the horns, and the Moog synth. There's this big, climactic bridge, then it comes down to a whisper with this mournful Moog theremin sound. Then it builds back up - it's got great dynamics."
  • Directed by Mishka Kornai, the song's music video celebrates the natural beauty of women from all walks of life. The clip opens and closes with Chrissy Teigen and among the other famous faces that appear are transgender Orange Is the New Black star Laverne Cox and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air actress Tatyana Ali.

    Legend explained regarding the inspiration for the clip: "When we shot the video, we wanted to examine the idea of what people see when they look in the mirror. We wanted to show all types of beauty and speak to the idea that each of them is special and beautiful."
  • While they were writing this song, Chrissy Teigen popped in and out of the session a few times, sassing her boyfriend a bit in good fun. Having her around made it easier to write about her.

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