SINGAPORE – It is no secret that multi-award-winning John Legend, who is married to model and cookbook author Chrissy Teigen, is quite the family man.

So, it was not surprising to find out that the 43-year-old American singer-songwriter was in the middle of preparing dinner when he jumped in on an online press conference to talk about his recently released eighth album, Legend.

“She’s pregnant, so I try to cook for her as much as I can,” he quips good-naturedly.

Teigen, 36, is expecting their third child. The couple have daughter, six, and a son, four.

Legend, a double album with 24 tracks, has songs inspired by his loved ones.

“Volume 1 is more about lust,” says the singer, who once said that Good Morning, a song from his 2008 album Evolver, was inspired by Teigen and about making love in the morning.

“Volume 2 is more about a deeper love that is more committed, more romantic, more spiritual,” he adds, singling out the soaring number Stardust.

“Stardust means a lot to both me and Chrissy... as we were going through tough times with our family last year and in late 2020.”

In September 2020, Teigen announced she had a miscarriage caused by pregnancy complications.

Legend adds: “The song is about the fact that no matter what you’re going through, no matter how you’re feeling at that time, you’re special.”

Another song, Home, is dedicated to their children.

“I wrote it for my kids to let them know how much I’m going to love them for as long as I’m around, and how they’ll always have a home with me and Chrissy no matter what they do, no matter where they go.”

The album, he says, is titled after his last name as a mark of new beginnings. It is his first to be released under a new record label, Republic Record, a division of Universal Music Group.

“But also, because of everything I went through with my family over the past couple years, this album was especially personal and meaningful during this time, and it felt like the right time to call it a self-titled album.”

Legend, who made his name in the early 2000s, is the first black man to achieve an EGOT – the title given to artistes who have won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.

A day before the press conference, he performed at the Emmy Awards on Sept 12 (Tuesday morning Singapore time), singing Pieces, a song from the new album, during the ceremony’s tribute to artistes who recently died.

“It was beautiful. I love being at the Emmys. We’re such big fans of a lot of shows being recognised and it’s so cool to see the people who make all the shows we watch when we’re sitting at home, eating dinner,” he says, adding that he and Teigen are fans of series such as Squid Game (2021), Better Call Saul (2015 to 2022) and Succession (2018 to present, which won Best Drama).

Legend, who was in Singapore to perform at the 2014 Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix, is hoping to return to Asia for concerts soon.

He and Teigen, whose mother is Thai, are known to take regular family vacations to Asian destinations such as Bali, Indonesia and Thailand.

“Truly, I have so much fun when I’m over there. My wife’s family is from there,” he says. “We spend a lot of our leisure time in that part of the world and we love performing there, so I can’t wait to come back.”

• Legend is available on music streaming services.