John Legend suffered "a lot of rejection" as a young musician. The Grammy-winning star is one of the best-selling artists in the world - but John admits that his journey to stardom hasn't been straightforward.
He explained: "There was a lot of rejection. But if I'd got a record deal at 18, I would have screwed it up. "I didn't know what went into being a successful solo artist.
I just thought, 'Oh, I can sing and I'm writing some decent songs,' but there's more to it than that. " John, 43, stars on the US version of 'The Voice', and that experience has caused him to reflect on his early days in the music business.
He told the BBC: "I'm a coach on 'The Voice' now and that's something I'm always thinking about when I'm advising the artists. "They're all really good singers - some of them are much better singers than I am - but the only way for them to make it is to have a point of view that's interesting and distinct and personal. "Music is not just a virtuosity competition. " John actually spent three years working as a management consultant, as he struggled to get his music career off the ground.
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