"If You're Out There" is the second single from

John Legend John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Every ...

's album, '' Evolver'', which features the Agape Choir. The song was released digitally on August 24, 2008. It was inspired by

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

's presidential campaign and was later posted as a free download on Obama's website. The song also alludes to Gandhi's quote, "Be the change you want to see in the world," with the lines "We don't have to wait for destiny / we should / be the change that we / want to see.

Performances

Democratic National Convention

The song was performed live during the Democratic National Convention in Denver on August 25, 2008. The performance featured the Agape International Choir.

2008 Latin Grammy Awards

John Legend appeared to perform the song in duet with

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

n rock singer

Juanes Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez (born 9 August 1972), known professionally as Juanes, is a Colombian musician who was a member of the Rock music, rock band Ekhymosis and is now a solo artist. Since releasing his solo debut album ''Fíjate B ...

during the 9th Annual

Latin Grammy Awards The Latin Grammy Awards (stylized as Latin GRAMMYs) are awards presented by the Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music, Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish language, S ...

at the

Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston, Texas, United States. It is named after the Japanese automobile manufacturer Toyota. The arena is home to the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it was once th ...

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

on November 13, 2008. The version they performed was sung mostly in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

by both singers, with only a few lines in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

2009 NBA All-Star Game

John Legend appeared at halftime of the

2009 NBA All-Star Game The 2009 NBA All-Star Game was an exhibition basketball game that was played on February 15, 2009, during the National Basketball Association's (NBA) 2008–09 season. It was the 58th edition of the NBA All-Star Game, and was played at the US ...

and performed the song. Lyrics were alternated between English and Spanish, with the Spanish portions sung by

. The song has been used in "NBA Cares" PSAs which encourage community service.Legend, Juanes to perform at halftime of All-Star Game
, January 27, 2009

Charts

References

External links

John Legend performs "If You're Out There"
at the 2008 CNN Heroes All-Star Tribute {{authority control Pop ballads Contemporary R&B ballads 2008 singles John Legend songs Songs written by John Legend Song recordings produced by Trevor Horn GOOD Music singles Sony Music singles 2008 songs Gospel songs