"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, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's " Ever ...

'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 served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

'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 in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

n rock singer

Juanes file:Juanes ZMF 2015 jm49108.jpg, Juanes at the Zelt Musik Festival 2015 in Freiburg, Germany file:Juanes ZMF 2015 jm49211.jpg, Juanes at the Zelt Musik Festival 2015 in Freiburg, Germany Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez (born 9 August 19 ...

during the 9th Annual

Latin Grammy Awards The Latin Grammy Awards are an award by The Latin Recording Academy to recognize outstanding achievement in the Latin music industry. The Latin Grammy honors works recorded in Spanish or Portuguese from anywhere around the world that has been r ...

at the

Toyota Center Toyota Center is an indoor arena located in Houston. 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 the home of the Houston ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

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 Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

by both singers, with only a few lines in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

2009 NBA All-Star Game

John Legend appeared at halftime of the 2009 NBA All-Star Game 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