Article Contributed by Universal Music Group
Published on 2026-09-27
EGOT-winning, multi-platinum singer, songwriter and producer John Legend today released the music video for “Fireflies,” from his forthcoming album, Muse, out October 23 via Republic Records. Written by and featuring Grammy Award-winning, Academy Award-nominated musician and filmmaker, philanthropist and Louis Vuitton menswear Creative Director Pharrell Williams, listen to the track HERE.
The accompanying video, helmed by Grammy-nominated director and PRETTYBIRD co-founder Paul Hunter, pairs Legend’s piano performance alongside the Hollywood Cinematic Orchestra with intimate portraits of life in a housing project, bringing the song’s reflections on inequality, loss and resilience to life through a story of hardship and hope. Produced by PRETTYBIRD, with creative direction by P.INC, watch the video for “Fireflies” HERE. Pre-order and pre-save Muse HERE.
The new track arrives ahead of Legend’s performance at Global Citizen Festival on Saturday, September 26, on the Great Lawn of New York City’s Central Park. A Global Citizen board member who has supported the organization since 2011, Legend continues his longstanding commitment to its mission of ending extreme poverty. This year’s festival brings artists, advocates and world leaders together to advance access to education, strengthen food security and expand access to clean energy.
“Fireflies” follows “Daylight,” the lead single from Muse, which Legend introduced earlier this month with a performance from Nashville during CBS’s America’s Tailgate special marking the start of the NFL season. Together, the songs offer a window into an album that finds Legend exploring new territory more than two decades into his recording career. Watch the video for “Daylight,” directed by Paul Hunter, HERE.
Produced in full and co-written by Pharrell Williams, Muse marks the pair’s first full album together after more than twenty years of friendship. The project took shape after Legend appeared on Clipse’s comeback album Let God Sort ’Em Out, with his vocal on “The Birds Don’t Sing” inspiring Pharrell to build an album around his voice. Writing and recording at Pharrell’s studio at Louis Vuitton headquarters in Paris, the two drew on Nina Simone, Nat King Cole and Marvin Gaye, bringing classic orchestration together with a modern rhythmic foundation.
“Pharrell’s idea from the beginning was that we would create something with all of these classic, cinematic elements, this Black James Bond aesthetic,” Legend said, “but with a modern backbeat at its foundation. You can hear traces of me and traces of him, but it sounds like something new for the both of us. The combination of me and Pharrell, on paper, I think, is a good idea. And the execution is even better.”
Muse weaves together gospel, standards, doo-wop, classic soul, Afrobeat and hip-hop, drawing inspiration from the artists and traditions that shaped both musicians. “Our ancestors are our muses,” Legend said of the album. “My music has always been me channeling the ancestors, taking what they gave us and making something new.”
Beyond the album, Legend is also at work on Imitation of Life, a new musical opening in December at The Shed in co-production with National Black Theatre, starring Tony Award winner Adrienne Warren as Delilah. Featuring a book by two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage and direction by two-time Tony Award nominee Whitney White, the production marks Legend's first original score for the stage, with Legend and Mike Jackson producing through Get Lifted Film Co.
Muse Tracklist:
Muse (feat. Pharrell Williams)
Pray For Ya
Her Introduction
Her (feat. Pharrell Williams)
Daylight
Get Back (feat. Pharrell Williams)
Are You OK? (feat. Pharrell Williams)
Under The Bridge Introduction
Under The Bridge
Next Time (feat. Pharrell Williams)
Bodies On The Floor - Taps Introduction
Bodies On The Floor (feat. Clipse)
Doing Me
Fireflies (feat. Pharrell Williams)
Everything
Sail Off
