John Legend - Claudine Housen

WASHINGTON (AP)

After the success of his Grammy-winning debut, Get Lifted, John Legend felt pressure to do another "great album" on his follow-up CD, Once Again.

"I was hungry," the 27-year-old R&B singer-songwriter told AP radio in a recent interview. "I was excited, and I knew that no matter what I did on Get Lifted, it wasn't going to get me a free pass on this album. I had to come back and make a great album again."

In Once Again, released Tuesday, Legend's soulful grooves evoke an old-school sound. Legend said he's listened to "a lot (of) different kinds of music" since recording 2004's Get Lifted.

"And you'll hear those influences," he said. "I guess I'm kind of painting with some more colours in my palette this time than I had the first time."

Legend said he had read a quote from producer will.i.am, who worked with Legend on Once Again, describing the approach as a mixture of "hunger, humility and fear."

"I don't know if he was afraid, but I wasn't afraid," Legend said.

Legend won Grammys this year for best new artist, best R&B album for Get Lifted and best male R&B vocal performance for Ordinary People.