John Legend: I was challenging child

John Legend is proud to have been a "precocious little kid".

The American musician believes music industry success is as much about hard work as it is talent. Looking back, he's proud he started work on his career when he was little more than a toddler and will never apologise for being demanding.

"It sounds obvious but there's this mistaken belief that everything is about talent but talent has to be cultivated and developed. If it's not nurtured, pushed and challenged it's not going to happen," he told Q magazine. "I was four and I begged my mom to get me piano lessons. I was a precocious little kid. There was a lot of music in our house so I think me wanting to play was me trying to be a part of what was going on. It was a chance to perform."

The star still pushes himself hard but knows his career success isn't just down to him. His fans are the people who have pushed him into the mainstream and he will never get tired of showing them how much that means to him.

He worries some artists think they are more important than their fans, which couldn't be further from the truth.

"Don't try to only play new music at a show because as much as you might want to you have to make your fans happy," he said, when asked for some advice. "Don't make the show too long. I never said, 'That show was too short.' Same goes for albums. More is not always better."