John Legend Wants To Be The 'Best You Ever Had'

Admit it, you weren't entirely comfortable with John Legend name-calling and hair-tugging on Kanye West's searing "Blame Game." And we get it: The Springfield native's catalog is the work of a perfect gentleman, not an Ohio player. With his latest, "Tonight (Best You Ever Had)," Legend is ready to make up — all night.

Last month, MTV News strutted onto the Los Angeles set of the "Tonight" video, where Legend opened up about what propels the song. The tune appears on the April 10 soundtrack for "Think Like a Man," a big-screen adaptation of comedian Steve Harvey's runaway best-seller, dating-advice book. (No word yet on whether it will also find a spot on Legend's forthcoming full-length, Love in the Future, tentatively due this summer.)

"The whole idea of the song is seduction and swagger and confidence," the G.O.O.D. Music singer/songwriter explained. "We just wanted to put together a video that portrayed that vibe."

Tapping Ludacris to spit another saucy 16 — "Throw you on the grill/ That's 'cause seven days a week, you're my five-course meal" — Legend doesn't so much sing the hook as ooze it. "Baby, Tonight you need that / Tonight, believe that /Tonight, I'll be the best you ever had," he promises.

"The energy of the song is like, kind of quiet confidence," Legend said. "It's kind of what my personality is like anyway and ... this song is kind of exuding that confidence where you're like, 'I do what I gotta do. I don't like to talk about it a lot but I'mma talk about it today,' he added with a naughty grin.

The clip opens with Legend sitting alone on a bed, shirtless and sporting grey slacks and his signature stubble. Before long, he's joined by a lingerie-clad lady-friend. And although scenes from "Think Like a Man" flash on one bedroom wall, the amorous pair seem more concerned with the action offscreen.

"I don't wanna brag, but once we get in there, I'm gon' be the best thing you ever had," Luda told us on set, sampling the chorus. "That's what basically my whole verse is; the whole song, everything John Legend and myself are talking about to all these beautiful women out here."

Legend, who recently became engaged to longtime girlfriend and Sports Illustrated model Chrissy Teigen, turns up the temperature in a way we haven't quite seen from him yet. But it's a welcome departure. Believe that.

What do you think of John's new "Tonight" video? Tell us in the comments!