John Legend Advises the Next Sexiest Man Alive to ‘Enjoy’ the Title But ‘Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously’ (Exclusive)

John Legend has words of wisdom for PEOPLE’s next Sexiest Man Alive.

During a recent interview with PEOPLE, the father of four, 45, offered advice to this year’s Sexiest Man Alive – who will be announced Nov. 12. The “All of Me” singer spoke from his own experience, having held the title in 2019. 

“Don't take it too seriously, but enjoy it,” he tells PEOPLE. “It's an interesting thing to win because you get a lot of love and then you get a lot of questioning like, ‘Why did he get it?’ Don't read your social media too much, but just enjoy it. It's fun. Just don't take yourself too seriously with it though.”

In November 2019 for his SMA cover story interview, Legend detailed the pressure he felt winning the title, after actor Idris Elba was crowned the year before.

“I was excited, but I was a little scared at the same time because it’s a lot of pressure,” he told PEOPLE. “Everyone’s going to be picking me apart to see if I’m sexy enough to hold this title. I’m [also] following Idris Elba, which is not fair and is not nice to me!”

Elsewhere in the interview, Legend opened up about his upbringing, detailing the lessons he learned as a child from his dad Ronald.

“My father taught me about character. He taught us by example. He always conducted himself with such grace and dignity,” he says. “My parents always taught me that if you’re going to succeed in life, part of success is having humility. It’s a good way to live life, treating other people the way you want to be treated.”

Alongside a humble childhood, Legend also finds strength in his supportive family that makes him the man he is today. Earlier this month, The Voice judge revealed how he and his wife, Chrissy Teigen, stick together for their kids: daughters Luna, 8, and Esti, 20 months, and sons Miles, 6, and Wren, 15 months. He delved into the topic while speaking about his son Miles’ Type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

“We've been studying and we've been learning as much as we can,” he told PEOPLE. “Understanding all the treatments available. And we're so grateful that there has been such technological advances over the years and we've benefited from that. We've been learning together and doing what we can to support each other and just to really be a team together as a couple, Chrissy and I. But our entire family, our entire village has been learning about Miles's diagnosis and how we can all help.”