John Legend unveils ‘Georgia on My Mind’ cover as Biden takes lead from Trump in crucial vote count

Georgia is a key swing state in the US election

John Legend has posted an acapella cover of “Georgia on My Mind” to celebrate Joe Biden taking a slim lead over Donald Trump in the state’s ongoing vote count.

The Associated Press confirmed this morning (6 November) that, at 4.30am local time, Biden overtook Trump in Georgia by 917 votes. 99 per cent of all votes have been counted.

On Twitter, Legend unveiled a two-minute video of him covering Hoagy Carmichael’s “Georgia on My Mind” at his kitchen table. Legend finished the cover by proclaiming: “I love you, Georgia”.

Chrissy Teigen, Legend’s wife, also referenced the long wait for Georgia’s results in her own tweet, writing that her husband “has been waiting to post this for five hours”.

“Georgia on My Mind”, popularised by Ray Charles, has become a battle cry for Democrat supporters in recent days, with Georgia becoming a crucial swing state in the US election.

The state has not voted Democrat since 1992.

If Biden successfully takes Georgia, it will provide enough electoral college votes to lift the Democrat above the threshold of 270. He must also maintain his current lead in Arizona.

Legend, a vocal critic of Trump and the Republican party, invited his followers to mock Trump’s false claims of election victory this week.

On Twitter, the musician joked: “Let’s all claim things we don’t have any right to. What y’all got… To be clear, you have to say ‘hereby’ to make it legally binding.”

For the full results and reaction as it all comes in, follow our live blog here.