About John Legend
John Roger Stephens , known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, record producer, and actor. He began his musical career working behind the scenes for other artists, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything Is Everything," and performing as an uncredited backing vocalist on Jay-Z's "Encore" and Alicia Keys' "You Don't Know My Name". He was the first artist to sign with Kanye West's GOOD Music, through which he released his debut studio album, Get Lifted . The album reached the top ten of the Billboard 200, received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America and spawned his first hit song, "Ordinary People."
Legend won three Grammy Awards from eight nominations at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards—"Ordinary People" won Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, Get Lifted won Best R&B Album, and Legend won Best New Artist. The album's follow-up single, "So High" , was nominated for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. His second album, Once Again was met with continued success, supported by the lead single "Save Room." His third album, Evolver further diversified his artistry with other genres; its funk-inspired lead single, "Green Light" peaked within the top 30 of the Billboard Hot 100 and received double platinum certification by the RIAA. That same year, Legend released the live album John Legend: Live from Philadelphia , followed by his collaborative album, Wake Up! with Philadelphia-based hip hop band the Roots.
Legend's fourth studio album, Love in the Future was preceded by the hit single "All of Me". The pop ballad saw his furthest commercial success as it peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100, spent 23 consecutive weeks in the chart's top ten, and received diamond certification by the RIAA. In 2015, he co-performed with Meghan Trainor on her single "Like I'm Gonna Lose You", which peaked at number seven on the chart. The following year, he released his fifth album Darkness and Light and departed from GOOD Music. Legend has since released A Legendary Christmas , Bigger Love —which won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album—and his ninth album, Legend .
Throughout his musical career, Legend has received a total of 12 Grammy Awards. In 2007, he won the Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Legend won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and Golden Globe Award for his 2015 single "Glory" , which was released for the film Selma. He won the NAACP's President's Award in 2016. In Broadway acting, Legend won a Tony Award for co-producing the stage play Jitney , and portrayed the titular character in NBC's adaptation of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar . He received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his acting role, and won the award for his role as a producer of the show, making him the first Black male and second youngest recipient of all four of the major American entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony in 2018. Legend also has served as a vocal coach for the reality competition series The Voice from its sixteenth season to its twenty-second season, and again from its twenty-fourth season; he became the show's senior coach following Blake Shelton's 2023 departure.
John Roger Stephens was born on December 28, 1978, in Springfield, Ohio. He is the eldest of four children of Phyllis Elaine , a seamstress, and Ronald Lamar Stephens, a factory worker at International Harvester. His father was a drummer, while "his mother sang and directed the church choir, and his grandmother was the church organist."
In 2004, Legend stated that his parents were divorced for 12 years before reuniting. Legend was homeschooled by his mother. He began playing the piano at age 4. At the age of 7, he performed with his church choir. Because of his academic talent, he skipped two grades.
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