John Legend

Avery Kreitler

John Roger Stephens, also known as John Legend, is an American singer-songwriter and pianist who has received much recognition for his R&B and soul music. Born on December 28, 1978 in Springfield, Ohio, Legend was the first African American man to receive an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony). He is most popular for his songs “All of Me”, “Glory”, and “Ordinary People”. As a result, Legend was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2007. 

John Legend was born into a working-class family among his three siblings. As a child, He was homeschooled on and off by his mother, pursuing his musical education by performing with his church choir and learning the piano at age 7. One of his first jobs as a teenager was a wedding singer. Legend graduated from North High School and went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he studies English with emphasis on African-American literature. He then served as president and musical director of a jazz and pop a cappella group called the Counterparts. After graduating college in 1999, he began selling self-produced CDs and working as a management consultant. Legend was soon introduced to American rapper Kanye West, and began contributing background music and vocals for West as well as other artists. Because of his old-school sound throughout this process, the poet J.Ivy gave him the name “John Legend” which remains his stage name to this day. 

After Kanye West formed his own label, one of the first albums he produced was John Legend’s Get Lifted. From that point on, Legend would receive many awards and much recognition for his albums, vocal performances, songwriting, and productions. To obtain his EGOT status, Legend has received countless awards since 2004. He has won one Emmy Award, which is the trophy that secured his EGOT status. He earned his Emmy for his role as executive producer in Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert. Legend also received his first (and only) Oscar for “Glory” at the 87th Academy Awards for Best Original Song. John earned his Tony for Best Revival of a Play with his production of Jitney. Finally, the singer has 10 Grammys: His first were given in in 2006 for Best New Artist, Best R&B Album for “Get Lifted”, and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for “Ordinary People.” After his many successes throughout the years, John Legend became a judge on the 20th season of the reality competition series, The Voice, in 2019. He coached singer Maelyn Larmon to victory in the finale of Season 16. Aside from these achievements, Legend has received much recognition for his works to improve educational opportunities within poor communities over the years.