John Stephens
(born December 28, 1978), better known by his stage name John Legend
, is an American recording artist, musician and actor. He is the recipient of six Grammy Awards, and in 2007, was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. [1]
Prior to the release of his debut album, Legend's career gained momentum through a series of successful collaborations with multiple established artists. Legend added his voice to those of other artists, assisting in them reaching chart-topper hits. He lent his voice to that of Kanye West, on Slum Village's "Selfish", and Dilated Peoples' "This Way". Other artists included Jay-Z's "Encore", and sang backing vocals on Alicia Keys' 2003 song "You Don't Know My Name" and Fort Minor's "High Road." Legend played piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything Is Everything".
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Life and career
1978–2003: Early life and career beginnings
Legend was born John Stephens on December 28, 1978, in
Springfield, Ohio.
[2] He is the son of Phyllis, a
seamstress, and Ronald, a factory worker and former
National Guardsman.
[3] [4] Throughout his childhood, Legend was
homeschooled on and off by his mother.
[5] At the age of four, he began playing the
piano and at the age of seven, he rendered music with his church
choir. When he was ten, his parents divorced, causing his mother to suffer a breakdown.
At the age of 12, Legend attended
North High School, where he graduated from four years later.
[6]
Legend was offered
scholarships to
Harvard University,
Georgetown University and
Morehouse College.
[7] He attended the
University of Pennsylvania, where he studied
English with an emphasis on
African American literature.
[8] While in college, he helmed
Counterparts, a
co-ed jazz and
pop a cappella group as president (1997–1998) and musical director (1998–1999). Legend's lead vocals on the group's recording of
Joan Osborne's "
One of Us" propelled the song to critical acclaim
[9] landing the song on the track list of the 1998
Best of Collegiate a Cappella
compilation CD. While in college, Legend was introduced to
Lauryn Hill by a friend. Hill hired him to play piano on "
Everything Is Everything", a song from her album,
The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill
.
After graduating from the University of Pennsylvania, Legend began working as a
management consultant for the
Boston Consulting Group.
During this time, he began working on his
demo and began sending his work to various record labels.
In 2001,
Devo Springsteen introduced Legend to then up-and-coming recording artist
Kanye West; Legend was hired to sing during the
hooks of West's music. After signing to West's label, he chose his
stage name from a nickname that was given to him by a friend due to Legend's "old-school sound".
2004–2005: Get Lifted
Legend released his debut album,
Get Lifted
, in December 2004. It debuted at number seven on the
Billboard
200, selling 116,000 copies in its first week.
[12] It sold 2.1 million copies in the United States and was certified
Platinum by the
RIAA;
[13] [14] it sold three million copies worldwide.
The album produced two
singles: "
Ordinary People" (US and UK top 30) went straight to number one and "
Used to Love U" (US top 100,
UK top 30).
2006–2007: Once Again
The first single from his second album,
Once Again
, was "
Save Room". The album was released October 24, 2006, and boasts production from Kanye West,
Raphael Saadiq, and
will.i.am. In an interview with
MTV, Legend said that this album contained his favorite song that he had written to date, entitled "Again." He said he came up with the idea for the song and wrote some of it while sitting on a subway. He stated that the song was also the inspiration for the album's title.
In August 2006, Legend appeared in an episode of
Sesame Street
. He performed a song entitled "It Feels Good When You Sing a Song", a duet with
Hoots the Owl.
[15] He also performed during the pregame show of
Super Bowl XL
in Detroit and the halftime show at the
2006 NBA All-Star Game
.
[16] [17]
2008–present: Evolver
Legend released his third studio album
Evolver
, in October 2008.
[18] Rapper
Andre 3000 of
OutKast is featured on the first single of the album on a song titled "
Green Light". "It's going to be a surprise for a lot of John Legend fans, because it is a lot more upbeat than John is — than people think John is," Andre insisted. "I was actually happy to hear it. This is a cool John Legend song"
[19]. The next single from 'Evolver' has been confirmed as 'Everybody Knows'.
Collaborations
- In 2005, he was featured in the Fort Minor song "High Road".
- In 2006, he is also featured in Sérgio Mendes's collaboration album, Timeless
. Legend sang "Please Baby Don't". Additionally, He collaborate with Jay-z (for his Kingdome Come album) for the song "Take a ride with me".
- In 2007, John lent his vocals for the Rich Boy track "Ghetto Rich".
- John Legend collaborated with Colombian Rock artist Juanes at the 2008 Latin Grammys. Legend sang in Spanish along with Juanes, on the bilingual version of the song "Si tu estas ahi
" also known as "If You Are Out There
".
- He is featured in the Black Eyed Peas song, "Like That". The song "Ordinary People" was originally meant to be for a Black Eyed Peas project, but Legend decided to keep it for himself and recorded the song after he had been signed to Columbia Records.
- Legend was working with Michael Jackson on a future album. In a Dutch interview with reporter Tom Theunisz he was asked about this collaboration. His response was that he had written one song for the upcoming album, but was unsure about whether Jackson would be using it. [20]
- Legend also sang "The Girl is Mine" and the national anthem along with Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report
.
- Legend is featured on the sixth track, "Heartbreaker", of MSTRKRFT's second album Fist of God
.
- He collaborated with Fergie for her song "Finally" on her 2006 debut album "The Dutchess
".
- Legend is featured in T.I.'s song "Slide Show" on his album Paper Trail
.
- He is also featured in the song "Magnificent" by Rick Ross.
- Legend also collaborated with Reggae legend Buju Banton on the track 'Can't Be My Lover'. The track is one of the biggest mixes of R&B and Reggae/Dancehall in years.
- In 2009, Legend recorded a duet with Brazilian singer Ana Carolina called "Entre Olhares". He sings in English, and she sings in Portuguese.
Music videos and acting career
John Legend's cover of
Stevie Wonder's 1974 hit song
Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing appeared in Will Smith/Eva Mendes'
Hitch (film) and on the
soundtrack of the movie.
The 2007 video for his single, "
P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)", features
Alexandre Rodrigues and
Melvin Bragg from the critically acclaimed film,
City of God
.
Legend's songs in movies:
- "Refuge" appears on the soundtrack to the 2006 film The Second Chance
.
- "Dare to Dream" is in the 2007 movie Pride.
- "Someday" is part of the soundtrack to the 2007 film August Rush
.
Legend has a minor, non-speaking role in the 2008 movie
Soul Men where he plays the deceased lead singer of a fictitious soul group that includes
Samuel L. Jackson and
Bernie Mac.
Endeavors
Television appearances and commercials
- He performed "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch at the 2006 Major League Baseball All Star Game in Pittsburgh, PA. [21]
- He appeared on the season finale of Curb Your Enthusiasm
, singing a cover of You Don't Know Me. He also appeared on an episode of the television series "Las Vegas" in February 2007 performing his single "Save Room" solo at the end of the episode.
- In 2007, he performed with John Mayer and Corinne Bailey-Rae at the Grammy Awards. He later appeared with Bailey Rae in several live performances.
- Legend appears in a recent commercial for a Lexus SUV, in which Legend is shown listening to Nina Simone's "Backlash Blues" (recorded live in Paris, 1968, on The Great Show
LP) and describing his experience with the music. He is also notable for performing closing music in many of Apple Inc CEO Steve Jobs' keynote presentations.
- In January 2008, he sang in a video for Barack Obama produced by Will.I.Am called "Yes We Can
" [22].
- Legend performed "America The Beautiful" at WrestleMania XXIV on Sunday March 30, 2008 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida [23].
- In a 2008 Target commercial, Legend performed a piece of his song "Slow Dance" to pitch his new album "available exclusively at Target." The commercial was shown during online streaming episodes of NBC programs.
- Legend performed several numbers live in front of hundreds of thousands of fans during the July 4, 2008 celebration on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia.
- Legend performed at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver in September 2008.
- Legend appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher
on October 31, 2008. He was a member of the panel and performed "If You're Out There" at the end of the show.
- Legend appeared on CNN Heroes 2008, which was taped November 22, 2008, and was televised November 27, 2008.
- John Legend appeared to perform the song in duet with Colombian rock singer Juanes during the 9th Annual Latin Grammy Awards at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas on November 13, 2008. The version they performed was sang mostly in Spanish by both singers, with only a few lines in English.
- On Sunday, January 18, 2009, he performed at the We Are One:The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, singing James Taylor's "Shower the People" with James Taylor and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland.
- On Friday, February 13, 2009, he was a guest and performed on the The Ellen DeGeneres Show. John performed his song, "Everybody Knows" from his album, Evolver.
- Legend performed at the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition Launch party at LAX in Las Vegas on February 12, 2009.
- Legend performed at the 2009 NBA All-Star Game Halftime show on February 15, 2009
- John Legend made an appearance on 106 & Park, and brought his new video "Everybody Knows" on Feb. 18, 2009.
- Legend performed at the 81st Academy Awards on February 22, 2009, singing Down to Earth (Peter Gabriel song) nominated for Best Original Song [24] [25].
- On an episode of The Colbert Report
which aired March 7, 2008, Legend performed "The Girl Is Mine" with Stephen Colbert. It was a remake of the Michael Jackson/Paul McCartney hit. Legend returned to The Colbert Report
on April 14, 2008, performing "The Star-Spangled Banner" with Stephen Colbert, opening the show's week in Philadelphia. He later appeared in Colbert's Christmas special A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All
, where he performed an ode to nutmeg.
- On Sunday, May 17, 2009, Legend was the commencement speaker for the University of Pennsylvania's 2009 graduation ceremonies. Amy Goodman happened to be in the audience, and she televised the speech the following Tuesday, May 19, 2009 on Democracy Now!
. [26].
- On Friday, June 12, 2009 Legend co-hosted ESPN's Mike and Mike in the Morning on the ESPN2/ESPN Radio simulcast with Mike Greenberg. Legend sat in for Mike Golic.
Charities and endorsements
On 7 July 2007, Legend participated in the
Live Earth concert in London, performing "
Ordinary People". On July 8, 2007, he participated in the
Montreux Jazz Festival in
Montreux,
Switzerland, with
India.Arie. On July 11, 2007, he participated in the Jazz Open Festival in
Stuttgart,
Germany, with
Amy Winehouse.
On September 21, 2008, Legend performed at the Royal Albert Hall in London, UK in conjunction with the Peace One Day concert. He sang Green Light, and If You're Out There.
Legend recently launched
The Show Me Campaign
,
[27] through which his fans are encouraged to donate funds toward improving the living situations and prospects of victims of extreme poverty in Mbola, Tanzania. Legend, in early 2008, began touring with Professor Jeff Sachs of
Columbia University's
Earth Institute to promote
sustainable development as an achievable goal.
Legend returned to his hometown of Springfield, Ohio on
Christmas Eve 2007 for a "Coming Home Christmas Benefit Concert" in the auditorium of North High School. The performance featured several local talent from Springfield, including Legend's younger brother Vaughn Anthony Stephens who helped organize the concert. The performance also featured a tribute to
Jason Collier and proceeds went to a
scholarship fund set up in his name for local high schoolers.
[28]
Legend is currently
[when?] a spokesperson for
Bailey's alcoholic beverage. He also spoke on behalf of The Polka Dotz at Milwaukee's 2008
German Fest.
Legend performed and spoke at his
alma mater, the
University of Pennsylvania, on behalf of the
Barack Obama Presidential campaign in April 2008.
[29] He later performed "
If You're Out There" from the album
Evolver
and a duet of Will.i.am's "Yes we can" at the
2008 Democratic National Convention in
Denver, Colorado.
Legend performed a half-hour set list in support of Barack Obama in his hometown of Springfield, as well as at
The Ohio State University and
Wright State University campuses on September 29, 2008.
Legend will contribute a share of the proceeds of some tickets for his August 13, 2009 concert at
Madison Square Garden to
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
Philanthropy
After reading Professor
Jeffrey Sachs' book,
The End of Poverty
, Legend was inspired to visit
Ghana to learn more about making life better for the people who live under the poverty line. This is when he started his "Show Me Campaign" in 2007. With this campaign, Legend is calling on his fans to help him in his initiative for those who reside in Bossaso Village and
non-profit organizations that the campaign partners with.
thumb
In 2007, Legend became the spokesman for
GQ Magazine's "Gentlemen's Fund", an initiative to raise support and awareness for five cornerstones essential to men: opportunity, health, education, environment, and justice.
In May 2007, Legend partnered with
Tide laundry detergent to raise awareness about the need of families in
St. Bernard Parish, one of the most devastated areas hit by
Hurricane Katrina. He spent a day folding laundry at the
Tide "clean start" mobile laundromat and visited homes that Tide is helping to rebuild in that community.
In October 2007, Legend became involved with a project sponsored by
The Gap, a
retail clothing store chain in the United States. Through their "project red campaign", (also called 2 WEEKS). The Gap's contribution to their global fund from the sale of each (2 WEEKS) t-shirt is equivalent to the average cost of 2 weeks of
anti-retroviral medicine in Africa, which enables people living with
HIV to lead healthy, normal lives.
Legend is also the National spokesperson for and has performed benefit concerts for "Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT). MLT is a national non-profit organization that has made ground-breaking progress assisting the next generation of
African American,
Hispanic and
Native American leaders in major corporations, non-profit organizations and entrepreneurial ventures.
Fan appreciation
On July 26, 2007, Legend hosted a John Legend Network Members Only Party and Concert called "The Kings & Queens Bash" at the Kimmel Center in
Philadelphia. There were 500 participants in attendance and he introduced the acts from his new label, Homeschool Records to his John Legend Network fans:
Estelle, his brother, Vaughn Anthony Stephens,
Lucy Woodward and
The James Gang.
On July 25, 2008, at the Highline Ballroom in
New York City,
[30] John Legend planned another annual private event for his fans that are members of the John Legend Network called "John Legend Unplugged". Legend performed a 21-song set list, including a lot of the new songs that will be on his upcoming album,
Evolver
, so John Legend Network members were the first to hear the new songs. After the party, John greeted each individual on their way out and took pictures with fans.
Discography
- Get Lifted
(2004)
- Once Again
(2006)
- Evolver
(2008)
Filmography
| Television
|
| Year
| Title
| Role
| Notes
|
| 2006
| Sesame Street
| Himself
|
| 2007
| Curb Your Enthusiasm
| Himself/Performer
| Season 6 Finale, 'The Bat Mitzvah
|
| 2008
| A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All
| Forest Ranger
| Christmas Special
|
| Film
|
| Year
| Title
| Role
| Notes
|
| 2008
| Sesame Street: Elmo Loves You!
| Himself
|
| Soul Men
| Marcus Hooks
|
See also
- List of awards and nominations received by John Legend
References
- Songwriters Hall of Fame
- John Legend - Biography
- Soul savior?
- Legend in his own lunchtime
- Spotlight: John Legend
- Singer/songwriter John Legend got early start
- Music; What Becomes John Legend Most?
- The Best New Artist Is Already a Legend
- RARB REVIEW
- Kanye's Hook Singer, John Legend, Ready For The Spotlight
- John Legend: Legend in his lifetime
- 'Encore' Enjoys Another Week At No. 1
- Legend Seeking Ad Savvy For New Album
- RIAA - Gold & Platinum
- Legend, Foxx Hangin' on 'Sesame Street'
- For The Record: Quick News On R. Kelly, Jamie Foxx, Green Day, Hilary Duff, Diddy, Tommy Lee & More
- John Legend and Carrie Underwood Set for All-Star Halftime Show
- Remembering Martin Luther King Jr. with John Legend
- Andre 3000 Says He Didn't Even Try To Top Will Ferrell's Comic Chops On 'Semi-Pro' Set
- interview
- Musical performers announced for Major League Baseball All-Star Week
- Yes We Can — Barack Obama Music Video
- WWE SmackDown! February 29, 2008 Results
- 'Slumdog' Sweeps Music Oscars
- Oscars: “Slumdog” Scores Best Picture and Music Category Sweep, Penn Wins Best Actor
- Grammy-Winning Soul Musician John Legend at UPenn Commencement: “A Commitment to Truth Requires a Commitment to Social Justice”
- The Show Me Campaign
- John Legend home for Christmas concert
- A Penn Legend serenades campus
- Official Site=Ticket Announcement