John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer and songwriter. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything Is Everything", and making uncredited guest appearances on Jay-Z's "Encore" and Alicia Keys's "You Don't Know My Name". He was the first artist signed to Kanye West's GOOD Music, on which he released his debut album Get Lifted (2004), which reached the top ten on the Billboard 200 and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Legend received nine nominations at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, including nominations for the singles "So High" with Lauryn Hill and "Ordinary People", with the latter song winning for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. The album also earned him awards for Best New Artist and Best R&B Album. His second studio album Once Again (2006), spawned the single "Save Room", and became his second top ten album on the Billboard 200 chart. The lead single from his third album Evolver (2008), "Green Light" featuring André 3000, reached the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the RIAA. In June 2008, he released the live album John Legend: Live from Philadelphia.
Legend would later collaborate with The Roots on the album Wake Up! (2010). His fourth studio album, Love in the Future (2013), spawned the single "All of Me". The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and has attained Diamond status, being certified 14× platinum by the RIAA. In 2015, he was featured on the single "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" by Meghan Trainor, which reached the top ten in the U.S. Legend has since released the albums Darkness and Light (2016), A Legendary Christmas (2018). In 2020 Legend published his seventh studio album Bigger Love, which won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, and in 2022 the double album Legend.
In 2007, Legend received the Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Legend won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and Golden Globe Award in 2015 for co-writing the song "Glory" from the film Selma. He has received a total of twelve Grammy Awards. In 2017, Legend won a Tony Award for co-producing Jitney for the Broadway stage. In 2018, Legend portrayed Jesus Christ in NBC's adaptation of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. He received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his acting role, and won for his role as a producer of the show, making him the first black man and second youngest person to have won all four of the major American entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT). Legend is also the recipient of the NAACP's President's Award. Legend has been featured as a coach on The Voice from its sixteenth season to its twenty-second season, and again from its twenty-fourth season.
