John Legend | Success Story of the Melodious American Singer

John Roger Stephens, famously known by his stage name John Legend is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist. He was born on 28 December 1978 in Ohio, United States. He began his career by playing piano in Lauryn Hill’s Everything Is Everything. John’s debut album Get Lifted came out in 2004 and reached the top 10 on the Billboard 200. His song All Of Me came out in 2013 and is John Legend’s most successful song to date. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and has been certified 13× platinum by the RIAA. Since 2019, John has been a judge on the show The Voice.

Early Life

John Legend was born on 28 December 1978 in Springfield, Ohio, United States. He is the eldest of the four children born to Phyllis Elaine, a seamstress, and Ronald Lamar Stephens, a factory worker at International Harvester. 

He started playing at the age of four, and when he turned seven, John performed with the church choir for the first time. John was taught at home by his mother, and his academic talent allowed him to skip two grades. At 12, John Legend went to North High School in Springfield, Ohio, and graduated four years later.

While in college, John Legend met Lauryn Hill via a common friend. She hired him to play piano on Everything Is Everything, a song from her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in English in 1999.

Career Beginnings

After finishing college, John Legend started working management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Along with that, he began writing, producing, and recording his music. He was constantly working on his demo to send to various record labels.

John released his first independent album, a self-titled demo, in 2000, and the second one, Live At Jimmy’s Uptown, in 2001. Devo Springsteen introduced John Legen to Kanye West, and he was hired to sing hooks on Kanye’s songs. 

After signing to Kanye West’s label, GOOD Music, John chose his stage name as John Legend.

Breakthrough

In December 2004, John Legend’s debut album Get Lifted came out. It peaked at number 7 on Billboard 200 and sold more than 116,000 copies in its first week of release. The album earned John eight Grammy nominations. It won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album.

John Legen’s second album came out in October 2006. Released to significant commercial success, it reached number three on the Billboard 200 and debuted on top of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The album was certified platinum by RIAA in Netherlands, Italy, and UK. John did a performance of the song Heaven at the 2007 Grammy Awards.

Global Success

For the 2017 film Beauty and the Beast, John Legend and Ariana Grande performed a duet on the title track, a remake of the 1991 original version sung by Celine Dion and Peabo Bryson. He was also one of the few celebrities to appear in the documentary Surviving R. Kelly.

In 2020, John Legend announced his seventh studio album, Bigger Love. It came out on 19 June 2020. On 12 November 2021, Republic Records signed him.

John did a performance of the song Free at the 64th Grammy Awards as a tribute to the citizens of Ukraine who were affected by the Russio-Ukrainian War.

Personal Life

In 2006, John Legend met model Chrissy Teigen when she appeared in the music video of his song Stereo. The couple got engaged in December 2011 and married in Italy on 14 September 2013.

John’s hit song All Of Me was written and dedicated to her. The couple is the parents of a girl born in 2016 and a boy in 2018. In August 2022, they made an announcement via Chrissy’s account that they were expecting a fourth child.

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