John Legend

John Legend released his debut studio album, ‘Get Lifted,’ in December 2004, which achieved commercial success, reaching the top ten on the Billboard 200 and earning double platinum certification. The album, featuring the international hit ‘Ordinary People,’ secured him three Grammy Awards in 2006 for Best New Artist, Best R&B Album, and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. This success followed his signing as the first artist to Kanye West’s GOOD Music label in 2004, after contributing to West’s projects and providing piano and backing vocals for artists such as Lauryn Hill and Alicia Keys since 2001. Prior to his major label debut, Legend independently released demo albums ‘John Stephens’ (2000) and ‘Live at Jimmy’s Uptown’ (2001).

In 2017, Legend expanded his accolades by winning a Tony Award for co-producing the Broadway revival of August Wilson’s ‘Jitney.’ This achievement led to his historic EGOT status in 2018, making him the first Black male to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award, recognizing his multifaceted contributions as both a producer and performer. The same year, Legend took on the title role in NBC’s live television musical ‘Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.’ In 2019, he joined the coaching panel of NBC’s ‘The Voice,’ the same year he was named People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive. He released his album ‘Bigger Love’ in 2020 and received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music. In 2021, Legend signed with Republic Records, and in 2022, he launched the music-based NFT platform OurSong while also releasing his eighth studio album, ‘Legend.’