John Legend

January 4, 2020

He’s a singer, songwriter, producer, actor, and philanthropist.

Signed a few years on Kanye’s Label “G.O.O.D Music” , his debut album, Get Lifted, (2004) he had collaborated with already established artists and signed to Kanye West‘s GOOD Music. He has sung on Jay-Z‘s “Encore“, Alicia Keys‘s “You Don’t Know My Name“, Dilated Peoples‘ “This Way”, Slum Village‘s “Selfish”, Fort Minor‘s “High Road”, and played piano on Lauryn Hill‘s “Everything Is Everything“. His single “All of Me” from his fourth studio album Love in the Future (2013) was a Billboard Hot 100 number-one hit.

This Year he comes back with 2 new songs : “Actions” which samples the intro of Dre & Snoop 2000’s hit “The Next Episode” , and “Bigger Love” .

This Is John Legend .

John Roger Stephens was born at December 28, 1978 ,in Springfield, Ohio^.^{^{He is one of four children}}^{of Phyllis Elaine (Lloyd), a seamstress, and Ronald Lamar Stephens, a factory worker at International Harvester. His father was a drummer, while “his mother sang and directed the church choir, and his grandmother was the church organist.” In 2004, Legend stated that his parents were divorced for 12 years before reuniting. Legend was homeschooled by his mother.At the age of four, he performed with his church choir. He began playing the piano at age seven. Because of his academic talent, he skipped two grades.}

At the age of 12, Legend attended Springfield North High School, from which he graduated as salutatorian of his class four years later.Legend was offered admission to Harvard University and scholarships to Georgetown University and Morehouse College ;he ultimately decided to attend the University of Pennsylvania.

During college, Legend served as the president and musical director the co-ed jazz and pop a cappella group The Counterparts. His lead vocals on the group’s recording of Joan Osborne‘s “One of Us” (written by fellow Penn alum Eric Bazilian of The Hooters) received critical acclaim, landing the song on the track list of the 1998 Best of Collegiate a Cappella compilation CD. Legend was also a member of the Sphinx Senior Society and Onyx Senior Honor Society. 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^.^{He graduated}magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis on ^{African-American literature}^{^{in 1999.}}

Discography

Studio albums

Get Lifted (2004)
Once Again (2006)
Evolver (2008)
Love in the Future (2013)
Darkness and Light (2016)
A Legendary Christmas (2018)

Collaborations

Wake Up! (with the Roots) (2010)
Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (Original Soundtrack of the NBC Television Event) (live album from ”Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert”) (2018)
Written In The Stars (with Wendy from Red Velvet) (2018)

Tours

Get Lifted Tour (2005)
Once Again Tour (2007)
Evolver Tour (2009)
Love in The Future World Tour (2014)
Darkness and Light World Tour (2017)
Bigger Love Tour (2020)

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2006	Sesame Street	Himself
2007	Curb Your Enthusiasm	Himself	Episode: “The Bat Mitzvah”
2007	Las Vegas	Himself	Episode: “Wagers of Sin”
2008	A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All	Forest Ranger
2009	The People Speak	Himself	Documentary
2010	Dancing with the Stars	Himself/Performer
2011	Royal Pains	Himself	“Listen to the Music”
2015	The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon	Himself/Performer	Performed with Meghan Trainor
2015	Hollywood Game Night	Himself/Contestant	1 episode
2015–present	Lip Sync Battle	Himself	6 episodes
2016–2017	Underground	N/A	Producer
2017	The Nightly Show with Gordon Ramsay	Himself	1 episode
	Master of None	Himself	Episode: “The Dinner Party”
	Carpool Karaoke: The Series	Himself	Episode: “Alicia Keys & John Legend”
2018	Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert	Jesus Christ	Also executive producer
2018	A Legendary Christmas with John and Chrissy	Himself
2019–present	The Voice	Himself/Coach	Season 16-18
2019	Songland	Himself	Episode: “John Legend”
	Ask the StoryBots	The King of Music	Episode: “How do you make music?”
	Celebrity Family Feud	Himself	Episode: “John Legend and Chrissy Teigen vs. the cast of Vanderpump Rules”
2020	This Is Us	Himself	Episode: “Light and Shadows”
2020	The Simpsons	Himself	Voice; Episode: “The Miseducation of Lisa Simpson”

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	Sesame Street: Elmo Loves You!	Himself
2008	Soul Men	Marcus Hooks
2012	The Savoy King: Chick Webb & the Music That Changed America	Duke Ellington	Voice role
2016	Southside with You	N/A	Producer
2016	La La Land	Keith	Also co-wrote/performed “Start a Fire” for film’s soundtrack
2017	Crow: The Legend	Crow	Voice role, Also executive producer^[83]
2019	Between Two Ferns: The Movie	Himself
2020	Jingle Jangle	N/A	Producer