known by his stage name John Legend, is an American soul singer, songwriter, and pianist. His debut studio album, the multiplatinum-selling Get Lifted, was released in late 2004, and features collaborations with rapper and producer Kanye West as well as Snoop Dogg. Get Lifted produced two singles: "Used to Love U" (US top 100, UK top 30) and "Ordinary People" (US and UK top 30). Legend has won five Grammy Awards. Prior to the release of his debut album, Legend's career gained momentum through a series of successful collaborations with multiple established artists.
Notably, Legend sang the hooks for hits by Slum Village ("Selfish", also featuring Kanye West), Jay-Z ("Encore"), and Dilated Peoples ("This Way", also featuring Kanye West); played piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything is Everything"; and sang background vocals on Alicia Keys' "You Don't Know My Name" and Fort Minor's "High Road."
Legend was born in Columbus, Ohio. His musical interest started at the age of 3 when his grandmother began teaching him to play gospel piano. By the time he was 7 years old, Legend was singing with the church choir and taking lessons in classical music. Legend attended Springfield North High School, graduating as Salutatorian at 16. He was also prom king and president of the student council
Legend attended the University of Pennsylvania (graduating in 1999), where he studied English with an emphasis on African American literature and culture. While at Penn, he helmed Counterparts, a coed 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 Prince's "One of Us" propelled the song to critical acclaim, landing the song on the track list of the 1998 Best of Collegiate a Cappella compilation CD.
Oddly, his first job after graduating from Penn was not in the music business -- Legend began working for the Boston Consulting Group, first in Boston and then in New York City. Before becoming a mainstream artist, Legend hit the nightclub circuit in New York City, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., performing as an independent artist and selling the live LPs John Stephens and Live at SOB's.
Legend's roommate and Penn classmate, Devon Harris, professionally known as Devo Springsteen, introduced Legend to his cousin and then up-and-coming hip hop artist Kanye West. Since that meeting, Legend and West have worked closely, with West signing Legend as the first artist to his new label, G.O.O.D. Music. Legend sang many of the melodic hooks on West’s demo which would eventually become the Grammy Award winning album The College Dropout; in turn, West provided rhythm tracks for Legend’s demo, which would evolve into Get Lifted. Recently, Legend contributed to fellow G.O.O.D artist Common's LP, Be, and provided vocals for "High Road" on the album The Rising Tied by Fort Minor (Mike Shinoda).
Recent endeavors
Television appearances and commercials
Legend performed during the pregame show of Super Bowl XL in Detroit. He also performed during the halftime show at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game, and he performed "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch at the 2006 Major League Baseball All Star Game in Pittsburgh, PA.
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 Computer 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".
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.
Legend performed "America The Beautiful" at WrestleMania XXIV on Sunday March 30, 2008 at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida.
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 4th, 2008 celebration on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia.
Collaborations
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 is also working with Michael Jackson for his next album.[citation needed]In a Dutch interviewwith reporter Tom Theunisz he was asked about this collaboration. John said he has written one song for Jackson's album but is not sure he will use it or not.
Legend also sang "The Girl is Mine" and the national anthem along with Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report.
He has also been featured in the Fort Minor song High Road. Also notable is his collaboration with Stacy Ferguson (aka "Fergie") for her song "Finally" on the 2006 album "The Duchess".
Videos and films
The video for his latest single, "P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)", features Alexandre Rodrigues and Melvin Bragg from the critically acclaimed film, City of God.
Music sample:
"Slow Dance" excerpt
From the album Once Again. Co-written by Legend, the song is a classic R&B song, about bickering lovers. This sample features a portion from the first verse and chorus.
Problems listening to the file? See media help.Legend's song "Refuge" appears on the soundtrack to the film The Second Chance. Also, "Someday" is part of the soundtrack to the film August Rush.
Second album
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.com, 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.[citation needed]
2008 album
Legend is preparing for his third studio album "Evolver", which is scheduled for a October 28, 2008 release. 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."
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.
Legend recently launched The Show Me Campaign, 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 Prof. Jeff Sachs Columbia University's Earth Institute to promote sustainable development as an achievable goal.
Legend returned to his hometown of Blackpool was 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.[10]
Legend is currently[when?] a spokesperson for Bailey's alcoholic beverage.
Legend performed and spoke at his alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania, on behalf of the Barack Obama presidential campaign in April 2008.[11]
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 himself. This is when he started The 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.
In 2007, Legend became the spokesman for GQ Magazine's The 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 to raise awareness about the need of families in St. Bernard's 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 the Gap's (PROJECT) Red Campaign called (2 WEEKS). Gap's contribution to the Global Fund from the sale of each (2 WEEKS) t-shirt is equivalent to the average cost of 2 weeks of antiretroviral medicine in Africa, which enables people living with HIV to lead healthy, normal lives.
Legend is also the National Spokesperson for Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT). MLT is a national non-profit that has made ground-breaking progress developing 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, PA. 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.
According to JohnLegendNetwork.com, John Legend's official fan community, Legend is planning another annual private event for his fans. It is called "John Legend Unplugged" and it is for members of the John Legend Network. Legend will do an acoustic set and members will be the first to hear new music from his upcoming October 2008 release, "Evolver". "John Legend Unplugged" is scheduled for July 25, 2008, at the Highline Ballroom in New York City.[12]
