Where is John Legend from?
Legend was born John Roger Stephens on December 28, 1978, in Springfield, Ohio. He is one of four children of Phyllis Elaine (née Lloyd), a seamstress, and Ronald Lamar Stephens, a factory worker at International Harvester (now Navistar ). 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. He began playing the piano at age 4. At the age of 7, he performed with his church choir. Because of his academic talent, he skipped two grades.
After J. Ivy continued to call him by the new moniker “John Legend”, others quickly caught on, including Kanye West. Despite Stephens’ reluctance to adopt a stage name, he eventually announced his new artist name as John Legend.
Legend released his debut album, Get Lifted , on GOOD Music in December 2004. It featured production by Kanye West, Dave Tozer, and will.i.am, and debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard 200, selling 116,000 copies in its first week. It went on to sell 540,300 copies in the United States and was certified gold by the RIAA. An international success, Get Lifted also reached number one on the Norwegian Albums Chart and peaked within the top ten in the Netherlands and Sweden, resulting in worldwide sales of 850,000 copies. Critically acclaimed, it won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, and earned Legend another two nominal awards for Best New Artist and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Altogether, the album produced four singles, including debut single ” Used to Love U “, which entered the top 30 of the New Zealand and UK Singles Chart, and Grammy Award-winning ” Ordinary People ” which peaked at 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. Legend also co-wrote Janet Jackson ‘s ” I Want You “, which was certified platinum and received a nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards.
After graduating from college, Legend worked as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and began producing, writing, and recording his own music. He released two albums independently: his self-titled demo (2000) and Live at Jimmy’s Uptown (2001), which he sold at his shows. He subsequently began working on his demo and began sending his work to various record labels.
Also in 2017 Legend donated $500,000 to Springfield City School District to renovate an auditorium, which is named in his honor, within the Springfield Center of Innovation. He performed at the John Legend Theater on October 9, 2016.
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 also won eleven Grammy Awards. In 2017, Legend received a Tony Award for co-producing Jitney for the Broadway stage.
Legend was granted an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Howard University at the 144th Commencement Exercises on Saturday, May 12, 2012. Legend was a judge on the ABC music show Duets along with Kelly Clarkson, Jennifer Nettles, and Robin Thicke.
How old is John Legend?
Legend is actually a nickname, and the story as to how the 39-year-old crooner was dubbed “Legend” goes back a couple of years . . . back to his early career, after graduating from the University of Pennsylvania. Back in 1999, John (who was Stephens at the time) was actually working as a management consultant.
Others change their names along the way for more pizzazz like, Lana Del Ray (born Elizabeth Grant) or Emma Stone (born Emily Jean Stone). The biggest surprise however is when you learn that one of your favorite celebrity’s real name is NOT the name you’ve known them as . . . like John Legend. While John Legend sounded like a made-up name …
Who Is John Legend?
John Legend is a musician and songwriter who has worked with such artists as Alicia Keys, Twista, Janet Jackson and Kanye West. Legend’s debut album, 2004’s Get Lifted, won three Grammy Awards. After two more solo albums, he released his collaboration with the Roots, Wake Up!, in 2010. Legend also appeared on the TV competition Duets as a coach before dropping his next album, 2013’s Love in the Future. The artist shared an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Grammy with Common for their song “Glory,” from the 2014 film Selma, and later received an Emmy for his performance in the 2018 production of Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.
Legend was born John Roger Stephens on December 28, 1978, in Springfield, Ohio. A child prodigy, Legend’s grandmother taught him how to play the piano, and he grew up singing in the church choir. He went on to attend the University of Pennsylvania, where he directed a co-ed a cappella group.
1 ballad “All of Me” as well as tracks like “Made to Love” and “You & I (Nobody in the World).” In 2015, the songwriter, along with rapper Common, won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song—“Glory” —from the film Selma. The tune also won a Grammy and an Academy Award, with both artists using their Oscar acceptance speeches to highlight contemporary issues that connected to the Civil Rights Movement.
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He is a supporter of the Harlem Village Academies, a New York City organization that runs several charter schools. Legend serves as a vice-chairman on the HVA board.
Legend’s debut album, 2004’s Get Lifted, went platinum thanks in part to the hit single “Ordinary People,” a song he originally penned for the Black Eyed Peas. He went home with three Grammy Awards for Get Lifted: for best R&B album, best R&B male vocal performance and best new artist.
They tied the knot in September 2013 in Italy. On April 14, 2016, the pair welcomed their first child, a daughter named Luna Simone. On May 16, 2018, they announced the arrival of baby No. 2, son Miles Theodore Stephens.
On September 9, 2018, Legend made history as the youngest person ever — and the first African American man — to join the exclusive EGOT club. (EGOT stands for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.) Legend, along with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, shared the Outstanding Live Variety Special Emmy for Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.
Where was John Legend born?
The successful singer we know as John Legend — who now has a stunning net worth — was born John Roger Stephens on December 28, 1978, in Springfield, Ohio, and he learned to play piano at a very early age. As a child, he honed that incredible voice with the church choir, …
“The first guy to call me that was J. Ivy. He’s a spoken word artist from Chicago.
“We were all in the studio together. He just started calling me ‘The Legend’ because he thought I sounded like one of our old school soul legends.
A partnership was born and the man known as John Roger Stephens was on his way in the music business (via Biography). And that’s when a nickname was born that …
legend. The singer of those swoon-inducing love songs seems to have the perfect name for the world of show business, especially with legendary tunes like “All Of Me,” “Conversations in the Dark,” and “Ordinary People”. However, John Legend is not the singer’s real name. In fact, his actual name is something much more ordinary.
