Early Life
Born John Roger Stephens, John Legend comes from Springfield, Ohio. He was born on December 28, 1978. He started doing music as a little boy, growing up as a singer in the local church choir while his grandma taught him to play the piano.
He was considered to be a child prodigy with an immense talent for music. He directed a co-ed acapella group at the University of Pennsylvania before moving to New York City, where he performed in nightclubs.
That’s where Legend met Kanye West, an up-and-coming hip-hop artist who helped Legend launch his career. The two artists collaborated on each other’s demo tapes and became friends shortly after. For John Legend, everything started with his debut album.
He released his first full-length studio album, Get Lifted, in 2004. The album contained the hit, Ordinary People. The single went viral, earning him three GRAMMY Awards for the Best New Artist, Best R&B Male Vocal Performance, and Best R&B Album.
In 2006, Legend released Once Again, his sophomore album, which made him a mainstream star. 2006 saw Legend performing at the most significant events of his life, such as the Major League Baseball All-Star Game, the NBA All-Star Game in Pittsburgh, and Super Bowl XL in Detroit.
Career
After such an immensely successful career start, Legend continued at the same pace. He released several more albums, but it was his 2008 effort, Evolver, that helped him seal the deal as a rising R&B star. The album featured another monster hit, Green Light.
Legend collaborated with Andre 3000 on this one, and the song quickly charted at the top of various R&B/hip-hop charts. This led the star to step off the stage for a while and try his talents in front of the cameras.
Legend appeared on the big screen as a supporting role in the comedy Soul Men, alongside movie stars Samuel L. Jackson and Bernie Mac. He continued with his musical career by releasing his 2010 album Wake Up! which was a collaboration with the popular band, The Roots.
The album was very well accepted by media and fans, and some of the most famous artists such as Nina Simone and Marvin Gaye praised it as a real masterpiece. In the following years, Legend continued to release successful albums, including music for Quentin Tarantino’s movie Django Unchained.
John Legend’s Relationships: Who Has He Dated
While music is his true passion, Legend is a man with great respect for privacy and family. Outside of music and show business, Legend is known as a man of charity and social causes. He’s also a vice-chairman on the HVA board while being a massive supporter of charter schools and other charitable and social institutions.
The reason behind all this is the fact that Legend grew up in a neighborhood where 50% of local kids dropped out of school. He felt he needed to raise awareness and commit his career to education reform.
As for his love life, little is known about Legend’s adventures and whereabouts.
His wife, Chrissy Teigen, is a model, and the two love birds got engaged in late 2011. They decided to make it official in 2013. The pair was blessed with a child in 2016 and another one in 2018. So far, his string of public relationships only includes his current wife.
In the News
As for the gossip surrounding John Legend, there’s not much to say as he is a private person, avoiding scandals and such things. However, we did manage to come up with a rather interesting fact.
Legend is the youngest person ever, and the first African American man to join the exclusive EGOT club, which is an artist that has won an Emmy, GRAMMY, Oscar, and Tony.
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