John Legend: Difference between revisions
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==Biography== |
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Legend's career began 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 [[North High School (Springfield, Ohio)|Springfield North High School]], graduating as [[Salutatorian]] at 16. He was also prom king and president of the student council. |
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Legend attended the [[University of Pennsylvania]] (Class of 1999), where he studied [[English studies|English]] with an emphasis on [[African American literature]] and culture. While at [[Penn]], he helmed [[Penn Counterparts|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 [[Joan Osbourne]]'s "One of Us" propelled the song to critical acclaim<ref>[http://www.rarb.org/reviews/54.html]</ref>, landing it a coveted spot on the track list of the 1998 [[Best of Collegiate A Cappella]] compilation CD. |
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Oddly enough, his first job after graduating from Penn was not in the music business -- Legend began working for the [[Boston Consulting Group]] in Boston and then [[New York City]]. Before becoming a mainstream artist, Legend hit the nightclub circuit in New York City, [[Philadelphia, Pennsylvania|Philadelphia]], and [[Washington, D.C.]], performing as an independent artist and distributing live LPs such as ''John Stephens'' and ''Live at SOB's''. |
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It was John Legend's roommate and former Penn classmate, Devon Harris, professionally known as [[Devo Springsteen]], who introduced Legend to his cousin and then up-and-coming hip hop artist [[Kanye West]]. Since that meeting, Legend and West have worked closely together, with West signing Legend as the first artist to join 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 (rapper)|Common]]'s LP, ''[[Be (Common album)|Be]]'', and provided vocals for "High Road" on the album ''[[The Rising Tied]]'' by [[Fort Minor]] ([[Mike Shinoda]]). |
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==Recent endeavors== |
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Legend performed during the pregame show of [[Super Bowl XL]] in Detroit.<ref>[http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1521221/20060119/kelly_r.jhtml?headlines=true For The Record: Quick News On R. Kelly, Jamie Foxx, Green Day, Hilary Duff, Diddy, Tommy Lee & More] - MTV News</ref> He also performed during the halftime show at the [[2006 NBA All-Star Game]],<ref>[http://www.nba.com/allstar2006/Legend_Underwood_060215.html John Legend and Carrie Underwood Set for All-Star Halftime Show] - NBA</ref> and he performed "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch at the 2006 Major League Baseball All Star Game in Pittsburgh, PA.<ref>[http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20060629&content_id=1529530&vkey=pr_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb Musical performers announced for Major League Baseball All-Star Week] - Major League Baseball</ref> |
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also he performed at the Grammy Awards. |
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He is also featured in the [[Black Eyed Peas]] song "[[Like That]]". The song "[[Ordinary People (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. |
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Legend also appears on the soundtrack to the film ''[[The Second Chance]]'' with the song "Refuge". |
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The first single from his second album, ''[[Once Again (John Legend 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]]. |
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In an interview with MTV.com, Legend said the new album would contain his favorite song that he has written to date, entitled "Again." He said he actually 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. |
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The video for his latest single, "P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)", features [[Alexandre Rodrigues]] and [[Alice Braga]] from the critically acclaimed film, ''[[City of God (film)|City of God]]''. |
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Legend recently launched [[the Show Me Campaign]]<ref>http://www.showmecampaign.org/</ref>, through which his fans are encouraged to donate funds toward improving the living situations and prospects of the poor in Ghana. |
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John Legend is also rumored to be working on [[Michael Jackson]]'s [[Michael Jackson's forthcoming studio album|next album]]. |
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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'' [[Gramophone record|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. |
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On [[7 July]] [[2007 in music|2007]] Legend participated in the [[Live Earth concert, London|Live Earth concert in London]], performing Ordinary People. |
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On [[July 8]], [[2007]], John Legend participated in the [[Montreux Jazz Festival]] in [[Montreux]], [[Switzerland]], with artist [[India.Arie]]. |
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On [[July 11]], [[2007]], John Legend participated in the [[Jazz Open Festival]] in [[Stuttgart]], [[Germany]], with support act [[Amy Winehouse]]. |
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On [[July 26]], [[2007]], John Legend hosted a [http://www.johnlegendnetwork.com/ 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 [http://www.johnlegendnetwork.com/ John Legend Network] fans: [[Estelle]], [[Vaughn Anthony]], Lucy Woodwards and The James Gang. Nikki Jean, a local Philadelphia artist also performed. A highlight was John Legend's rendition of the hit song Ordinary People which he performed with jazz harmonicist Frédéric Yonnet. The John Legend Network facilated a contest where a fan could win a chance to sing "King & Queen" with John Legend (the duet that John Legend recorded with [[Mary J. Blige]]) and the winner was Dorothy Saintus of Crest Hill, Illinois, where she and John Legend performed the duet live in front of everyone there. |
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==Discography== |
==Discography== |
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Revision as of 18:53, 5 September 2007
Template:Infobox musical artist 2
John Legend (born John Stephens, 28 December 1978, Columbus, Ohio) is an R&B singer, songwriter, and pianist. His debut studio album, the platinum-selling Get Lifted, was released in late 2004, and features collaborations with rap artist and producer Kanye West as well as rapper Snoop Dogg. Get Lifted produced two singles: "Used to Love U" (U.S. top 100, UK top 30) and "Ordinary People" (U.S. 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 more 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"); 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."
Biography
Legend's career began 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 (Class of 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 Joan Osbourne's "One of Us" propelled the song to critical acclaim[1], landing it a coveted spot on the track list of the 1998 Best of Collegiate A Cappella compilation CD.
Oddly enough, his first job after graduating from Penn was not in the music business -- Legend began working for the Boston Consulting Group in Boston and then 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 distributing live LPs such as John Stephens and Live at SOB's.
It was John Legend's roommate and former Penn classmate, Devon Harris, professionally known as Devo Springsteen, who introduced Legend to his cousin and then up-and-coming hip hop artist Kanye West. Since that meeting, Legend and West have worked closely together, with West signing Legend as the first artist to join 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
Legend performed during the pregame show of Super Bowl XL in Detroit.[2] He also performed during the halftime show at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game,[3] and he performed "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch at the 2006 Major League Baseball All Star Game in Pittsburgh, PA.[4] also he performed at the Grammy Awards.
He is also 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 also appears on the soundtrack to the film The Second Chance with the song "Refuge".
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 the new album would contain his favorite song that he has written to date, entitled "Again." He said he actually 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.
The video for his latest single, "P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)", features Alexandre Rodrigues and Alice Braga from the critically acclaimed film, City of God.
Legend recently launched the Show Me Campaign[5], through which his fans are encouraged to donate funds toward improving the living situations and prospects of the poor in Ghana.
John Legend is also rumored to be working on Michael Jackson's next album.
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.
On 7 July 2007 Legend participated in the Live Earth concert in London, performing Ordinary People.
On July 8, 2007, John Legend participated in the Montreux Jazz Festival in Montreux, Switzerland, with artist India.Arie.
On July 11, 2007, John Legend participated in the Jazz Open Festival in Stuttgart, Germany, with support act Amy Winehouse.
On July 26, 2007, John 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, Vaughn Anthony, Lucy Woodwards and The James Gang. Nikki Jean, a local Philadelphia artist also performed. A highlight was John Legend's rendition of the hit song Ordinary People which he performed with jazz harmonicist Frédéric Yonnet. The John Legend Network facilated a contest where a fan could win a chance to sing "King & Queen" with John Legend (the duet that John Legend recorded with Mary J. Blige) and the winner was Dorothy Saintus of Crest Hill, Illinois, where she and John Legend performed the duet live in front of everyone there.
Discography
Studio albums
| Album Information |
|---|
Get Lifted
|
Once Again
|
* Untitled Third Studio Album ( 2007)
Live albums
- 2001: Live At Jimmy's Uptown
- 2002: Live At SOB's
- 2003: Solo Sessions Vol. 1: Live At The Knitting Factory
- 2006: John Legend: Live at the House of Blues
- 2007: John Legend: Live at the Tin Angel
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US 100[6] | US R&B/Hip-Hop[7] | UK Singles[8] | |||
| 2004 | Used to Love U | 74 | 32 | 29 | Get Lifted |
| 2005 | Ordinary People | 24 | 4 | 27 | |
| 2005 | Number One (featuring Kanye West) | - | 86 | 62 | |
| 2005 | So High | - | 53 | 118 [9] | |
| 2006 | Save Room | 61 | 17 | - | Once Again |
| 2006 | Heaven | 112 | 26 | - | |
| 2007 | P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care) [10] | - | - | 196 | |
| 2007 | Another Again | - | 47 | - | |
| 2007 | Stereo | - | - | - | |
Guest appearances
Other appearances
- 1998: The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill - Lauryn Hill ("Everything is Everything") (pianist)
- 2003: Elephunk - Black Eyed Peas ("The Boogie That Be") (as a lead vocalist and co-writer)
- 2003: "You Don't Know My Name" - Alicia Keys (vocals & Pianist)
- 2003: Be - Common - ("They Say") (vocals)
- 2004: "If I Ain't Got You" (Kanye West Remix) - Alicia Keys (as a co-writer, pianist and vocalist)
- 2004: "I Want You - Janet Jackson (as a co-writer and pianist)
- 2004: The College Dropout - Kanye West ("Graduation", "Jesus Walks", "Never Let Me Down" featuring Jay-Z and J Ivy, "Slow Jamz", "Family Business","Last Call") (as a pianist and cameo appearances in the videos for "Slow Jamz" and "The New Workout Plan")
- 2004: The Beautiful Struggle - Talib Kweli ("I Try" featuring Mary J. Blige) (as a co-writer, pianist and vocalist)
- 2004: "Around My Way" - Talib Kweli (lead vocalist and pianist)
- 2004: "Overnight Celebrity" - Twista (pianist)
- 2005: Late Registration - Kanye West ("Hey Mama", "Celebration")
- 2006: DJ Khaled - Listenn - Kanye West ("Grammy Family")
- 2006: "Young Man" - Talib Kweli presents Blacksmith: The Movement (background vocals)
- 2007: Between Raising Hell and Amazing Grace - Big & Rich ("Eternity (Intro)")
Appearances on mixtapes
- 2003: I'm Good - Kanye West ("Intro" featuring John Legend)
- 2003: "Got Nowhere" (Remix) - Kanye West
- 2003: "Last Night" featuring John Legend - Kanye West
- 2003: Get Well Soon - Kanye West ("Home" featuring John Legend - uncredited)
- 2004: "Used to Love U" (Remix) featuring Naledge - John Legend
- 2006: "Do What I Gotta Do" - John Legend [The Good Life Mixtape]
- 2006: "Back In The Day" - The Last Poets featuring John Legend [The Good Life Mixtape]
- 2006: "So High (Cloud 9 Remix)" - John Legend featuring Lauryn Hill [The Good Life Mixtape]
- 2006: "All Falls Down (Live)" - Kanye West featuring John Legend [The Good Life Mixtape]
Awards/Nominations
- American Music Awards
- 2005, Favorite Male R&B/Soul Artist: (Nominated)
- BET Awards
- 2007, Best Male R&B Artist (Nominated)
- 2005, Best New Artist: (Winner)
- 2005, Best Male R&B Artist: (Nominated)
- 2005, Video of the Year: Ordinary People (Nominated)
- Grammy Awards
- 2007, Best Male R&B Vocal Performance: Heaven (Winner)
- 2007, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group: Family Affair (Winner)
- 2007, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance: Save Room (Nominated)
- 2006, Best New Artist: (Winner)
- 2006, Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group: So High (Nominated)
- 2006, Best R&B Album: Get Lifted (Winner)
- 2006, Best Traditional R&B Vocal Performance: Stay With You (Nominated)
- 2006, Best R&B Male Vocal Performance: Ordinary People (Winner)
- 2006, Best R&B Song: Ordinary People (Nominated)
- 2006, Song of the Year: Ordinary People (Nominated)
- 2006, Best Rap/Sung Collaboration: They Say (Nominated)
- MOBO Award
- 2005, Best Video: "Ordinary People" (Nominated)
- 2005, Best R&B Act: (Winner)
- 2005, Best Album: Get Lifted (Nominated)
- MTV Video Music Awards
- 2005, Best Male Video: "Ordinary People" (Nominated)
- 2005, Best New Artist: "Ordinary People" (Nominated)
- 2005, Best R&B Video: "Ordinary People" (Nominated)
- Soul Train Awards
- 2007, Best R&B/Soul Single Male: Save Room (Winner)
- 2007, Best R&B/Soul Album Male: Once Again (Nominated)
- 2006, Best R&B/Soul Single Male: Ordinary People (Winner)
- 2006, Best R&B/Soul Album Male: Get Lifted (Winner)
- 2005, Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist: Used to Love U (Nominated)
- Vibe Awards
- 2005, Best R&B Song: "Ordinary People" (Nominated)
- 2005, Album of the Year: Get Lifted (Nominated)
- 2005, Artist of the Year: (Nominated)
- 2005, R&B Voice of the Year: (Nominated)
Philanthropy
After reading Professor Jeffrey Sachs' book "The End of Poverty" John Legend was inspired to visit Ghana in West Africa, to learn more about doing his part in making life better for others so 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 few other non-profit organizations that the campaign partners with.
In 2007 John 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 John 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 visted homes that Tide is helping to rebuild in that community.
References
- ^ [1]
- ^ For The Record: Quick News On R. Kelly, Jamie Foxx, Green Day, Hilary Duff, Diddy, Tommy Lee & More - MTV News
- ^ John Legend and Carrie Underwood Set for All-Star Halftime Show - NBA
- ^ Musical performers announced for Major League Baseball All-Star Week - Major League Baseball
- ^ http://www.showmecampaign.org/
- ^ "John Legend's Chart History". Retrieved February 22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "John Legend's Chart History". Retrieved February 22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ "UK Chart Runs". Retrieved February 22.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=(help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Source for "So High" UK Chart position. Retrieved 7 July, 2007
- ^ http://www.hmv.co.uk/hmvweb/displayProductDetails.do?ctx=280;-1;-1;-1&sku=602764 "P.D.A. (We Just Don't Care)" single confirmation.
External links
- John Legend - Official site
- John Legend "Show Me Campaign" - Official Philanthropy Efforts
- John Legend - Official UK site