John Legend

John Legend (born John Roger Stephens, December 28, 1978, in Springfield, Ohio) is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and record producer.^[1]

His mother directed a church choir and his father played drums. He began piano at four and sang in the choir at seven, then entered the University of Pennsylvania at sixteen and graduated in 1999 with an English degree.^[1]

After college he worked as a management consultant while recording his own music, and he played piano for Lauryn Hill and sang backing vocals for Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. He was the first artist signed to Kanye West's GOOD Music, which is also where his stage name came from.^[1]

His debut album Get Lifted (2004) was a major success, and "Ordinary People" won a Grammy. Later albums include Once Again, Evolver, Love in the Future (home of "All of Me"), Darkness and Light, Bigger Love, Legend and My Favorite Dream.^[1] In 2018 he became the first Black man to achieve EGOT status.^[1]

Legend founded the Show Me Campaign in 2007 and FREEAMERICA in 2014, and has been a coach on The Voice since 2019. He is married to Chrissy Teigen and they have four children.^[1] His 2026 album Muse was produced in full by Pharrell Williams.^[2]