
Neo-soul singer and pianist John Legend combined the raw fervor of
contemporaries Cody ChesnuTT and the burning precision of D'Angelo. Born John
Stephens, Legend was a child prodigy who grew up in Ohio, where he began singing
gospel and playing piano at the tender age of five. Legend left Ohio at 16 to go
to college in Philadelphia, and it was there that he first found a larger
audience. Not yet out of his teens, Legend was tapped to play piano on Lauryn
Hill's "Everything Is Everything" in 1998. After completing college, he moved to
New York, where he began to build a loyal following playing in nightclubs and
releasing CDs that he would sell at shows. He also became an in-demand session
musician, playing and occasionally writing for a wide array of artists,
including Alicia Keys, Twista, Janet Jackson, and Kanye West. It wasn't until
West signed the young talent to his new label that he adopted the Legend name
with 2004's Solo Sessions Vol. 1: Live at the Knitting Factory. Get Lifted, his
first studio album, was released later in the year. On the strength of enduring
single "Ordinary People," the album reached the Top Five of the Billboard 200.
This led to three Grammy Awards: Best R&B Album, Best R&B Male Vocal Performance,
and Best New Artist. Once Again followed in October 2006.
Took part in a record of "High Road"
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