John Legend, who was born John Roger Stephens, knew he wanted to be a performer at the tender age of 7, when he felt the crowd’s response as he sang in front of a live audience. Raised in a musical family, his father was a drummer and his mother the choir director at their church, where his grandmother was the organist.
The story of how he excelled as a student, musician and professional management consultant—driven by his belief that he could positively impact the world—and went on to become a global superstar, is the stuff of, well…legends.
He made some pivotal early music connections and collaborations, with such powerhouse talents as Lauryn Hill, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys. Those opportunities led him to forge relationships with music industry insiders and create a path of his own making, which eventually allowed him to launch himself as a performing artist. It was spoken-word artist and poet J. Ivy who dubbed him “The Legend” because he sounded like one of the legendary old-school music talents. Soon, others were calling him “John Legend.” He eventually decided to adopt it as his professional name, as it would challenge him to live up to the high expectations he had for himself.
At 48, the critically acclaimed, multiplatinum artist and producer has garnered 13 Grammys, an Oscar, a Golden Globe, a Tony and four Emmys, making him one of only 22 people with EGOT status (those who have won at least one of each of the four main entertainment awards). He is widely regarded as one of the most versatile entertainers in history. He also recently returned as a coach on The Voice. The new season, Battle of Champions, which features only three coaches—himself, Adam Levine and Kelly Clarkson, premiered on February 23rd.
“I love coaching. I have fun every time,” Legend says. “I know Adam and Kelly very well. We really do love and respect each other and are excited to work together. We’ve been looking forward to this for a while. And our producers never let us down. They always give us such amazing talent. America is full of so many great singers.”
When I ask about career highlights, he doesn’t hesitate.
“Winning the Oscar for Glory from the movie Selma, a film about Dr. Martin Luther King. It was a dream come true,” he offers. “To win for that song…for that film and to share it with Common [his co-writer on the song], that’s truly one of the greatest moments in my life.”
Perhaps the most iconic association people have with Legend is a vision of him sitting at a grand piano, pouring his whole heart into every note of a sentimental ballad. It is also an image I’ve been carrying around over the past 13 years—from a cookout he and his now-wife Chrissy Teigen hosted at their home, high in the Hollywood Hills. It was a casual get-together of friends and family on one of those perfect California weather days. We circulated between the glamorous home’s great room and the pool deck with its sweeping views of Los Angeles. Legend was manning the grill, but he’d dip back into the house regularly, sit at the piano, tell stories and then play a song for us. They were already quite famous but also energetically upbeat, charmingly irreverent and disarmingly down-to-earth for celebrities. The thing about the cookout is that it had a lot of shared DNA with his upcoming show, An Evening of Songs & Stories, which is an intimate theater experience at the Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater on March 18th. In fact, the performance is the kickoff for this tour and features Legend alone at the piano, sharing personal stories and performing straightforward versions of his hits.
When I draw the parallel between that idyllic afternoon in Hollywood and this tour, he laughs.
“Well, it won’t exactly be the experience you had,” he says good-naturedly. “But close…close!”
A performance like this is sometimes called a "Living Room Experience.” Fans love the personal format because it strips the songs and storytelling aspects down to their essence.
“It's really an intimate night, just me sitting at the piano telling the stories that explain my songwriting, my life growing up, all the ups and downs in my family. I love it because I get to really be my full self on stage,” Legend shares. “This is one of my favorite things to do. There's something really special about these nights. I think when you're writing songs and performing music, people are getting a lot of you, but when they're able to get the stories behind it, they're getting kind of the full version of who you are. And it's been really fun to share that with people. I just love connecting with my fans. They’ll tell me, ‘This got me through high school’ or ‘it got me through this relationship.’ Just knowing that I have been a part of people’s lives is really special.”
As to whether he’s spent time in our area before?
“Oh, absolutely, I love it,” he replies excitedly. “I have been there many times to perform, once for the Super Bowl and my nephew went to USF, so yes, many times.”
He shares that he has a new album called Velvet that he collaborated on with Pharrell Williams, which will be coming out later this year, and has been writing music for two Broadway shows.
Oh, he also says he and Chrissy still love entertaining friends at home, in fact, he got a smoker last year that he’s obsessed with. Do I smell a cookout?
Visit johnlegend.com for more information and rutheckerdhall.com or call (727) 791-7400 for tickets. The Voice premieres tonight, airs on NBC.
Photos courtesy: ©A.M.P.A.S, Getty Images for the Recording Academy®,NBC/NUP
