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John Legend
John Legend dwelled in the background for several years before he launched his multi-pronged sneak attack on the entertainment industry. Shortly after he got his first break by playing piano on Lauryn Hill's Top 40 hit "Everything Is Everything" (1999), the singer and songwriter contributed to recordings by the likes of Jay-Z and Janet Jackson, secured a major-label deal through Kanye West, and made his proper debut with Get Lifted (2004). The album made Legend a multi-platinum, Grammy-winning musician, and he was just getting started, neither confined nor burdened by the Recording Academy's Best New Artist designation. Amid a string of distinctive and debonair LPs, Once Again (2006), Wake Up! (2010), Darkness and Light (2016), and the double album Legend (2022) among them, Legend — as a composer, actor, and producer — has excelled with screen and stage pursuits. His triumphs include the Oscar-winning "Glory" (for Selma), the Emmy-winning Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, and the Tony-winning production of Jitney. He is among the first 15 entertainers, and is the first Black American, to have won all four of the major show-business awards. With 2024's My Favorite Dream, Legend again explored new territory by recording a children's album.