Singer-songwriter John Legend is known for his world renowned voice, rocking the record labels, and racking up hardware at almost every award show. Legend brought much attention to his name last Sunday when he won another award at the 2018 Emmy’s, accepting an award for the live musical, “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.” The musical won the Outstanding Variety Special (live) award.
The beloved musical that gave the entertainer his hardware tells the story of Jesus’ life, but is told through the perspective of betrayer Judas Iscariot. The story develops as Judas watches Jesus and begins to believe that the savior is becoming arrogant and losing sight of his purpose. The musical stars John Legend, Alice Cooper and Sara Bareilles. It’s filled with amazing talent and voices that make the audience crave to hear more. Legend plays the role of Jesus Christ and wows the audience with his vocals, which earned him the award that granted him the four crown title of EGOT. To behold this prestigious award means that the entertainer has received an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. The entertainer was afraid that many would criticize him for not looking how Jesus is traditionally portrayed, but with his Emmy in hand he knew that that wasn’t a problem.
Not only was winning an Emmy a great honor, Legend also got praised with earning an EGOT title. Legend accomplishing all of this has granted him not only this quadruple crown title but has also earned him the honor of being titled the first black man to ever receive an EGOT. The first black woman entertainer to receive this title was Whoopi Goldberg in 2002. Variety writer Margeaux Sippell interviews Legend after his monumental win for “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.” The entertainer only speaks positive and humble words, boasting endlessly about the project to Sippell. He states how lucky he was to even be a part of the live TV musical and how he wouldn’t shy away from another opportunity to be involved in one. Looking back on the experience and the Emmy, Legend states, “We were really proud of what we did, and when you accomplish it as a big group like we were, with the producers, the cast, the crew, everybody, it feels extra special. And for that to be the final thing I needed for the EGOT is even better.” After his Emmy win he couldn’t help but boast about everyone that helped put on the production, not only focusing on his own success but on everyone’s.
When Legend started in the industry he didn’t know that his name and talents were going to go as far as they did. Legend started off as a singer and has progressed to many other artistic outlets. He branched out of his singing career and became a songwriter and actor, as well as a music and film producer. As a man of many talents, Legend has become one of the 15 entertainers in history to be able to say that he won all four awards. When he started his career, the artist received 10 Grammys, with best new artist as his first win in 2006. Once Legend won one award he wasn’t stopping. He broadened his career and won many awards which lead him to the EGOT title, at the age of 39, making him the youngest to receive all the awards in such a short time period.
Legend met with Vanity Fair writer Yohana Desta and gave her a little insight on what he was feeling before he knew he was going to receive the EGOT title. The entertainer expresses to Desta that he puts all of his efforts in every performance of “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.” Legend states that he never lip-synched any performance, nor relied on backing tracks that aren’t live, or using backing vocalists. The entertainer relies on his voice, putting a lot of wear and tear on his vocals and expending a lot of energy with every performance. With all of the hardware that Legend holds, one would think that arrogance would arise, fortunately that is far from the truth. The EGOT winner states, “I don’t take any of them for granted, because the competition’s always going to be there, and there’s always going to be other people that deserve it just as much.” Clearly, Legend is a man of great talents as well as outstanding morals.
Not only were his loyal fans there to cheer him on, but Chrissy Teigen, his wife, author and TV host was there to support her successful husband. Social media mogul Teigen took to social media to show her followers how proud and happy she was for Legend. One of Teigen’s posts shows Legend standing proudly in front of his many awards. The duo have had great success this year with Teigen’s award-winning cookbook and Legends EGOT title, clearly the husband and wife are making big names for themselves.