Neo-soul singer and pianist John Legend combined the raw fervor ofcontemporaries 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 offive. Legend left Ohio at 16 to go to college in Philadelphia, and itwas there that he first found a larger audience. Not yet out of histeens, Legend was tapped to play piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything IsEverything" in 1998.

After completing college, he moved to New York, where he began to builda loyal following playing in nightclubs and releasing CDs that he wouldsell at shows. He also became an in-demand session musician, playingand occasionally writing for a wide array of artists, including AliciaKeys, Twista, Janet Jackson, and Kanye West. It wasn't until Westsigned the young talent to his new label that he adopted the Legendname with 2004's Solo Sessions Vol. 1: Live at the Knitting Factory.Get Lifted, his first studio album, was released later in the year. Onthe strength of enduring single "Ordinary People," the album reachedthe Top Five of the Billboard 200. This led to three Grammy Awards:Best R&B Album, Best R&B Male Vocal Performance, and Best NewArtist. Once Again, which peaked at number three on the Billboard 200and number one on the R&B/hip-hop Albums chart, followed in October2006. Despite being released exclusively through Target stores, Livefrom Philadelphia, issued early 2008, was almost equally successful.