India has seen performances by several Grammy winners but singer-songwriter john legend EGOT is the first to play on our shores. An EGOT, as you may or may not know, is a term that refers to the short list of individuals who have won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards.
read also John Legend supports women’s empowerment campaign
The 44-year-old legend performed two concerts last weekend in Mumbai and New Delhi. show, which also featured Indian-American rapper Raja KumariThe event was organized by Walkers & Company, an initiative of alco-bev maker Diageo. Earlier this year, Kumari and Legend released an anthem ‘Keep Walking’ for Walkers & Co, which they performed live at the event for the first time.
Their pairing seems like an unusual combination, but signing up for a gig like this is par for the course for Legend. The R&B star, blessed with a singing voice that can make a phonebook sound good, fits seamlessly into almost any configuration, and has been able to play pop, hip-hop, jazz, EDM, and even country. Duets have been done with the artists of
The legend has never been out of sight
It would be fair to say that Legend, who was a coach on the reality TV singing competition sound From 2019 to 2022, Now is one of the acts you see almost all the time. As a result, he’s become the kind of artist everyone has heard of, even if they’ve never heard any of his music. In other words, he is freed from the uncertainties of chart success.
When asked which of his accomplishments has been most meaningful, Legend said Hindu He “[it] Maybe it was when I won an Oscar for writing ‘Glory’ with Common.
a political stand
Legend’s last Top 40 as a lead artist was back in 2016. Yet he never stayed away from the public eye. In the last six months, apart from his tenure soundHe released the autobiographical audiobook living legend on audio; Presented a series of songwriting lessons for the online learning platform Masterclass, and completed six months of live dates in Las Vegas.
Ever since he picked up his first of 12 Grammys for Best New Artist in 2006, he’s been a regular performer — and winner — at the award ceremonies. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for ‘Glory’ Selma in 2015
While he may seem like a candidate for the Most Likeable Celebrity award, Legend hasn’t been shy about being vocal about his political stances, and in 2014 started FreeAmerica, a ‘campaign to change America’s criminal justice system’ . He is also the co-founder of the production house Get Lifted Film Company, which focuses on spotlighting black talent.
When asked which of his accomplishments has been most meaningful, Legend said Hindu He “[it] Maybe it was when I won an Oscar for writing ‘Glory’ with Common. It was very special to be a part of this film commemorating the life and works of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. His work has been very inspirational and influential to me. Common and Legend brought the audience to tears at the 2015 Oscars with their soulful performance of ‘Glory’.
loved by brands
Despite his fame, critical acclaim, and activism, the legend has managed to maintain an everyman image. The openness with which his wife, model, TV host and cookbook author Chrissy Teigen, and he speak about their relationship and personal struggles has turned them into one of the most relatable celebrity couples out there.
Legend has recently been roped in for partnerships for a wide range of products like LG home appliances and, somewhat controversially, Pfizer’s vaccines, his endorsement of which received such strong backlash online that he had to turn off comments on his Instagram posts. It was lying
John Legend and Chrissy Teigen. , photo credit: Reuters
A former financial advisor, he has taken advantage of his widespread popularity by launching his own brands, such as the wine label LVE and LOVEDº1, an affordably priced skin care range specially formulated for melanin-rich skin. “We’re really just being ourselves and doing what we love and sharing that with the world,” says Legend about Teigen and her ability to balance her public persona with her personal life. Sharing.”
The secret to Legend’s longevity may also be his penchant for collaboration, which he says has been the biggest lesson in his career so far. “Most of my success has been working with great people.” Perhaps he’ll next team up with one of the artists on his playlist. They include “Kendrick Lamar, Leon Bridges, Yabba, SZA, Nas, James Blake [and] J ID”.
what the fans want
If his presence in Mumbai is anything to go by, it is clear that he gives the fans what they want. Their crowd-pleasing hour-long set was packed with greatest hits and, surprisingly, didn’t feature a single track from their latest album, the relatively little-known last year. fable, Instead, he delivered an uplifting cover of the Beatles’ ‘Here Comes the Sun’, one of his live favourites.
He lived up to his Nice Guy reputation, interspersing the songs, which he performed solo on the piano, with soft-spoken anecdotes about how he originally wrote their breakthrough single “Ordinary People” for the Black Eyed Peas, but He loved it so much he decided to keep it for himself and how he wrote the chart-topping “All of Me” for Teigen and played it live for the first time at their wedding 10 years ago.
The No. 1 hit was the only track most of the crowd sang along to. Perhaps it was because this was no ordinary concert or part of a regular tour. Held in a hall at the Jio Convention Center in Mumbai, it was, in essence, a promotional activity for Johnnie Walker and many of the attendees were invited rather than ticket buyers.
What made Legend’s performance particularly impressive was not only that he could hold the audience’s attention with just his voice and piano playing, but also that the organisers, an alco-bev company, had enough money to stay on stage. Shut down bar service during
The author is a Mumbai-based journalist, specializing in the Indian music industry.