A true Legend: Everything John Legend has accomplished at 40

One of four sons of his seamstress mother and factory-working dad, Legend (born John Roger Stevens on Dec. 28, 1978) was drawn into the church choir by the time he was 4 years old, trying his tiny hands at piano only a few years after that. According to a New York Times interview, he was accepted to Harvard and got scholarship offers to the likes of Morehouse and Georgetown, but ultimately he chose the University of Pennsylvania where he made heavy strides in that college's a capella group. It was a sign of the things to come...

Introduced by a mutual friend while in college, Legend couldn't be more excited to work on the solo debut of Fugees member Lauryn Hill. Of course, her 1998 album, "The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill," was a critically acclaimed, Grammy-winning breakthrough, anchored by brilliant singles like "Doo Wop (That Thing)" and "Ex-Factor," the latter of which made the backbone of Drake's 2018 chart-topper "Nice for What." Oh, and the album's compelling, propulsive third single, "Everything is Everything"? Legend's first ever professional credit, with him playing piano on the iconic track.

While John has put out independent demos and solo efforts, his work as a songwriter and collaborator is what helped push him into the spotlight. Having met Kanye West in 2001 (who was just coming into his own as a go-to producer), West took Legend under his wing and even declared that he'd be his manager. Legend's background vocals can be heard all over West's iconic debut, "The College Dropout," and most prominently at the end of the goofy comedy interlude, "Graduation Day."

Coming out just days before the 2005 New Year, Legend's debut effort was released on Kanye West's GOOD Music imprint. While lead single "Used to Love U" fared OK, it was the album's second single, "Ordinary People," that showcased what a true talent John Legend was. A striking, honest ballad about questioning how special your love truly is, it announced Legend as a star in his own right and launched the extraordinary career that followed.

While not many people may remember the NBC show "American Dreams," which followed a family dealing with a changing American culture during the 1960s, many at least recall its one notable conceit: having famous modern musicians dress up and sing like their heroes. This made for inspired choices (Kelly Rowland as Martha Reeves), confusing ones (Third Eye Blind as The Kinks) and one that's near and dear to our hearts: John Legend as Stevie Wonder. Singing "Uptight" and basically nailing it, this proved to Legend that as talented as he was musically, maybe he could make a couple of screen appearances to boot.

For the longest time, receiving the Best New Artist Grammy was considered a curse. After all: Marc Cohn, Arrested Development and Hootie & the Blowfish, to name a few, all had their moments in the sun before essentially disappearing. However, save Evanescence, that trend has been bucked in the past few years, with the gong going to great talents like Alicia Keys, Maroon 5 and — you guessed it — John Legend. Beating out Ciara, Fall Out Boy, Keane, and Sugarland for the honor, he was presented the award by Common, who would become a prominent figure in Legend's narrative only a few years later...

While Larry David's "Curb Your Enthusiasm" tends to take its time between seasons, a performance by Legend of the Ray Charles classic "You Don't Know Me" really helped ground one of the show's more sincere, honest moments, wherein following a breakup with his wife, he sees the character Loretta as a potential new romantic partner.

As it so happens, John met Chrissy on the set of the video for his 2007 song "Stereo" — a single from his second album that failed to do much on the charts. The two started texting, but what really struck Chrissy was just how much wit was in John's responses. Their destination wedding was held in Lake Como, Italy, their cake was carrot-flavored with cream cheese frosting, and Chrissy has admitted she was nervous and that her vows were a little rushed. However, their partnership has produced so much laughter and joy from onlookers, and her honest Instagrams and delightful trolls of her husband have launched her into one of the destination social media points of light in what is normally a garbage landscape.

A love song dedicated to Teigen, Legend's third single from his fourth album was an unexpected dynamite hit. Everyone could relate to "All of Me" and its perfect imperfections, and it soon became a wedding first-dance staple. It topped the U.S. charts, going eight times platinum as well, and it went No. 2 in the U.K. 

John Legend says he always wanted to create a wine label but only because he wanted to be hands-on during the process. A mutual acquaintance hooked Legend up with wine impresario Jean-Charles Boisset, and next thing you know, LVE (Legend Vineyard Exclusive) was born. After all, if you're famous and have notoriety... why wouldn't you make your own wine?

2015 was a momentous year for Legend, and he kicked it off with vigor, singing "America the Beautiful" at the opening of Super Bowl XLIX. After a litany of high-profile national anthem performance disasters over the years, Legend's effortless charm, gorgeous voice and exemplary piano playing lent class and professionalism on one of the biggest platforms in the world. (For what it's worth, he also sang the same song at WrestleMania XXIV, but who's counting, right?)

Ava DuVernay's 2014 film, "Selma," was a pivotal, profound work of cinema and one that many thought was overlooked by the Academy Awards the following year save for, of course, a coveted nomination for Best Picture. On the soundtrack, however, John Legend and Common collaborated to create the film's theme song, replete with full-bodied choirs, undeniable passion and a distinct perspective. Common also starred in the film, but in working with Legend the two ended up receiving a Grammy, a Golden Globe and even an Oscar for Best Original Song for their humble, stunning contribution.

With so many performing gigs under his belt (as well as that Academy Award), Legend took quite a sizable role in the Damien Chazelle modern-day musical "La La Land," playing the successful musician Keith, a friend of Sebastian (Ryan Gosling) who offers him steady employment even if it calls for him to sell out a bit. Every song on the film was written by the duo of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul — except for "Start a Fire," the song that Legend performs which, of course, he co-wrote.

John Legend has made no bones about his political beliefs, having actively campaigned in 2008 for Barack Obama and continually putting pointed political messages in his videos, ranging from the ignored protests of "Penthouse Floor" to the multicultural celebration of expression of love in the "Love Me Now" clip. He even appeared on a humorous cover of Minnie Ripperton's "Lovin' You" with St. Vincent and Zach Galifianakis to raise funds for Planned Parenthood.

For a reality show born out of a Jimmy Fallon bit, "Lip Sync Battle" has nonetheless been able to create its share of niche viral moments. Hosted by LL Cool J but featuring delightful color commentary and reactions by Chrissy Teigen, it was only a matter of time before Legend showed up to do his thing, and his big-budget rendition of OutKast's classic "Hey Ya!" was one for the ages.

Just like with his wine label, John has put his money toward good uses, and with producing partner Mike Jackson, he helped get a 2017 revival of August Wilson's "Jitney" onto the Broadway stage. The show ended up winning "Best Revival of a Play" at the 71st Tony Awards, meaning that on top of all of his accomplishments, he was now a Tony winner as well.

As if winning a Tony for his producing abilities wasn't enough, in 2018 he was nominated again but in a different category: Best Original Score for "(I Guess I) Miss You," a contribution he made to the "SpongeBob SquarePants" musical. That show featured a variety of famous musicians dropping off original compositions (ranging from Panic! At the Disco to Sara Bareilles to T.I.), and the new nomination was a delightful surprise. As Teigen tweeted: "John got nominated for a Tony this morning for a song he apparently wrote for spongebob squarepants. Why does he not tell me when he writes spongebob songs?? What else is he lying about?? Are there other songs out there??"

After years of courtship and marriage for Legend and Teigen, Luna Simone Stephens was born on April 14, 2016, delighting the world. Two years and one month later, the couple welcomed a boy into the world, as Miles Theodore Stephens arrived on May 16, 2018. Despite John's and Chrissy's ever-busy schedules, they still find time for their kids at every possible moment.

Broadcast networks found a new tool for combating the onslaught of new streaming services: creating live events that simply couldn't be missed. Let's be real though: Most of these staged events were terrible, which is why a revival of the Andrew Lloyd Weber musical "Jesus Christ Superstar" had several people scratching their heads. Yet against all odds, the all-star cast of Sara Bareilles (as Mary), Alice Cooper (as Herod, of course) and John himself playing Jesus — coupled with some daring production and directing choices — made the end result a critical and commercial hit and introduced Legend to a whole new audience along the way.

Unsurprisingly, John received an Emmy nomination for his role as Jesus in "Jesus Christ Superstar." He didn't win, but just as he had done with "Jitney" only one year prior, Legend proved himself as a savvy producer, as he served as Executive Producer on the production with his partner, Mike Jackson, in tow. The show did win the award for "Outstanding Variety Special (Live)," wherein the recipients are the Executive Producers. Thus, John became the first African-American man and only the 15th person ever to win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. Well done, John!

On top of all of 2018's accolades and accomplishments, John ended the year by releasing not only a Christmas album (titled "A Legendary Christmas"), but also co-hosting a variety Christmas special with his wife. It featured guests ranging from Kim Kardashian to Darren Criss to Awkwafina to even Stevie Wonder (who also appears on the album). Something tells us that this album will be a holiday staple for years to come.