John Legend Joins the EGOT Elite
By Catherine O’Grady
Yet again, John Legend proves that there is no stage he can’t control.
Two weeks ago, John Legend received his first Emmy for his role as producer in the televised rendition of “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, a subsect of the larger Emmy awards which focuses on the technical aspects of television production.
Legend, who co-produced the performance with fellow Emmy winners Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, played the lead role as Jesus Christ in this award-winning musical. This was this a huge milestone in the performers career that landed him an EGOT win, along with his two co-producers on “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.” EGOT, the acronym for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, all the major awards in the performance industry, is a highly exclusive achievement that only Legend, Webber, Rice, and twelve others can claim.
Legend’s EGOT award has been a more than a decade in the making. Legend has won ten Grammys since 2005, he won an Oscar for his song “Glory” in the 2015 film Selma, received a Tony for his co-production of Jitney in the best play revival category in 2017, and finally earned his Emmy this past Saturday for “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.”
Other EGOT winners include Audrey Hepburn, Mel Brooks, and Whoopi Goldberg, the first African American to win the award. Legend became the first African American man to receive this award, and one of the youngest at the age of 39.
When asked by ET about his big win, Legend said, “It’s something I never even thought about when I started my career,” and described the whole experience as “surreal.”
Both Legend and his supermodel wife, Chrissy Teigen, took to Instagram to celebrate the victory. Teigen posted a picture kissing her husband with the caption “my incredible man. what a surreal life.”Later that evening, Teigen posted a video of Legend placing his Emmy next to his other three prestigious awards to complete the EGOT collection.
This past Monday, during the nationally broadcasted Emmy awards, Legend was found still celebrating his victory as his wife teased him saying, “Oh my god. We get it. You won an EGOT,” lovingly, of course. Is this relevant if not can it become relevant?
Legend himself posted a picture with Webber and Rice captioning it “So happy to be part of this team. So honored they trusted me to play Jesus Christ. So amazed to be in such rarefied air. #EGOT”
As Legend adds another award to his collection, his fans can’t wait to see what he’ll accomplish next. Maybe he will coach a winning performer on the upcoming season of the Voice, a vocal competition . Regardless of what’s next, be sure to be on the lookout for Legend.
