John Legend Became The First Black Man Ever To Win The Coveted EGOT

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John Legend lived up to his name today, becoming the youngest person and first Black man ever to complete the rare and prestigious EGOT series of top performance awards which includes the Grammy, Oscar, Tony, and now, finally, his first Emmy for his participation in the televised Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert, the Outstanding Variety Special (Live) award.

With that win, Legend joins the elite company of 15 performers including collaborators Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, who also entered the prestigious EGOT club along with him for the same production. Other notable “members” include Audrey Hepburn, Whoopi Goldberg, and Mel Brooks. Legend also completed his EGOT the second fastest of the 15, taking 12 years to complete it. Robert Lopez, composer for The Book of Mormon and Disney’s Frozen, completed his in just 10 years at 40 in 2015.

Legend had already won 10 Grammy Awards throughout his musical career, then picked up the Oscar in 2015 alongside Common for Best Original Song for “Glory,” the gospel-influenced, inspirational main theme of the Martin Luther King Jr. biopic, Selma. He collected his Tony Award in 2017 for Best Revival Of A Play for co-producing Jitney.

Amazingly enough, Legend is still up for one more possible Emmy award later this evening: Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie for his performance in Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert.

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