Holly Jolly John

Musician John Legend Celebrates Christmas Album, National Tour And Banner Year

As this month draws to a close, millions across the globe will gather in anticipation of the new year, clinking glasses to a prosperous 2019.

But, for multi-platinum musician John Legend, we can only imagine that Dec. 31 might be cause to look back and celebrate the astounding feats he's accomplished over the previous 365 days.

It has been a banner year for the singer-songwriter. He and supermodel wife Chrissy Teigen welcomed their second child, son Miles, to the family in May; daughter Luna is now 2. The next month, Legend launched a rosé, part of his label LVE: Legend Vineyard Exclusive, to positive reviews.

Then, in September, he became the youngest person ever and the first African- American male to competitively achieve the rarefied EGOT - winning an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony - after taking home an Emmy for producing NBC's "Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert," in which he also starred in the lead role.

He followed that up by releasing his first Christmas album, "A Legendary Christmas," in late October and debuting an NBC holiday special with his wife a month later. Now, he's on the road with his Legendary Christmas Tour, which stopped in Miami last month.

To top it all off, the Los Angeles resident turns 40 on Dec. 28.

Longtime Observer readers will recall that we featured Legend on our cover in 2009 - back when he was still a swinging bachelor and a rising star on the music scene. Since so much has changed for him over the past near-decade, we decided to catch up with Legend at the close of this memorable year - and on the eve of the big 4-0 - to see what life looks like for the A-lister these days. Home For The Holidays In a video shared on his Instagram page, which has been viewed more than 600,000 times, Legend announced the festive new album as Teigen shared the family's holiday traditions. She set out a plate of cookies and decorated a tree while Luna played on a rug alongside festively wrapped presents.

"It's sunny Los Angeles in September, but I can't stop thinking about Christmas," quipped Legend, wearing a Santa hat. "I have been wanting to do this for a long time."

To create "A Legendary Christmas" - which features guests Esperanza Spalding and Stevie Wonder - Legend teamed up with producer Raphael Saadiq, who has also worked with Whitney Houston, D'Angelo and Mary J. Blige.

"I was like, 'Brother, can you produce it for me?'" Legend explained in the video, adding: "We recorded eight classic Christmas songs plus six brand new Christmas songs just for you."

Legend had his fans in mind when concepting his latest work.

"I think my voice and my style are made to do a Christmas album, and my fans have been asking for it," he told The Wall Street Journal. "The style palette is Nat King Cole, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, Donny Hathaway and Gamble and Huff, so it's like a tour of the history of black music in some ways. It just feels like this is what I was made to do - who I am and what I've grown up listening to - and it feels like home and family to me."

To further make merry, Legend and Teigen hosted the NBC holiday special "A Legendary Christmas With John and Chrissy" on Nov. 28. (You can still catch it after the fact on NBC.com.)

Although the Teigen-Legend family is still young (the couple married in 2013), their holiday traditions are already firmly in place.

"I blame my dad and his Norwegian heritage, but we actually open presents on Christmas Eve," Teigen, who is also half Thai, told Marie Claire. "And I'm really excited to be able to do that. Because for me, the night of Christmas Eve is just so much... like, I enjoy mornings, but am I a morning person in the way that I want to wake up early, run downstairs, open presents, have photos taken at that time? No. And it's always like that - it's too bright for me, I'm such a nighttime gal."

Of course, food is a big consideration for the self-taught chef, who has two best-selling cookbooks under her belt.

"To be able to cook like a big Christmas Eve dinner and then go plop on the couch just so full and open presents - I don't know, there's something about that," she told Marie Claire. "I want to drink wine while I open presents! I want to drink a Stella Artois! I honestly just want to lay back and relax and not have to wake up in the freezing cold mornings."

Though not big on baking holiday desserts, Teigen likes to cook ham, beef stew and sweet potato pie, she told Marie Claire.

"I'd rather spend my time making like 15 sides, which is honestly what I do during the holidays. I'm a sides person."

"I've been excited to develop the LVE rosé for quite a while," Legend said in a press release. "Chrissy and I both love rosé, and we enjoy serving it to our friends. It's the perfect complement to a beautiful day with the ones you love." Now And Next Given his reaction to winning the EGOT this fall, we have no doubt Legend is still basking in the glow of his record-setting achievement.

"When I got into the music business, it was a dream of mine to win Grammys and have plenty of success as a musician, sell lots of records and tour around the world as a performer," Legend, who has 10 Grammys to his name, said backstage in the Emmys pressroom. "But I never had a dream of winning an EGOT. I didn't even know what that was!"

Although his performance in "Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert" received rave reviews, Legend enjoys being behind the camera, too, with Get Lifted, his film and television production company in Los Angeles. (Get Lifted was also the name of his first album.)

One of the company's latest projects is the documentary "United Skates," which examines the significance of roller rinks in the African-American community. It will air on HBO next year with Legend as executive producer. He's also working on a holiday movie, "Jingle Jangle," which will debut on Netflix in 2020.

Indeed, Legend's 2019 schedule is already looking packed - but we wouldn't expect any less from the accomplished musician. He will join Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and Adam Levine as a coach on the next season of NBC's popular singing competition series "The Voice."

"I'm thrilled to join the coaches of 'The Voice.'" he said in a press release. "I've been a guest and mentor on the show multiple times, and I'm so excited to discover talented singers and help them make the most of their gift. I hope the world is ready for #TeamJL!"

Executives at NBC, which has a winning track record in teaming with Legend, are also thrilled about the collaboration.

"John Legend is a one-of-a-kind musician and producer with remarkable skills that are beyond measure," said Paul Telegdy, co-chairman of NBC Entertainment, in a press release. "His multi-dimensional career and incredible talents provide a repertoire that will excite and inspire our artists. This coaching panel is sure to ignite season 16."

Even with his hectic schedule - and two little ones at home - Legend devotes time to social activism, recently lobbying for Amendment 4 in Florida, which restored voting rights to more than 1 million felons.

"I spent some time in Florida campaigning for this amendment," he wrote on Twitter. "I was inspired by the grassroots efforts and the beautiful bipartisan coalition that worked for its passage. I'm so happy this amendment passed."

In 2014, he initiated the #FREEAMERICA campaign, which aimed to change the national conversation about criminal justice policies and end mass incarceration. This year, he collaborated with philanthropic venture fund New Profit to launch an accelerator for formerly incarcerated business owners.

"I have seen that entrepreneurship is a viable way for formerly incarcerated individuals to build sustainable livelihoods and contribute to their communities and neighborhoods," Legend told CNBC.

The singer has long felt compelled to fight for social justice.

"I always thought that part of the role as an artist was to tell the truth about what is happening, what [people] see and what kind of change they want to see," he told The Washington Times.

Just as Legend draws creative inspiration from musical trailblazers of yesteryear, he remains motivated by the activsm of such legends as well.

"I have always listened to artists who did that, like Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, Nina Simone, Paul Robeson, etc.," he said. "People who used their platform to fight for justice. So I always thought that's what being an artist was, and I still think that's what it is for me." O