John Legend's name couldn't be more perfect. If you don't recognize it, it's because he spent much of his career working in the wings as a highly sought-after studio man, playing piano and performing with the likes of Alicia Keys, will.i.am, Janet Jackson and Kanye West. While professional musicians knew his talent, general music fans only discovered his amazing music when he released a debut solo album in 2004, Get Lifted. The hit songs "Ordinary People" and "Used To Love U" attracted serious attention, but Legend got the recognition he was due during the Grammy awards that year, receiving eight nominations, and winning Best New Artist, Best Male R&B Performance ("Ordinary People") and Best R&B Album. More than three million copies of Get Lifted were sold around the world.

From that point forth, it was clear that John Legend was no longer just a name tossed around in studios. He had entered the mainstream, and has quickly developed a fan base for his amazing singer-songwriter work.

But it's never an easy road to the top. John Legend was born John Stephens in Springfield, OH. At the tender age of five, he was astonishingly adept at playing the piano, and was gifted with a voice for gospel. At 16, he left home for college. He was as precocious musically as he was academically, quickly finding work performing on Lauryn Hill's "Everything is Everything." Like any struggling musician willing to claw his way to success, he hit the clubs, performing at night and selling CDs wherever he could to get his name, voice and prodigious talent out there. It was during this time that he also developed steady work as a studio musician. After working with Kanye West, the hip-hop superstar signed him to his new label. It was the beginning of Legend's solo career.

He's released two live albums since then, and another full length in addition to Get Lifted, the 2006 release Once Again. "Save Room," the first track of that album, proved to be the perfect pop-soul gem to win over listeners that missed Legend's debut, and was created with help from will.i.am, who brought him a sample of an old A.M. radio classic called "Stormy" by the Classics IV. Kanye pitched in as well, producing Legend's hit song "Heaven Only Knows."