John Legend Becomes EGOT Winner Following Emmy Win for 'Jesus Christ Superstar'

John Legend became a new member of the EGOT club after the second night of the Creative Arts Emmys [...]

By Daniel S. Levine

John Legend became a new member of the EGOT club after the second night of the Creative Arts Emmys on Sunday, thanks to his work as a producer on NBC's acclaimed Jesus Christ Superstar live broadcast.

Legend needed only 12 years to complete the feat. He won his first of 10 Grammy Awards in 2006. He also has a Tony as producer on the 2017 revival of August Wilson's Jitney and an Oscar in 2015 for writing the Selma song "Glory" with Common.

Legend also made history as the first African American man to complete the feat. He is the second-youngest to join the club.

On Sunday, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice also joined the EGOT club as co-producers on Jesus Christ Superstar. The two legendary entertainment figures also wrote the original play.

Rice and Lloyd Webber took 38 years to win their EGOTs. They won their first Tonys in 1980, both for Evita's Original Score.

"Before tonight, only 12 people had won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony in competitive categories," Legend wrote on Instagram. "Sirs Andrew Lloyd Webber, Tim Rice and I joined that group when we won an Emmy for our production of their legendary show Jesus Christ Superstar. 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."

Legend's wife, supermodel Chrissy Teigen, also celebrated the achievement by sharing a photo of the trio on Twitter. "EGOT GOATS," she wrote.


On Monday morning, the celebration continued at the Legend-Teigen household, where Legend had to make pancakes and Teigen was still without her voice. "EGOT cakes," she wrote in the caption.

Legend, Rice and Lloyd Webber were the first new members of the EGOT club since 2014. That year, composer Robert Lopez, 43, completed his EGOT quest. Lopez still holds the record for only taking 10 years to complete it and is also the only "double EGOT" winner, since he has more than one of every award.

At 39, Legend is hardly done. On next Monday, he could win a second Emmy for Jesus Christ Superstar. He was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. The other nominees in the category are Antonio Banderas (Genius), Darren Criss (American Crime Story), Jesse Plemons (Black Mirror), Jeff Daniels (The Looming Tower) and Benedict Cumberbatch (Patrick Melrose).

The 70th Annual Emmys are on Monday, Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. ET.

Photo credit: JC Olivera/WireImage/Getty Images

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