Follow-up “Once Again” (2006) peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200, sold 2.3 million albums to date and landed three Grammy Awards, including best new artist. Later that year, Legend released his debut, “Get Lifted,” which bowed at No. Music imprint in 2004, the rapper-producer, in one of his earliest grandiose statements, renamed the singer John Legend, inspired by his old-school, Don Hathaway-esque soul sensibilities. John Legend Hits Top 10 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart Post Grammysīut under-the-radar success has always been something of a specialty for Legend, who early on performed under his birth name, John Stephens. 2 (the week after the Grammys), sales of “All of Me” rose by 174% to 216,000 (compared to 79,000 sold in the two weeks ending Jan. “But producer Ken Ehrlich believed in the song and thought it was special enough to deserve its own slot.”Įhrlich was right: In the two weeks ending Feb. “By all rights, I shouldn’t have gotten that slot to perform by myself,” says Legend, who was nominated in only one category, best R&B album. Mirroring the song’s simplicity, it was just Legend and his piano in a show awash in energetic rock, pop, dance, hip-hop and country mashups. The tipping point for “All of Me” was the singer’s Grammys performance in January. We let the song be what it was, feeling it had a better chance standing out on the radio rather than trying to sound like everything else.” Since so many people loved it, we talked to him about releasing it, but this was 25 weeks into the life of the song. “Tiesto took it on his own initiative to make a remix for his fans. “We never said we need a remix to make the song cross over,” says Legend. Legend’s manager Ty Stiklorius admits that early reactions to the song ranged from “it’s not urban enough” to “it needs a rhythm remix,” but both Legend and Columbia executive vp/GM Joel Klaiman downplay the role of the Tiesto remix in the rise of “All of Me.” But every once in a while, you want to hear something that pierces your heart.”īut there is a version of “All of Me” you can dance to, released by Dutch EDM producer Tiesto as a free download in January shortly before the song took off. “People are used to music that makes them dance. “Those songs are challenging because they don’t mix as well,” Legend admits. 24 on the Hot 100 in 2004, was another ballad featuring just Legend and piano. “ ‘All of Me’ is probably the only song on the radio right now with no drums.” That’s not the dominant Legend sound - West and Hit-Boy are among the producers on “Love in the Future” - but it’s becoming his signature: His second biggest hit, “Ordinary People,” which climbed to No. “I told my label early on that this could be the biggest song of my career if we don’t mess it up,” Legend says with a laugh while relaxing at the Los Angeles offices of his management, Troy Carter’s Atom Factory. It’s a surprise to anyone but Legend himself. This Story First Appeared in Billboard Magazine - Click to Buy This Issue 4, and has sold 1.3 million downloads to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan. “All of Me” has turned into the biggest hit of his decade-long career, and his first top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100.
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