John Legend Reacts to Becoming an EGOT Winner: 'It's Kind of Surreal' (Exclusive)
For the multi-talented John Legend, joining the ranks of show business' incredibly exclusive EGOT club is something he never imagined when starting out in the industry.
ET's Courtney Tezeno spoke with Legend after his big win at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday, and he opened up about winning the Emmy -- and becoming one of less than two dozen people to ever take home an Emmy, a GRAMMY, an Oscar and a Tony.
"It's kind of surreal. It's something I never even thought about when I started my career," Legend shared. "I probably wanted to win some GRAMMYs and sell a lot of records, and all that started happening pretty quickly, but I never dreamed that I would be here, winning an Emmy, and being in that rare group of people that have won all four of these major [awards]."
The singer won an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) as a producer of Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, and Legend said the win was "such a huge honor. I'm happy I was part of such a great show."
Amazingly, Legend wasn't the only show business icon to join the ranks of EGOT recipients on Saturday. He was joined by Broadway legends Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, who also took home the final award needed for Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert.
Legend took to Instagram to share a photo with the three newest members, and elaborated on the significance of the big win.
"Before tonight, only 12 people had won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony in competitive categories. 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. #EGOT," Legend wrote.
On hand during Saturday's star-studded awards event, Legend was joined by his adoring and hilarious wife, Chrissy Teigen, who did everything in her power to make sure she wouldn't miss the momentous occasion.
"She was supposed to be taping Lip Sync Battle while we were here, and she convinced her producers to push the second show back so she could come here in between shows and see if we would win this EGOT." Legend explained. "I was hoping that I would not disappoint her and make her trip a waste of time."
"She was very supportive and I'm glad we made it worth her while," Legend added.
When the Creative Arts Emmy Award nominations were first announced in July, Teigen was already predicting that her husband would be taking home one of the awards, and joked that if he got the Emmy needed to complete his EGOT, it would probably be taking the place of her coveted Spike TV Award.
"13 nominations for Jesus Christ Superstar this morning! John got two emmy nominations! If he wins, he will complete his EGOT and my spike tv award will probably be moved. But it’s ok I AM SO PROUD!" Teigen tweeted
However, Legend said his wife need not worry about her Spike TV Award getting moved into a closet somewhere.
"We have plenty of room at the house," Legend joked. "We'll make room for all the trophies."
Since 2006, Legend has scored a grand total of 10 GRAMMYs -- including Best New Artist and Best R&B Album.
The 39-year-old artist also won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2015 for Selma's "Glory," and he most recently took home a Tony Award in 2017 as the co-producer of Jitney, which won for Best Revival of a Play.
ET caught up with Legend two months ago after the Emmy nominations were released, where he admitted it would be "pretty incredible" if he joined that coveted group of EGOT icons.
"I never thought about it as a goal," he admitted at the time. "But when I got close I thought, 'Well, that would be really cool.'"
The 70th Creative Arts Emmy Awards were handed out over two days, from Sept. 8 to Sept. 9 at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. A telecast of the awards will air Saturday, Sept. 15 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FXX.
The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards, co-hosted by Colin Jost and Michael Che, will air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Monday, Sept. 17, starting at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on NBC. Check out the full list of nominees and ET’s ongoing Emmy coverage here.
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