Living up to the Legend

CALL it a fairy tale come true for Kanye West protege John Legend. A little more than a year after being turned down for a record deal, the Ohio-born singer-songwriter-producer landed eight Grammy nominations Thursday, including new artist, song of the year for his ballad “Ordinary People,” and R&B; album for his debut, “Get Lifted.”

Legend, 26, is up for just about every prestigious R&B; category, including R&B; duo or group performance for his duet “So High” featuring hip-hop singer Lauryn Hill, who gave him his start by letting him play piano on her Grammy-winning debut album.

But the nomination nearest his heart is for song of the year, for “Ordinary People.”

“As a songwriter, I take that one seriously,” Legend said Thursday morning. “I really care about songwriting, and to be recognized for that is really big. It’s saying my song is one of the best five written this year. It’s a pretty incredible recognition to have.”

The singer, born John Stephens, wrote the song in May 2004 before landing a record deal. After it was leaked to radio stations this year, “Ordinary People” found an early groundswell of support among listeners, most of whom had never heard of him.

High-profile peer recognition soon followed.

“People from Prince to Chris Martin from Coldplay to Stevie Wonder -- people I really respect -- have told me how much they love it,” said Legend. “I think it just touches people in a special way, which is what a good song is supposed to do.”

But if not for the influence and career guidance of rap auteur West, Legend might never have made it out of pop music’s minor leagues. Despite his singing and piano contributions to songs for Hill, Alicia Keys, Jay-Z and Dilated Peoples, record labels remained uninterested in Legend’s old school, R&B-flavored; solo project.

West, whose cousin was Legend’s college roommate and introduced them five years ago, signed him to his Sony-distributed Getting Out Our Dreams (GOOD) label. Legend had been rejected by Sony earlier when he pitched the recordings that would become the “Get Lifted” album. But once West’s album “The College Dropout” became a hit, Legend’s stock suddenly began to rise. “Get Lifted” was released last December and peaked at No. 4 on the national sales chart early this year. It has sold about 1.5 million copies to date, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Legend said he had been playing phone tag with West to congratulate him for eight Grammy nominations of his own. Legend also said he felt heartened that the Recording Academy nominated “They Say,” the rap-sung collaboration from rapper Common that features West and Legend.

“I’m proud of our whole team,” Legend said. “We feel there’s a lot missing from the popular musical landscape, and we’re just trying to make the kind of music that we as fans would like to hear. This is a great day.”

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Randy Lewis is a Times staff writer; Chris Lee is a Times correspondent.