John Legend to headline NBA All-Star 2017 halftime show
NEW YORK — The National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today that 10-time Grammy® Award-winning recording artist John Legend will headline the 66th NBA All-Star Game halftime show on Sunday, Feb. 19 at Smoothie King Center in New Orleans. All-Star Game coverage begins at 8 p.m. ET on TNT, and the game and all NBA All-Star 2017 Entertainment Series Presented by JBL performances will be seen by fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages.
Legend, a singer, songwriter and producer, first catapulted to stardom with his platinum-selling album “Get Lifted” in 2004. Following critically acclaimed hits including “Ordinary People,” “Green Light,” “Glory” and “All of Me,” Legend garnered global recognition with 10 Grammy Awards, an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.
On Dec. 2, Legend released his highly anticipated fifth studio album, “Darkness and Light,” including his new hit single, “Love Me Now,” which has drawn over 35 million streams on Spotify and 37 million combined video views. Other standout tracks on the album include Legend’s exciting collaborations with Chance the Rapper on “Penthouse Floor,” Alabama Shakes’ Brittany Howard on title track “Darkness and Light,” and Miguel on “Overload.” He will delight fans with a compilation of his newest and greatest hits during halftime of the NBA All-Star Game.
With HARMAN serving as the Official Sound of the NBA, its audio brand, JBL, will be the presenter of this year’s NBA All-Star Entertainment Series. JBL will power exciting musical performances during State Farm All-Star Saturday Night in addition to pregame introductions and the halftime show at Sunday’s All-Star Game.
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About NBA All-Star 2017
NBA All-Star 2017 in New Orleans will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game. The 66th NBA All-Star Game, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 19 at Smoothie King Center, will reach fans in more than 200 countries and territories in more than 40 languages. TNT will televise the All-Star Game for the 15th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports’ 32nd year of NBA All-Star coverage. Smoothie King Center will also host the BBVA Compass Rising Stars Challenge on Friday, Feb. 17 and State Farm All-Star Saturday Night on Saturday, Feb. 18. The NBA All-Star Practice, NBA All-Star Celebrity Game and NBA Development League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire will take place at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
About John Legend
Ohio-born John Legend is a critically acclaimed, multi-award winning, platinum-selling singer-songwriter. His work has garnered him ten Grammy Awards, an Academy Award, Golden Globe, the BET Award for Best New Artist and the special Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame, among others. Legend’s highly acclaimed fourth studio album Love In the Future, features “All of Me,” Legend’s highest selling and charting song to date, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and #1 on both Mainstream Top 40 and Rhythmic charts. Legend won his first Academy Award, first Golden Globe Award, a Grammy award, and a Critic’s Choice Award for his song “Glory,” that he wrote and performed with Common, for the film SELMA. Throughout his career, Legend has worked to make a difference in the lives of others. In 2007, he launched the Show Me Campaign (ShowMeCampaign.org), an initiative that focuses on education as a key to break the cycle of poverty. The 2010 BET Humanitarian of the Year award, the 2009 CARE Humanitarian Award for Global Change, the 2009 Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award from Africare and the 2011 Harvard Foundation Artist of the Year Award recognize Legend’s efforts and leadership in this arena. John sits on the boards of The Education Equality Project, Teach for America, Stand for Children and the Harlem Village Academies and co-chairs the Harlem Village Academies’ National Leadership Board. Additionally, Legend supports LRNG, a movement dedicated to inspiring innovation in the learning process to one that better reflects the world we live in today. In 2015 Legend initiated the #freeAmerica campaign; a campaign designed to change the national conversation of our country’s misguided policies and to make a change in America’s criminal justice system. Legend also serves as one of the principles for Get Lifted Film Co., a film and television production company based in Los Angeles. Get Lifted Film Co. has sold several projects in television to networks including Showtime, NBC, HBO, USA, MTV, OWN and FOX. In addition to these sales, Get Lifted Film Co. was previously in a television deal with Comcast/Universal and is currently in an overdeal with Legendary Television. Get Lifted Film Co. serves as Executive Producers on the HBO documentary “Southern Rites,” Pop Network docu-series “Sing it On”, and WGN America’s series “Underground.”. Additionally, Get Lifted Film Co. has worked on several films such as “Southside With You” and “La La Land.” Along with his executive producing credit on “La La Land,” Legend appears in the film and contributed to its soundtrack with the original song “Start a Fire.”
About HARMAN
HARMAN (harman.com) designs and engineers connected products and solutions for automakers, consumers, and enterprises worldwide, including connected car systems, audio and visual products, enterprise automation solutions, and connected services. With leading brands including AKG®, Harman Kardon®, Infinity®, JBL®, Lexicon®, Mark Levinson® and Revel®, HARMAN is admired by audiophiles, musicians and the entertainment venues where they perform around the world. More than 25 million automobiles on the road today are equipped with HARMAN audio and connected car systems. The Company’s software services power billions of mobile devices and systems that are connected, integrated and secure across all platforms, from work and home to car and mobile. HARMAN has a workforce of approximately 29,000 people across the Americas, Europe, and Asia and reported sales of $6.9 billion during the 12 months ended June 30, 2016. The Company’s shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol NYSE:HAR.© 2016 HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated. All rights reserved. Harman Kardon, Infinity, JBL, Lexicon and Mark Levinson are trademarks of HARMAN International Industries, Incorporated, registered in the United States and/or other countries. AKG is a trademark of AKG Acoustics GmbH, registered in the United States and/or other countries. Features, specifications and appearance are subject to change without notice.
