Surprise! Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Legend, and Tim Rice are All EGOT Winners Now

Left to right: Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Legend, and Tim Rice

While the Emmy Awards ceremony that everyone knows and loves will be airing next week, last night was a night that's just as important to people who love TV. The Creative Arts Emmys are meant to honor the best in TV production in categories that aren't as interesting to audiences expecting more commercial categories, such as acting in dramas and comedies. However, it's a shame that the ceremony wasn't more of a big deal, as it marked a rare but exciting occasion for fans of awards history. With the win for Outstanding Variety Special, Andrew Lloyd Webber, John Legend, and Tim Rice all ascended to the status of EGOT winners, marking the most to win not only in a single year, but even a single night. It was quite a night, though the asterisks for accomplishment don't stop there. 

For those uninitiated, the EGOT is a prestigious title that only now 15 artists have earned. It's an acronym for the awards known as the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony. Together, these represent the top honor that people could receive in the arts for each of the four major fields of TV, music, film, and stage. Since the first winner, Richard Rodgers in 1962, it has become one of the exciting challenges to see who would get that honor. It's featured such artists as Rita Moreno, Marvin Hamlisch, Audrey Hepburn, Mel Brooks, and before yesterday the most recent was Robert Lopez (the first person to also achieve this status twice). It's easy to see why the award status means so much to artists, as not just anyone has been able to achieve it. Many have tried and come close, but these 15 earned it all competitively.

In some ways, it's odd to believe that Webber, Legend, and Rice weren't EGOT's sooner. Considering their exemplary careers in the arts, they have more than enough work to make them distinguished. Still, it's strange that it took one show that partnered them as producers to get them all over the hump. Before this, the closest that an EGOT winner was to another was Mel Brooks and Marvin Hamlsich in 2001 for the Tony and Emmy respectively, which were only a few months apart (the second closest was Helen Hayes and Rita Moreno in 1977 for Emmy and Grammy respectively, which was only slightly further apart). In fact, this year marks the most EGOT winners in a single year as well as a single ceremony.

Just for the record, here's how each of the three earned their EGOT, with emphasis on their first win in each category:

John Legend

Emmy: Outstanding Variety Special (Live) - Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (2018)

Grammy: Best New Artist (2006)

Oscar: Best Original Song - "Glory" from Selma (2015)

Tony: Best Revival of a Play - Jitney (2017)

Andrew Lloyd Webber

Emmy: Outstanding Variety Special (Live) - Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (2018)

Grammy: Best Cast Show Album - Evita (1980)

Oscar: Best Original Song - "You Must Love Me" from Evita (1997)

Tony: Best Original Score - Evita (1980)

Tim Rice

Emmy: Outstanding Variety Special (Live) - Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert (2018)

Grammy: Best Cast Show Album - Evita (1980)

Oscar: Best Original Song - "A Whole New World" from Aladdin (1993)

Tony: Best Original Score - Evita (1980)

While this is only a distillation of what Legend, Webber, and Rice have won (each have won multiple times in various categories over the years), it's interesting to note that there's a lot of superlatives attached to Legend's win. For starters, he has replaced Robert Lopez as the youngest person to achieve EGOT status at the age of 39. He is also the first male African American to have this distinct honor. With 10 Grammy wins, he is the EGOT winner to have won this category the most. He is also only the second primary musician after Marvin Hamlisch in this field.  It's also exciting to note that Legend still stands a chance of winning another Emmy before the month is through, as the acting Emmy Awards still need to be handed out. Even then, the honor has already been bestowed upon him, which takes some of the fun out of a potential win.

Still, it's a great time to see three great artists achieve the status in unexpected ways. Considering how difficult it is to achieve, it's going to be interesting to think that there's yet another EGOT that could be on their way. Many have touted Lin-Manuel Miranda's win for years now, especially given that he was recently Oscar-nominated for Best Original Song for the Moana song "How Far I'll Go" (he lost to La La Land's "City of Stars," a film that ironically starred John Legend, who performed the song at that year's ceremony). Considering that he's scheduled to compose new music for this Fall's Mary Poppins Returns, one can hope that he'll add his name to the list very soon. Having won big with Hamilton and In the Heights, he already has the Emmy, Grammy, and Tony. One can hope the Oscar isn't too far behind. For now, he's got a prestigious group to look forward to joining.