John Legend.

John Legend is forging a new path in R&B music -- and yet it's one that's considerably older than he is.

The 26-year-old singer/songwriter's piano-based music avoids the crass and sleazy cliches of most commercial R&B, blending classic '70s soul sounds with old-time gospel and contemporary hip-hop production. And his major-label debut, Get Lifted, is helping make him the biggest thing in R&B since Alicia Keys -- with whom he's currently touring and, coincidentally or not, with whom he shares a reliance on the piano.

"I don't think it's necessarily the piano that people are responding to," he says, "I think they just like to see an artist that can play an instrument at all, given today's climate. If I played guitar, I think they'd still be into it. But I love the piano. There's a certain sound it adds to a record that feels really good. It's really crisp, and it has a classic feel."

Legend began playing the piano at four, but he was conducting his church choir by the age of 11, thanks to his organist grandmother and a family that believes in singing together -- in fact, a whole lot of them add their voices to his album. And indeed, the gospel elements underlying his music are perhaps more important to his success than his instrument of choice, or even his Stevie Wonder-like vocals. In fact, he maintains that gospel roots are a critical part of most contemporary music.

"I think it's added a lot to pop music, black music especially," he says. "The power that comes from a choir, from that style of music, and the feeling people get when they hear it -- you can't really duplicate it, it's special. And I'm glad people embrace it. Also, it's rare that a young person gets as much performing experience as I've had outside the church."

Legend, who was born John Stephens, grew up in Ohio and went to college in Philadelphia, where he was exposed to the inspiring neo-soul sounds of Jill Scott and The Roots. He began playing his songs at clubs, put out a few indie albums and contributed to Lauryn Hill's landmark Miseducation album. He also met hip-hop performer and producer Kanye West, who signed Legend to his record label and opened a number of doors for him, leading to collaborations with Jay-Z, the Black Eyed Peas, Alicia Keys and on West's own Grammy-winning album The College Dropout.

"We're friends, we've travelled together and we share all our experiences," Legend says of West. "And having him go through all this a year before I did really helped me prepare for it, because I saw what he went through. Working with other artists helps you know what you want out of the recording process, and the business as well -- the experience of dealing with the labels and things."

Legend plays two shows in the Toronto area this week -- a headlining one at The Docks tonight, and opening for Alicia Keys at Casino Rama tomorrow.