John Legend’s Kids Helped Him Make His First Children’s Album & It’s All About ‘Love’
Parenthood is many things: exhausting, joyful, challenging, entertaining. But it can also be annoying — especially when you get to the “again!” phase. This is the time when toddlers and kids want the same things over and over and over again. The same movies, the same piggyback rides, the same songs…on repeat. And while I’m not claiming to have the most varied Spotify playlists ever, there’s only so many times you can hear “Baby Shark” without losing your mind. Thanks to John Legend and his amazing kids, parents everywhere finally get a break! The EGOT winner announced he made his first children’s album with the help of daughter Luna, 8, and son Miles, 6, and I couldn’t be more excited!
The “All of Me” singer shared a picture of the album titled, “My Favorite Dream” on Instagram, which included a baby picture of himself. In the caption, he explained how the project came about, including how his kids and wife Chrissy Teigen helped.
“I’ve been working on something very special and close to my heart, and I’m excited to share it with you,” he said. Legend revealed that he got so much positive attention after posting a video of him singing a version of “Maybe,” aka, “the Purple Monkey song from the @fisherprice Piano Gym.” “When we posted it, many of you wished I would sing more lullabies & songs for your kids,” he continued. “Fisher-Price even reached out to collaborate on some music. I decided to go all in and make a whole album of sing-alongs & lullabies for kids and families.”
Oh. My. Goodness. A whole album of fun songs for kids and families by The John Legend?! I already know it’s going to be number-one in my mini-van! Legend reveals that he wrote nine original songs on his family piano that are “full of the messages we share with our kids: words of encouragement, comfort, love, togetherness, imagination, exploration, and GOING TO SLEEP !” He also covered two popular kids’ songs and recorded some bonus Fisher-Price songs.
Luna and Miles also helped! The kids (and Teigen) sang background vocals for the first single called “L-O-V-E,” which makes their first album credit. How special is that? Not to mention, Legend revealed that Luna “designed and drew all the single covers for the album too!” We’ve seen her amazing dollhouse creation, so we know these covers are going to be good.
“Anyone who knows me knows I love singing and talking about LOVE,” he added. “This song is a celebration of love. As the lyric says, ‘It’s my favorite word,’ and I wrote the song because I believe in the power of love to help us see each other’s humanity despite our differences, to lift us all up, and even transform our world.
“???????????????????? i know this is for the kids, but im bout to be jamming this weekend like it’s for us- adult kids ????????????❤️,” one person wrote.Someone else said, “This is incredible news! I teach preK and will definitely be playing this album during naptime ❤️”
Ohers couldn’t believe how much Legend’s son Miles looks like his dad in the childhood photo. “So he put Miles picture on it.. ????” one person wrote.Someone else said, “Could easily be any of the Tiegan/Legend beauties…. Could easily be anyone of those four cuties!! ❤️❤️❤️❤️”
Legend also shared a photo of the first single, which he said was “baby tested, baby approved ????????” Luna colored the single cover, which has “L-O-V-E” in different colors over a star and heart background. In the post, he included a video of him, Luna, and Esti, 18 months, dancing along to the sweet song.
In an interview with Associated Press, Legend revealed his inspiration for the album. “I wanted the parents to like it,” he said. “I wanted the same standard of like quality and musicianship that I would want on any of my records.” Yes! This is what we’ve been missing in our lives!
He also dished on the layout of the album. “My kids do a music class. My toddlers, they do a music class with other toddlers. They play little shakers and teachers come and sing with them and play guitar,” he told the outlet. “I wanted the first half of the album to feel kind of like that music class, more upbeat, a big singalong. And then the second half should be sleepy time. So that’s kind of the layout of the album. The first half is more fun and upbeat and like the music class the kids do. And then the second half is more like what you would play if you were trying to get them to calm down for the night.”
The full album drops Aug. 30!
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