Inspired by the infectious joy and energy of his four kids, John Legend has embarked on a delightful new journey with his first children’s album, “My Favorite Dream,” a heartfelt exploration of love, creativity and family bonding.
In this Q&A, he shares insights into the inspiration behind the album, the collaborative experience with his family and the messages he hopes to impart to children and parents alike.
While “My Favorite Dream” is billed as a children’s album — and certainly there are lullabies and sing-a-longs littles will enjoy — Legend’s signature soulful style, rich with emotion and wonder, is present throughout the collection. The songs are woven with wistfulness, joy, nostalgia, promise and yearning. To give your ears a taste, listen to “Always Come Back” on YouTube. It’s a listening treasure for both kids and adults.
What inspired you to create a children’s album?
This felt like the perfect time in my life to create a children’s album. [My wife] Chrissy and I have four kids now, two of whom are toddlers who love children’s music. I love watching them dance and respond to music, especially in their music class that we often host at our home. I wanted to make an album full of the messages we like to share with our children, an album that will help them and many other kids around the world to fall in love with music.
How did your experiences as a father influence the themes and lyrics on “My Favorite Dream?”
I’m in the thick of fatherhood right now, spending a lot of time at home with the kids. I wrote the album at home — the first time I’ve ever done that. So, all of that energy, sweetness, silliness, love and joy went into it. When it came to the lyrics and themes, I started the album by brainstorming the themes Chrissy and I talk with our kids about and how to translate those ideas into song titles and concepts.
Your family is featured on the single “L-O-V-E.” What was it like recording with them?
We had a great time! Chrissy has sung with me on an album before (she’s part of the chorus on “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” on my Christmas album), but it was a first for the kids, and we all really enjoyed doing this together. As I was writing the album, I knew that I would want them to sing on at least one song, and “L-O-V-E”felt like the perfect choice.
What were your favorite moments in creating “My Favorite Dream?”
It was so lovely and comforting to be writing this music on our family piano, surrounded by my family who were the inspiration. I also was so excited to be collaborating with one of the coolest musicians I know, Sufjan Stevens. I’ve been a fan of his albums for years, and I knew that he would add something magical to this album if he were to produce it. I had never met him before, but I sought him out and asked him to produce the album for me. Luckily, he said yes and graced these songs with his beautiful musical ideas.
The album artwork was drawn by your daughter Luna. How did that come about?
Luna is bursting with creativity, and a lot of our bonding time is when she and I draw and build things together in the kids’ playroom. She’s already better than I am at sketching. She has a great eye and lots of great ideas, and we were happy for her to let loose with her talents here. She nailed it!
What messages or values were most important for you to convey through these songs?
All of the original songs’ themes and lyrics were inspired by conversations and life messages we share with the children. Things we say to inspire, comfort or connect with them. There are universal themes throughout the album, but above all, it’s really about love.
How does creating music for children differ from your usual songwriting process?
All of the songs were written at home on the family piano, directly adjacent to the kitchen and living room area where the kids spend much of their time. I usually write most of my albums at the studio, but I wanted to write this album with my family around. I also wrote the album alone, with no co-writers. This was the first album I’ve made without any co-writers on the original songs. That made the experience so special and personal, and I think you can feel that in the music.
Can you share the story behind how the Fisher-Price collaboration came about?
My daughter Esti was obsessed with the Fisher-Price song “Maybe” a.k.a. “The Purple Monkey” song. So, Chrissy was like, “John, you know you should cover this song so you can sing it to Esti,” so I went over to the piano and started learning this song, learning the lyrics and chords, and we recorded a little version of me singing it for Esti and Chrissy. Chrissy posted the video to her Instagram, and everybody was like, “John, you need to re-make more of these songs. You gotta make more songs for kids!” That’s how this album got started — because of that one moment with this one song.
As a parent, what role does music play in your family life and routines?
As you can imagine, music is a huge part of our lives. We always have music playing at the house. Of course, I write and sing on our family piano. The little ones take a toddler music class. Luna and Miles are taking piano lessons. Luna is a part of the musical theater program at her school and has just started taking vocal lessons as well. Miles and Luna take pride in learning about different popular artists and playing DJ in the car on the way to school. And they’ve all been to their share of my concerts.
What do you hope children and families will take away from listening to this album?
It’s for the whole family, sweet messages, catchy melodies and whimsy for the little ones, lush orchestrations for the more mature ears. I wanted to make these songs so that parents would love to listen to them, too.
How did your children react to hearing it?
Lucky for me, it passed the test. It’s been a regular part of the soundtrack for the two youngest kids. They love listening to it, especially when I’m not home. It calms them and makes them feel better. Their favorite song is “L-O-V-E.” They even try to sing along. Luna’s favorite is “Always Come Back.” The first time I played it for her was when I was about to leave for work for a few days. I had just written the song and recorded a quick demo on my voice notes app. When I played it for her before I went to the airport, she gave me the biggest hug to let me know what it meant to her.
