The inspiration for John LegendThe new album came out on his day off, when he was in dad mode taking care of his third youngest of four, daughter Esti.
At the piano, he played one of her favorite tunes — the viral “purple monkey song” from Fisher-Price toys that has captivated babies and millennial parents alike. Technically, the song is called “Maybe,” and Legend’s wife, Chrissy Teigen, posted a clip of him singing it on social mediaand people were eating it up. “Now I need a whole album of this!” actress Bresha Webb wrote in the comments. Even Fisher-Price got in on the conversation: “Do you hear… a collaboration?”
That's how it is My favorite dream was born. The album, made for children and their families and inspired by Legend's own family, will be released on August 30th.
“It got the ball rolling,” Legend says THR about posting his “Maybe” cover online, “and this album might not have happened without it.”
Legend's children's album, My favorite dreamwill be released on August 30th.
Ten of the project’s 15 tracks are originals, and there are three bonus tracks featuring Fisher-Price. Grammy- and Oscar-nominated musician Sufjan Stevens produced the album, which features a toddler named John in a cover photo taken by his aunt Patricia Lloyd. Family plays a big role on the album: Legend’s daughter Luna, 8, designed the artwork for the single, and “LOVE” features vocals from Teigen, Luna and 6-year-old Miles.
My favorite dream will be released on Republic Records: Kids & Family, the children's division of the Universal Music Group label that launched in 2022. Legend says the album is filled with “the kinds of messages that we communicate to our children all the time, the messages that we want them to remember and keep with them.” He adds that the music is sonically for both children and parents, and he wanted it to “feel like we were in a magical movie with fantasy aspects and dream sequences and energy and fun and light.”
Most of your family sings on “LOVE” – what was the energy like in the studio?
I told Sufjan that I wanted to do that and he sent me a voice message with some ideas for what their roles could be. I was like, “Chrissy, Luna, Miles, come to the studio. I want you to sing.” And they were like, “What?” And I was like, “It's going to be so easy. It's going to be so fun. You're going to love it.” And it was. The song is really a love fest. It's like a celebration of love and I almost see it as a mission statement for how I want to live and how I want my kids to live. And the kind of light that you see in people who are full of love — I want them to be those kinds of people.
Do you feel like you've discovered the musical virus in your children?
Luna has definitely practiced piano more than anyone else. Miles does like music. He always picks songs, DJs on his iPad, so he is very into music and he really appreciates music. But I can see that Luna seems to enjoy performing it more. She has been in the school musical and she sings along to songs in the car.
Did they introduce you to other songs or artists?
Oh yeah, all the time. They hear things at school like, “Oh, have you heard the new Tate McRae or the new Blackpink or the new whatever?” A lot of their friends are Swifties too, so they're taking in a lot. We try to influence them. Mom and I try to get them to hear Beyoncé and Rihanna and Mariah and Ariana Grande. And in between all that, they're taking in everything. Miles prefers to hear male voices, so he's into Daddy and Usher.
When I was listening to “When I Feel Sad” I was wondering if you ever play it to your kids when they’re not feeling so happy?
Yeah. “Always Come Back” is the one that really touched Luna and Miles, because I think they're coping better with me leaving because they're 6 and 8, and they miss me when I'm gone. They miss mommy when she's gone, and so it's really comforting to have that song with them. And you can see it in Luna's face and in Miles' face that they really feel the comfort of the song, knowing that we're coming back and that our love is always there for them.
Why did you decide to work with Sufjan on this album?
I wanted the album to feel dreamy and whimsical and playful. And I've been a fan of Sufjan's for about 20 years, and he was the first person I thought of. The cool thing about him is that he's way beyond even my imagination. It's always more creative, more interesting, more imaginative than I ever imagined. I kept saying to him, “I'm so glad you said yes,” because I didn't know if he would want to do the children's album with me. I thought, “Your vision and your musical style and signature are exactly what I wanted for this album.” His music makes you feel like you're transported to some kind of ethereal place.
You and your family visited the Olympics. What did you like most?
What I love about the American team is how diverse it is and it shows how beautiful this country is. We have people who come from all over to live here and be their best selves, and you see that represented when you look at the gymnastics team and you see a Dominican girl, an Asian girl, a black girl, a white girl, everyone on the same team representing this beautiful country that we all live together in. And I think that’s the best thing about America. And the Olympics remind us of that. This is America. This is who we are. And some people don’t like that about America, and they want to take us back to a different time. But I think that’s what makes America so cool and so beautiful. And hopefully we can continue to celebrate that.
It's the 20th anniversary of your debut album, Is lifted upHow do you like that?
[Time has] made me really reflect and enjoy the whole journey and how grateful I am for every step of the way, even the things that didn't work when I wanted them to, it all worked out in the end. Is lifted up really represents the roots of my career, represents all the work that I did, trying to get a record deal, my upbringing in the church and so much of who I am. And working with Kanye and working with hip-hop producers, all of that really laid the foundation for everything that I did after that. We're going to celebrate it this year.
This story first appeared in the August 14 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.