How John Legend’s Family Inspired His New Album for Kids and Parents: “It’s a Celebration of Love”

The inspiration for John Legend‘s new album came on his day off — when he was in dad mode and tending to 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 both babies and millennial parents. Technically, the song is called “Maybe” and Legend’s wife, Chrissy Teigen, posted a clip of him singing it on social media, and people ate it up. “Now I need a whole album of this!” actress Bresha Webb wrote in the comments section. Even Fisher-Price chimed in: “Do we hear … a collab.”

That’s how My Favorite Dream was born. The album, created for children and their families and inspired by Legend’s own family, will be released Aug. 30.

“It kind of got the ball rolling,” Legend tells THR about posting his “Maybe” cover online, “and this album might not exist without that happening.”

Ten of the 15 tracks on the project are originals, and there are three bonus songs with Fisher-Price. Grammy- and Oscar-nominated musician Sufjan Stevens produced the album, which features a toddler John on the cover photo taken by his aunt Patricia Lloyd. Family is a big part of the album: Legend’s daughter Luna, 8, designed the single artwork and “L-O-V-E” includes vocals from Teigen, Luna and 6-year-old Miles.

My Favorite Dream will be released on Republic Records: Kids & Family, the Universal Music Group label’s children division that launched in 2022. Legend says the album is full of “the kind of messages we communicate with our kids all the time, the ones we want them to remember and keep with them.” He adds that, sonically, the music is for both children and parents, and he wanted it “to feel like we were in like a magical film with fantasy aspects and dream sequences and energy and fun and light.”

Most of your family sings on “L-O-V-E” — what was the energy like in the studio?

I told Sufjan I wanted to do that and he sent me a voice note with some ideas for what their part could be. I was like, “Chrissy, Luna, Miles, come into the studio. I want you guys to sing.” And they were like, “What?” And I was like, “It’s going to be so easy. It’ll be so fun. You’ll love it.” And it was. The song is truly a love fest. It’s like a celebration of love, and I see it as almost a mission statement for how I want to live and how I want my kids to live. And the kind of light you see in people that are filled with love — I want them to be those kinds of people.

Do you feel like you’ve seen the musical bug in your kids?

Luna’s been really practicing the piano more than anyone. Miles loves music, though. He’s always picking songs, DJ’ing on his iPad, so he’s very into music and he really appreciates music. But I see Luna seeming to enjoy performing it more. She’s been in the school musical and she sings along with songs in the car to the top of her lungs.

Have they introduced you to different songs or artists?

Oh yeah, all the time. They’ll hear stuff 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. Me and Mommy try to play them Beyoncé and Rihanna and Mariah and Ariana Grande. And between all of that, they’re pulling it all in. Miles likes to hear male voices more, so he’s into Daddy and Usher.

When I was listening to “When I Feel Sad,” it made me wonder if you have played it for your kids when they aren’t feeling the happiest?

Yeah. “Always Come Back” has been the one that has really connected with Luna and Miles, because I think they process me leaving more because they’re 6 and 8, and they miss me when I’m gone. They miss Mommy when she’s gone, and so having that song to stay with them, it really is comforting. And you can see it in Luna’s face and in Miles’s face that they truly feel the comfort of the song, knowing that we’ll come 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 like 20 years, and he was the first person I thought of. The cool thing about him is he goes well beyond my imagination, even. It’s always more creative, more interesting, more fantastical than I would’ve ever imagined. I kept telling him, “I’m just so glad you said yes,” because I didn’t know if he’d want to do the children’s album with me. I was like, “Your vision and your musical style and signature are just exactly what I wanted for this album.” His stuff makes you feel like you transport to this ethereal kind of place.

You attended the Olympics with your family — what did you enjoy the most? 

What I love about the American team is how diverse it is and it shows how beautiful this country is. We have people that have come from everywhere to live here and be their best selves, and you see that represented when you watch the gymnastics team and see a Dominican girl, an Asian girl, Black girl, white girl, everybody on the same team representing this beautiful country where we all live together. And I think that’s the best of 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 some other time. But I think that’s what makes America so cool and beautiful. And hopefully we can continue to celebrate that.

It’s the 20th anniversary of your debut album, Get Lifted. How are you feeling about that?

[Time has] allowed me to really reflect and revel in the whole journey and how grateful I am for every step, even the things that didn’t work out when I wanted them to. It all worked out eventually. Get Lifted really represents the roots of my career, represents all the work that I was doing, trying to get a record deal, my upbringing in the church and so much about who I am. And the collaboration with Kanye and with hip-hop producers, all of that really set 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.