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John Legend's album 'My Favorite Dream' is a family affair
Editor's note: This segment was rebroadcast on Jan. 6, 2024. Click here for that audio.
John Legend has become his name.
He is one of only 19 artists with an EGOT — an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
When his wife Chrissy Teigen posted the video of Legend singing and playing piano to one of their four kids — Luna, 8, Miles, 6, Esti, and Wren, under 2 — fans wanted more. Legend decided to make an album of children's songs and lullabies.
For Legend, it felt like the right time to make a kids’ album.
From the start, Legend knew he wanted to collaborate with singer and songwriter Sufjan Stevens on the project. So, Legend had his people call Stevens’ people and the duo got to work.
“I found it exciting and invigorating and inspiring to present myself a challenge of writing in a genre that I'd never really written in before,” Legend says.
“My Favorite Dream” is nominated for a Grammy.
5 questions with John Legend
What was it like working with your wife and kids on some of these songs?
“Oh, I love it. It just immediately brings a smile to my face. It brings a smile to my kids’ faces. And I love that I made something that'll be part of their lives forever and will help us remember this moment in our own lives.”
All of your children were conceived through IVF or in-vitro fertilization. Some conservative faiths think it's immoral. Can you comment on the recent controversy surrounding IVF?
“I just know how grateful we are that science and so many intelligent people, caring people have worked on ways for families who are struggling with fertility to have a family. We were having trouble doing it the old-fashioned way. And from us telling our stories, we opened up the floodgates of people telling us their stories.
“Everywhere we go, we meet people who have gone through similar struggles. And so, I know how valuable it is to so many families and I hope that none of our representatives do anything to jeopardize that.”
What was it like reimaging old classics like “You Are My Sunshine?”
“I love it, and it's such a familiar song to me from my childhood.
“When I finally got into it and was thinking about covering it, I listened to all the lyrics and I was like, ‘Oh yeah, it's kind of sad in part of the song.’ It's about the idea that you might lose someone or miss someone or be away from someone that you love. But they’re still your sunshine. And, Sufjan singing the background vocals on it with me. I just love hearing our voices together on it, too.”
What’s behind the song “When I Feel Sad?”
“The thing is, all of us feel sad sometimes, right? And for quite, you know, real reasons as we continue to live our lives and grow.
“I didn't know this when I first started working with Sufjan, He had, you know, gone through quite a bit of tragedy over the past year or so. You know, he lost his partner, and it was tough for him. And he was going through some health challenges as well. And I learned through him interviewing about this album that it was helpful for him to work on this music. And so, I feel like this song is good for the adults too.”
What’s behind the song “Always Come Back?”
“We travel. Even just going to work and leaving the kids, it's tough for them to say goodbye and we're experiencing it anew with Esti and Wren. Cause they're like, ‘Why are you leaving? What? Come on.’ And they're at the door, waving at you, upset, ‘Don't go.’
“We started with Luna telling her we would always come back. And so, now we're telling the young ones, ‘I will always come back.’ And I decided I should put that in a song.”
Thomas Danielian produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Mark Navin. Allison Hagan adapted it for the web.
This segment aired on November 25, 2024.
