RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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There's a new star in the Ferrell family.
Magnus Ferrell — the 22-year-old son of Will Ferrell — is currently having "the greatest two, three weeks of my entire life," as his new song "Asleep Talking" is having a moment, taking off on social media and landing him on the Billboard charts.
He dropped the soulful tune in the spring, but "Asleep Talking" got a big boost earlier this month when Will was a guest on Michelle Obama's IMO podcast and played her the song , hyping up his son in the process. Magnus said his dad had given him a heads up that he was planning to show the music to the former First Lady but that he'd forgotten — until the episode released and his phone started blowing up. Since then, Khloe Kardashian, Charlie Puth, Heidi Klum and Ty Dolla $ign are just some of the stars who have supported the song publicly. As Ferrell says: "It's been like this weird dream. It doesn't feel real, but then it does at the same time. It's just crazy." Related Stories TV 'The Hawk' Review: Will Ferrell and a Stellar Supporting Cast Are Wasted in Netflix's Whiff of a Golf Comedy TV Will Ferrell Weighs In on How His 'The Hawk' Character Would Do Against Fellow Golfer Happy Gilmore
Despite his famous last name, Ferrell says it hasn't been an overnight success. "Contrary to popular belief, music was very much all around the family when we were growing up," Ferrell recalls, with he and his two brothers all in piano lessons as kids. He joined jazz band in his teens — which he credits for his current groovy sound — and when the world shut down during the pandemic, he had more time to focus on writing and producing music. Ferrell put out his first song when he was 17 and was later signed to Republic Records, releasing several singles through the years while also attending the University of Southern California as an acting major.
And though following in his dad's on-camera footsteps is still something he wants to pursue, music is the main focus. As "Asleep Talking" has taken off, fans have been quick to compare Ferrell to Justin Timberlake and Robin Thicke ("It's such an honor to be even mentioned in the same conversation with those names, so it's really cool. I still think I have a lot of work to do before I'm at that point"), but Michael Jackson is the north star. "I think that the world hasn't seen a level of talent in a very, very long time that he had. So that's really what I'm trying to do," he emphasizes.
The younger Ferrell knows that his newfound fame comes with that hard-to-shake "nepo baby" label. He and his brothers did, after all, appear on stage with their dad at the Emmys in 2013, and he's frequently joined Will at his Hollywood premieres.
"You have to acknowledge the position that you're in because they're not wrong. I can't control the attention that I get because of my dad, but like, it is there," Ferrell says of navigating online chatter about his advantages. "And at the end of the day, it's just about the music; like if my music was terrible, it wouldn't be doing the thing that it's doing. But I acknowledge the fact that I'm in a position where I'm even lucky to chase a dream and some people aren't. So yeah, just gonna take it with grace."
There's plans for more music — an acoustic version of "Asleep Talking" and a new single out in August, along with preparations for an album or EP. Ferrell's also playing a small residency at L.A. jazz club Blue Note for a few nights in August and September, and looking to go on the road for more shows.
It also helps to have such supportive parents, as Will has previously declared he's ready to retire from acting and just be Magnus' full-time roadie. Magnus Ferrell says he's getting constant updates from his family on streaming numbers and messages celebrating the song's success, adding, "I'm so lucky that that I have parents that believe in me and and knew that this was possible even from the very, very beginning."
In the meantime, Ferrell is taking advantage of the spotlight, noting that he thought if his music ever went viral he'd be "running out of my house screaming," but instead, "it's just an excitement that there's so much more work to be done now that it's started. I feel like I'm an athlete that just got drafted to a league and the regular season's about to start."
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