When Will Ferrell said these seven words on Michelle Obama’s podcast, it marked the beginning of the end for his son, Magnus.

From the first twinkling piano notes and velvet croon of “Asleep Talking,” Obama was hooked. So, it seems, was everyone else.

Compared to the likes of Robin Thicke, Charlie Puth, Justin Timberlake, and similarly soulful white boys, the 22-year old Los Angeles native is no stranger to generating buzz in various corners of the internet. However, as he tells Atwood Magazine, he expected the podcast clip to provide “another quick little boost” for his career. Many reaction videos and celebrity shoutouts later, “Asleep Talking” launched the burgeoning artist into the stratosphere.

Asleep Talking - Magnus Ferrell — Asleep Talking – Magnus Ferrell

Reaction videos capture listeners melting into the groove, enveloped by Ferrell’s warm, effortless tone as he delivers a bittersweet, after-hours meditation on the longing love leaves in its wake. Ferrell has been releasing a steady stream of music since 2024, opting for hooky pop songs that were designed to stay in your head all day. But, as the musician puts it, those songs soon lost their charm. Ironically, when Ferrell stripped everything down, he found something expansive – a song simple enough to let his voice and his heart do the talking.

As Ferrell puts it, this was the first song he didn’t get sick of. The track is a rare instance of the artist loving the hit as much as the audience. Ferrell’s goal is “to have musicality exist in a pop song,” a vision “Asleep Talking” brings to life through its musical maturity and understated restraint.

Ferrell describes his hit as not just an affirmation, but a confirmation of what the tiny voice in his head has known all along.

It proved to him, and the rest of the world, that he’s got the goods. “Asleep Talking” has filled more than a void in the music landscape: it has filled the space in Magnus Ferrell’s understanding of the musician he wants to be.

If the song’s success has taught him anything, it’s that the best way forward is to stop chasing the noise and the numbers, and to listen to the voice that was there from the start.

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:: stream/purchase Asleep Talking here ::

:: connect with Magnus Ferrell here ::

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A CONVERSATION WITH MAGNUS FERRELL

Atwood Magazine: You have blown up! Which is crazy, because I thought you were already on your way before.

Magnus Ferrell: Was I? It caught fire randomly!

Yeah, I saw that video of The Morning Shift guys on Instagram. That’s actually where I heard “Asleep Talking” first.

Magnus Ferrell: It’s funny, I’m sure it looks like it was overnight, but this had been building since the Michelle Obama video. That was the first thing that popped off, and we kept trying to ride the momentum. I did not think for a second that it would go so bananas.

Where were you when you realized it was, in fact, bananas?

Magnus Ferrell: I was in the green room of the Blue Note, and saw The Morning Shift guys and thought, “That’s funny.” I’d become jaded to the videos that had gotten like 20,000 likes or whatever. So I thought, “Oh, cool, another quick little boost.” I checked my phone after the show, and I had 310,000 followers, which was crazy. Then Khloe Kardashian put it on her story, then Heidi Klum sent a collaboration post. It’s like a chaotic jumble of events and here we are.

I loved seeing like millennials and older audiences grow obsessed with the song. A lot of comments have described it as nostalgic.

Magnus Ferrell: Yeah, it makes sense because it’s an R&B, ‘90s thing with the instrumentation. I think we are used to electronic and sample-y stuff. We grew up in the era of Timbaland and the really cool electronic synth-y thing. It was wild to hear people my dad’s age messing with it.

Totally. Besides the harmonies, it’s a very simple track.

Magnus Ferrell: What’s funny is we originally had a version that is a pop version that’s way more electronic and synthy. Then one day, we tried more instruments. I think we were inspired by Olivia Dean at the time. When I heard it, I thought, “God, this is a completely different spin on the song, and I could really hear my voice.”

How did the song come about?

Magnus Ferrell: Gabe (Yaron) had some chords and we started writing over it. I was really in my feelings because I had run into someone I knew in high school who I had the biggest crush on. I was like, “Oh my God! Is this gonna happen?” There’s a little bit of melancholy to it because right after the song was written about said girl, it fizzled out. But at first, it was “I know it’s crazy to ask you to come over and talk and fall asleep with me.” But I just wanted it so bad, you know!

You're a sensitive little boy!

Magnus Ferrell: I’m just a big baby, bro.

Are you writing or recording now?

Magnus Ferrell: We have so much music, and we are trying to make as much as we can. I want to put out an album, but I don’t know if that’s decided yet. There’s something so freeing about being able to create music that you hear in your head. It is the most satisfying thing in the world to me. Once I got just the taste of what it could be, I was hooked.

What did the process of “Asleep Talking” teach you that you are carrying into your music now?

Magnus Ferrell: The most relieving thing about this whole process is that for the last five years of putting out music and the last nine years of writing music, all I had to go on was my gut feeling. The fact that “Asleep Talking” worked and I made a song that I didn’t get sick of. I’m still not sick of it, and it was the first song I made that I liked to listen to. I just knew if we kept pushing, kept promoting, that one day it was gonna just do its thing.

So if you think back to 2024 Magnus, what was the driving force of that music?

Magnus Ferrell: My opinion of my older songs has been changing because people have been showing them so much love. I had this mindset that the numbers directly correlated to the quality of the song, because it’s kind of true to an extent. But you can also make really good music that doesn’t get attention. I was thinking about how it was going to blow up, not how it was going to make me feel.

Interview: Magnus Ferrell Is Fun, Young, and Unafraid of His Shadows

:: INTERVIEW ::

I know you haven’t released a full-length record quite yet. Are you someone that listens to albums all the way through?

Magnus Ferrell: I do. There’s an awesome opportunity for people to reintroduce themselves to this process that has been completely lost.

What do you think about writing for that kind of project?

Magnus Ferrell: I definitely want there to be a through line. I want to make an album that sounds like who I am. I think that’s how you stay unique: you take all the pieces that make you you and combine them with your inspirations. I want to develop my ear and my taste to make me a more layered artist and songwriter.

What is your goal as a songwriter?

Magnus Ferrell: To have musicality exist in a pop song. I want to prove to the world that you can be jazzy as hell if you want to, but still write hooks that translate to people who have no experience in music. Guys like Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Prince were all able to do that. I notice there’s a gaping void, and I’m really intending to fill that.

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