Robin Thicke: The Good Life

Now let’s hop right into your latest single, “Look Easy” — Tell me about this particular track? How did it come to fruition?

“Look Easy,” is about the people that make the tough times look easy; like my mother and my fiancé, April, and all the frontline workers. You know, people who can take on the toughest challenges and keep smiling, keep dancing, and turn the pain into sunshine.

Of course, “Look Easy” follows right on the heels of “Take Me Higher” and “Beautiful” — Talk to me a little bit about these compositions…

Well, “Take Me Higher” was a record that I started with Pharrell many years ago, and then a few years ago we got back in the studio and added some horns, some guitar, a new intro, and really brought it to life. “Beautiful” was a song that I started after my father passed four years ago, and then during the protests for the Black Lives Matter movement last year, I re-wrote the song – talking about tearing down the current infrastructure of racism and turning it into a new way of life and something more beautiful, more positive.

All three gems come courtesy of your new solo collection, On Earth, and in Heaven — Conceptually, what does this title represent both to and for you?

The title On Earth, and in Heaven is about the people that have passed away and moved on; like my beloved father and my mentor, Andre Harrell, who was also my executive producer. He passed away last year and that’s when I re-committed myself to finishing the album. I wrote a bunch of new songs, and the album really took shape. It’s a testament to the people that have moved on and the people that are still here – my children, my fiancé, my mother, my friends. It’s a combination of the people that moved on and also the people that are still here that give me life.

How then does On Earth, and in Heaven either differ and / or compare to previous bodies of work?

On Earth, and in Heaven is different from some of my earlier works because it’s a reflection of the things I’ve been through these last seven years. Whether it’s divorce, or my father passing, my house burning down, having three children, being on a television show these past few years; so much has changed for me, so it’s a little different than the music I’ve made before. It also has a lot more instrumentation and solos – whether it’s trumpet solos, saxophone, flute solos, piano solos – there’s a lot more musical instrumentation solos than I’ve ever done before. I think that’s probably in honor of my love of jazz and wanting to implement more of that into my music.

As a prolific songwriter, when you sit down to pen your lyrics where do you draw your inspiration from?

When I write my lyrics or my songs, it always comes from some form of natural or organic inspiration. Either it’s something I’m dealing with in my relationships, or something that inspires celebration or positivity. Sometimes it’s just a feeling that I’m going through that I want to express that helps me get through those times or becomes therapeutic in some way.

Switching gears here, how has not only the industry itself, but even more-so you as an individual – both personally and professionally – either changed and / or evolved since your whole inception into music?

Well, I’ve obviously changed personally and professionally. You know when I first started out it was all about the music, and then after 20 years of making music I wanted some different form of success. I wanted international fame; I wanted my music to reach all around the globe. Then after I had some of that success with “Blurred Lines,” I pulled back and really focused more on my family and the type of music legacy that I want to leave. This album is more back to my roots of soulful, positive, inspirational music that hopefully will last forever.

Longevity, what do you attribute yours to?

I probably attribute my longevity to just the old theory of never giving up. No matter how many times you get knocked down, no matter how many doors close on you, you just keep getting up, you keep trying, you keep putting positive energy out into the world. You take better care of yourself, and just give – the more you give, sooner or later good things come back to you.

What do you want people to get from your music?

In the end, I want people when they listen to my music to feel like they’re not alone. To know that we all have tough times, we all have insecurities, we all have fears, we all have anxiety. It’s okay to feel that way, it’s okay to admit that you’re going through tough times and to try as hard as you can to get yourself out of those times. To really love yourself and to believe in something bigger than yourself spiritually; to try to give more than you get from life.”

Season 5 of The Masked Singer kicked off March 10th! First off, is being an integral part of this television juggernaut as fun as it is to watch it? One of my biggest guilty pleasures, I must admit! Also, did you ever imagine that it would amass such a huge fan following with this crazy level of success?

I had a feeling that The Masked Singer would be successful, but definitely didn’t know it would be this successful for this long. It’s been such a blessing to me and my family, and it’s the most fun job and the easiest job I’ve ever had. So, I hope it goes on forever.

What has been your greatest career achievement(s), at least thus far anyway?

Well, hopefully my greatest career achievements are still to come!

What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?

Advice that I would give if somebody wanted to follow in my footsteps is to learn the craft and to keep getting better. Every day, every week, every month, every year, to keep trying to improve your craft, and no matter how many people tell you you’re not good or you’ll never make it, you just keep on trying. You keep on believing and you keep on fighting, and sooner or later your dreams do come true.

And, lastly, what’s next for Robin Thicke?

What’s next for me? Hopefully to make more music that my kids will be proud of and won’t make fun of me! …But, they’ll probably make fun of me anyway. Really right now it’s trying to get back into some form of a normal lifestyle. Being able to take my kids places and share in the adventures with them that I got to have when I was growing up. So, it’ll be nice to travel again and have some adventures outside of our house with the family.