Magnus Ferrell’s Asleep Talking finds a bigger crowd on TikTok
Will Ferrell's son Magnus Ferrell is drawing new listeners to Asleep Talking, with TikTok reactions, streaming gains and a Michelle Obama boost.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
Magnus Ferrell’s Asleep Talking is getting a fresh summer push online, sending new listeners toward the 22-year-old musician who also happens to be Will Ferrell’s oldest son.
The bedroom-pop single was released April 24 and has been gaining momentum across TikTok and X. In a July 3 TikTok post, Magnus wrote, “I AM SO HAPPY!” and called the number of people discovering the song “absolutely mind boggling.”
The track pairs low-key piano and guitar with a lovestruck idea: the singer is so stuck on someone that the feeling follows him into sleep. Its official video has topped 400,000 views on YouTube, while the song has passed 600,000 streams on Spotify, according to the figures cited in Mashable’s report.
Who is Magnus Ferrell?
Magnus Ferrell is the eldest of Will Ferrell and Viveca Paulin’s three sons. The couple, who married in 2000, also have sons Mattias and Axel.
Magnus started playing piano as a child and later got into jazz, a style he has credited with giving him room to improvise and shape his own musical voice. He has often worked with longtime friend Gabe Yaron, who co-wrote “Asleep Talking.”
He enrolled at the University of Southern California, his father’s alma mater, and was roommates there with Yaron as they posted covers and original music online. Magnus later took a leave from USC to pursue music full time and signed with Republic Records.
Why is Asleep Talking getting attention now?
Reaction accounts have helped push the song to wider audiences. The Morning Shift Show, which has more than 1 million followers on TikTok, posted a July 23 reaction to “Asleep Talking.” One commenter then showed up on Magnus’ page saying they were sent by the show and already had the track “on repeat,” Mashable reported.
The song also got a high-profile lift on July 1, when Will Ferrell appeared on Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson’s IMO podcast. Will played “Asleep Talking” for the hosts, and Obama responded with applause, according to the podcast moment cited in the report.
Listeners online have been putting their own labels on the sound. Mashable cited posts describing it as “dancing in the kitchen making dinner sipping wine music” and “Super 8 rom com vibes.”
Magnus has addressed the attention that comes with being the child of a major celebrity. In a 2025 interview with Atwood Magazine, he said, “I’m not someone who’s going to pretend it’s not a thing,” adding, “Most definitely, it is. I’m not going to hide it.” In the same interview, he described his musical approach as “groove therapy.”
“Asleep Talking” is not his first release. His earlier work includes “Drinks on Me,” “Life or Death,” “Miss Me Vendetta” and the EP Hasn’t Even Started. He also performed at the 2025 Summer Bash in New York and at the MTV Video Music Awards that September as a solo artist.
One previous Magnus and Yaron track, “Slow Down,” appeared in the 2025 Prime Video comedy You’re Cordially Invited, which starred Will Ferrell. At a 2022 Cancer for College benefit, Will joined Magnus onstage with a cowbell, nodding to his famous Saturday Night Live sketch. The father and son later had another viral moment when Will DJed a USC fraternity tailgate at Magnus’ invitation, playing songs including Survivor’s “Eye of the Tiger.”
This story draws on original reporting from Mashable.