Jon Langston Describes the Magic of Becoming a First-Time Father
"It's literally magical. It's the best feeling in the world," he says.
Country riser Jon Langston recently celebrated a milestone that’s bigger than any hit song or sold out concert — and now the Georgia native’s life will never be the same.
Langston and his girlfriend, Sonia, welcomed their first child with a heartfelt social media post on November 1, introducing the world to sweet Magnolia Mae. It has been the brightest of bright spots in an otherwise disappointing year for Langston, and the singer-songwriter has fully embraced his new role as “girl dad” — even going so far as to sport a hat with the title while getting a new tattoo recently. So what’s his first month as a father been like?
“Man it’s life changing. It’s the best thing ever,” he tells Sounds Like Nashville, speaking by phone after the release of a new video for his “Drinks” single. “Bringing her home for the first time and having her look at me, nothing else matters in that moment. It’s just all about her. It’s like ‘This is what it’s about, this is what I was put on Earth to do, to be this little girl’s dad.’ When you realize that you get a whole new perspective of the world, it’s crazy. You think of stuff you never thought of before, like ‘Oh we can’t do this because she might choke on that.’ And you starting thinking weird things like ‘Yeah, we live here. But are the school systems good?’”
On top of the mystery-filled official video for his dark-country anthem, “Drinks,” Langston also recently released the new track “Happy Ever After,” so he’s been plenty busy even without touring. But leading up to Magnolia’s birth, he was laser focused on her arrival. He says there was definitely some concern over the COVID-19 pandemic and whether or not he’d be allowed in the delivery room, but luckily, everything worked out.
“I told my girl ‘Listen, if they pull some stuff like “Sir, you’re gonna have to stand outside” I was gonna take us to a different hospital, or we were having this baby at home!'” he says with a laugh. “Like, ‘I am going to be there for my daughter’s birth.’ But they let us [be together]. It was just me and her at the hospital and they wouldn’t let anyone come visit, but we were in and out in a couple of days. It was nice.”
Now with that first hurdle out of the way, the real job begins — and Langston knows he’s got his work cut out for him. The first-time girl dad says he grew up “in a house full of boys,” and is very much not used to expressing his emotional side … but that’s already changing. His brother also had a baby girl recently, and he told Langston what to expect.
“He just had his first last year, and he said like ‘Man, you don’t know anything and you think you’re gonna be clueless the whole time, but once you have that baby girl, it’s like instincts kick in,'” Langston says. “It’s like God gives you this love that you never thought you had inside of you, and a little girl just brings it out. It’s like ‘Where did these feelings come from?’ It’s literally magical. It’s the best feeling in the world. I wouldn’t change it for anything.”
