Musician Steven Converse and nurse-in-training Jiyeon Jun, from Modesto, California, are parents to an adorable 3-year-old boy named Daniel, who even before learning to speak had a very musical aspect to his voice.
In summer 2019, when toddler Daniel sang his own incredible version of Elvis Presleys classic, he left his parents astounded.
Having memorized most of the words to the King of Rock and Rolls “Cant Help Falling in Love,” Steven took then-2-year-old Daniel into his home-recording studio, picked up his guitar, and pressed “record.” The ensuing clip was posted online for friends and family to enjoy, but Daniels singing skills touched viewers far and wide; the video quickly went viral.
A Musical Family
Once upon a time, Steven intended on making a career out of playing guitar and writing music, and still puts a lot of effort into growing as a musician despite being a staff sergeant in the United States Air Force. The father often integrates his two passions by playing an electric guitar rendition of the Star-Spangled Banner at military ceremonies upon request.
Now it seems that music is in his son Daniels DNA too.
When Steven was asked by The Epoch Times how he would describe his son, Steven replied: “The first word that comes to mind is adored. Whether its going to the store here in the U.S., or when he visits his family in South Korea with my wife and is out in public,” Steven explained, “everybody always remarks how adorable and sweet he is.”
Daniel is also “impeccably perceptive,” Steven said. “He truly amazes us and brings constant smiles to our faces.”
When Daniel was very young, “his cute baby babbling possessed obvious rhythmic and melodic themes,” Steven shared. Thus the parents would often joke that their little boy was a composer baby. The couple wondered whether Daniel would take up an interest in music.
The family frequently enjoyed karaoke sessions together using Stevens audio equipment and YouTubes plentiful karaoke-backing tracks. However, Daniel was often pretty reserved about singing, (especially on the microphone). One day when Elviss “Cant Help Falling in Love” came up via YouTubes autoplay feature, Daniel started humming the song by the repeat of the melody in the second verse.
They had never sung the song together before. “As we all cuddled on the couch,” Steven recalled, “it was one of those moments that I hope I remember forever.”
Steven further added: “The moment of connecting through music with him was so moving for me that I wanted to capture it with good quality audio.”
The Recording That Went Viral
The video of Daniel singing Elviss classic represents the very first time that the toddler and his father ever sat down together in Stevens “makeshift” home studio in the basement.
Days after the rendition of “Cant Help Falling in Love,” Steven wished to capture Daniels sweet rendition for family posterity, so he brought Daniel into the home studio, picked up his guitar, and started to sing with him.
“I noticed he was struggling to hit the lower notes,” Steven recalled, “so I adjusted the key to be higher and he adapted just fine. However, any time I would stop singing, he would turn around and yell at the top of his lungs, angry that I had stopped.”
“Eventually though, and this is the moment that is in the video,” Steven explained, “he just continued singing without me.”
Steven also emphasized that the product was all before “he even really talked.”
The proud father then shared the video of Daniels lovely singing on YouTube on June 18, 2019.
The musical father described his toddler sons ability to recognize and repeat complex melodies as “absolutely astounding.” Daniels musical recognition extends beyond the works of Elvis, too. “Theres something deeply moving as a father to hear him humming guitar solos I composed, for example,” Steven said, “especially since they certainly werent written with the human voice in mind.”
“A part of me hopes that were able to connect through music more as he grows up,” Steven continued, “but my larger hope is for him to simply develop passion in something, and Im sure that Jiyeon and I will thus become passionate in it as well, as we encourage him and support him in his endeavors.”
