YouTube sensation Ms. Rachel is releasing her debut album, \u201cI'm So Happy,\u201d on Sept. 25<\/p>\n
NEW YORK — Parents of toddlers everywhere, prepare yourselves. YouTube sensation and music teacher Ms. Rachel will release her debut album, the 23-track \u201cI'm So Happy,\u201d on Sept. 25.<\/p>\n
\u201cMusic is such a wonderful way for people to bond, for parents to bond. I know from the minute my kids were born, we\u2019re singing to them,\u201d Ms. Rachel, whose real name is Rachel Griffin Accurso, said.<\/p>\n
Ms. Rachel launched her mega popular YouTube channel in 2019 with her husband, Aron Accurso, known as \u201cMr. Aron.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a music educator, so I get excited about kids hearing a real clarinet on \u2018Icky Sticky Bubble Gum\u2019 and kids getting excited about hearing more real instruments,\u201d said Ms. Rachel.<\/p>\n
But that isn't the only education they'll get from the album. A song like \u201cI Could Be Your Friend\u201d gives kids a script for bolstering their social skills. \u201cWe\u2019re always thinking about all kinds of kids, whether they have disabilities, whether they\u2019re autistic,\u201d she said. \u201cWe just want the world to feel like it\u2019s helpful to all children and the musical worlds as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
The songs aren't limited by genre, either. Take the single \u201cI Love a Rainbow\u201d as an example: It's a big bossa nova number. Their take on the classic \u201cOld McDonald\u201d leans bluegrass.<\/p>\n
\u201cMusic is at the heart of our show,\u201d added Aron Accurso. \u201cAnd so, we\u2019ve always wanted to release the music and have families experience the music away from the screen.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI'm So Happy\u201d was co-produced by Aron Accurso and Grammy winner Scott Riesett and principally arranged by Accurso. He reimagined a number of Ms. Rachel's fan favorite songs and childhood classics with a team of 19 vocalists and 42 instrumentalists.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s songs that people know from the show, but we decided to expand them and elevate them with new arrangements and reproducing them,\u201d Aron Accurso explained. \u201cIt was a process of, you know, looking at them and saying, \u2018OK, what else can we do to this to make it sparkle more? What can we add to it? What does it need to be on the album?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
He says they most hope that the album will inspire \u201cliving room dance parties, because that\u2019s what we love with our children,\u201d he said. \u201cWe love to put on an album and dance around.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms. Rachel has made headlines over the last few years for using her social media platforms to advocate for global humanitarian crises, with particular attention given to the plight of children in Gaza and those detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Most recently, she shared comments about the mysterious death of 18-year-old Nolan Wells in Mississippi, a case shadowed by the state\u2019s fraught racial history and lingering distrust in law enforcement.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know the investigation and everything that followed would have been different if Nolan Wells were white and his friends were black. Nolan and his family deserve justice,\u201d she wrote on Instagram.<\/p>\n
Ms. Rachel says she knows her album may bring attention to her advocacy and vice versa. \u201cI view myself as an advocate for children\u2019s rights so anytime they\u2019re being violated by anyone anywhere, I want to be speaking out,\u201d she said. \u201cI want families to be happy and safe and healthy, and I think that\u2019s a wonderful thing. So, if it\u2019s brought up with the album, that\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n
1. \u201cI\u2019m So Happy\u201d 2. \u201cI Love a Rainbow\u201d 3. \u201cIcky Sticky Bubble Gum\u201d 4. \u201cPhonics\u201d 5. \u201cHop Little Bunnies\u201d 6. \u201cCaterpillar\u201d 7. \u201cUp and Down\u201d 8. \u201cBubble Pop\u201d 9. \u201cWalkin\u2019 at the Zoo\u201d 10. \u201cOpen Shut Them\u201d 11. \u201cI Could Be Your Friend\u201d 12. \u201cI Listen to My Body\u201d 13. \u201cThe Wheels on the Bus\u201d 14. \u201cDino Play\u201d 15. \u201cPop Those Bubbles\u201d 16. \u201cOld MacDonald\u201d 17. \u201cIf You Should Meet an Elephant\u201d 18. \u201cCounting to 20!\u201d 19. \u201cB-I-N-G-O\u201d 20. \u201cLobby Loo\u201d 21. \u201cBig Feelings\u201d 22. \u201cTogether\u201d 23. \u201cI Love You to the Moon\u201d<\/p>\n