Inside the life of a global superstar: Love, loss, and the fight to keep performing

A year ago, the global superstar opened up about his childhood, revealing details that few had known until now. Among other things, he shared that his father, Howard, was a “wonderful pianist.”

”He knocked me out”

The artist himself began studying piano at just four years old, but according to a 2025 documentary about his life, Howard “never really showed kindness, compassion, or understanding toward his talent” as he was growing up.

It wasn’t just that his father ignored the young, talented boy — he could also be violent at times. The artist recalled a memory from when he was eight years old. He was supposed to be playing Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 14 as written, but instead performed a rock-and-roll version of the piece.

At one point, his father “came down the stairs, bang, I got whacked,” the Grammy winner said.

“I got whacked so hard he knocked me out, I was unconscious for like a minute. And I remember waking up going, ‘Well, that got his attention,’ and that was my memory of his piano lessons,” he added with a laugh.

“So, he didn’t teach me much.”