If Mariah Carey tells you to record a Christmas album, then you do it! And that’s exactly what John Legend did once he spoke to the Queen of Christmas herself. In a new interview with the UK’s Heat World magazine, John explained how Mariah influenced him to recently release his first Christmas album, A Legendary Christmas.

It all started when John teamed up with Mariah to record their 2010 song “When Christmas Comes.” He said, “Mariah was like, ‘You need to do a Christmas album.’ And l agreed and l just didn’t feel like I had the time at that time to do it. But I made time this year and I’m glad I did.”

John Legend and Mariah Carey
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John, 39, is promoting his new album by going on a 25-city tour set to begin this Thursday, Nov. 15 in Clearwater, FL, and it will end on Dec. 30 in San Diego, CA. “Who knows how I’ll feel after that tour,” he said and joked that it won’t make him tired of the Holidays. “l think after the tour and then a significant break from Christmas, I’ll probably actually want to do some more!”

The Grammy award winner added that it’s going to be a show that his fans won’t dare to miss, because he plans on going all out for the concert decorations. “We’re going to make it Christmassy. We’re going to have decorations and fully embrace the retro vibe. I think we set the tone with the album photo shoot and we’ll continue with that tone for the tour,” he revealed.

Not only will John be busy with his tour, but NBC has also confirmed, that the dad-of-two will be making a Holiday special with his wife, Chrissy Teigen, called A Legendary Christmas. So don’t forget to set your DVR because it’s going to air on TV on Friday, Nov. 26!