Robin Thicke talks sudden death of father Alan Thicke and how it inspired his new music

Robin Thicke opened up about losing his father, Alan, in 2016.  (Getty Images)

Singer Robin Thicke got candid in a recent radio interview about the loss of his father, actor and TV host Alan Thicke, in 2016.

The “Blurred Lines” singer sat down for an interview with Zane Lowe of Apple Music’s Beats 1 radio show on Wednesday where he opened up for the first time about the impact his dad’s 2016 death had on him, as well as his new music.

“Well, it’s funny — my father passed away a couple of years ago and I thought I had an album and these songs that I wanted to put out. Then when that happened, it was something I wasn’t expecting and it just rattled my soul,” the 41-year-old singer said (via People). “So, I took some time to re-think the album and then these songs started pouring out that had more meaning and more weight to them.”

As previously reported, Alan collapsed while playing hockey with his youngest son at the Pickwick Gardens ice skating rink in Burbank, California. He later died at the hospital at age 69.

Lyrics in Robin’s new single “Testify” openly discuss the loss of his dad and how it changed not only his life, but his family’s dynamic. He explained on the radio show that, while the loss of his father brought him to a very low point in his life, spirituality helped him get through.

“It’s cathartic just to be able to say it and then let it live, as opposed to in the middle of a conversation or a quote,” he explained. “Once you put it into song form, then it can live forever. And so the message in the song is really about the hope and the light at the end of that tunnel when you feel that you lost or you feel that you don’t know what to do next. You know, that reconnection to God or spirituality or something deeper than the surface is what brings you back home to who you really are and who you want to be.”

“Testify” is available now.