Singing as Maui in ‘Moana’ and on its new companion album have given Johnson “a chance to show his musicality,” says Hashian

NEED TO KNOW

• Dwayne Johnson and his wife Lauren Hashian speak to PEOPLE about Moana: Voices Across the Ocean, an album with new music inspired by the live-action Moana
• Johnson has always been “very musical,” says Hashian, recalling early dates where the two would sing karaoke at home together
• The producer-star’s new song “Your Dad,” inspired by his daughters, shows “the more sensitive side of him as a girl dad,” Hashian says

Dwayne Johnson unveiling his talents as a musician for Moana is no surprise to his wife Lauren Hashian.

“Dwayne is very musical,” says Hashian, 41, of her husband of almost seven years. “I think growing up in a Polynesian household, you’re always singing. And his mother’s always playing ukulele. She carries a ukulele with her everywhere she goes.”

“Everywhere,” interjects Johnson, 54, with a smile. The Jumanji star’s mother Ata is originally from Samoa; the mother-son duo have been known to perform traditional Samoan dances together in Hawaii, where Johnson spent much of his childhood. 

“He grew up with music all around and he’s a really great singer,” Hashian continues. “When we were first dating, we had a karaoke machine in our house. We’d have a date — I’d even make a drink and we’d sing karaoke for fun!” 

Due to the wrestler-turned-actor’s fame, she recalls with a laugh, “we couldn’t go to the mall.”

2016’s animated Moana, its 2024 sequel and last month’s live-action remake, says Hashian, “finally” gave Johnson “a chance to show his musicality through Maui and ‘You’re Welcome,’” the signature Lin-Manuel Miranda song of his rascally demigod character. 

But Johnson writing and performing a new song for Moana: Voices Across the Ocean, Disney’s companion album to the live-action movie, “was the next step,” explains Hashian. The husband-and-wife duo teamed up with Moana choreographers Tiana Nonosina Liufau and Kayla Faʻamaligi to record songs inspired by the franchise from artists releasing music all over the Pacific. 

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“I’ve been lucky, over the years, to be able to do a lot of stuff that I love to do and that a few folks out there have enjoyed,” PEOPLE’s former Sexiest Man Alive tells PEOPLE. “But this one is really, really special.”

Johnson collaborated with American Idol winner Iam Tongi to write “Your Dad,” a track inspired by daughters Jasmine, 10, and Tiana, 8, who he shares with Hashian, plus Simone, 24, who he shares with ex-wife Dany Garcia. The heartfelt ballad shows “the more sensitive side of him as a girl dad. And he’s the best girl dad,” says Hashian. 

“It really is him. It’s his whole heart,” she adds. And because of those innate musical talents — stretching back to Johnson’s home karaoke days — “it didn’t take much encouraging or evolving. I think this has always been him.”

Moana: Voices Across the Ocean, featuring new tunes from Pacific Island artists including Maoli, Dinah Jane, Stan Walker, Paula Fuga, Common Kings and Tongi, is out now. The live-action Moana is in theaters.

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