Photo supplied by Esther Ling.

By Curtis Galbraith

Local Singer

Grande Prairie singer releases first children’s song

Apr 11, 2025 | 6:00 AM

A story about her husband’s childhood from her mother-in-law inspired the newest work from a Grande Prairie musician.

Esther Ling’s new work is a children’s song called Cheeky Wind. It is being released on Friday, April 11 on streaming platforms.

She says the story was that cousins were playing outside when a tomato fell off a plant onto the ground.

“And his aunt got upset and called and questioned them and nobody wanted to admit it.”

“My husband, being the youngest of the lot, unexpectedly came up with this clever excuse and blamed it on the wind and so, to quote his exact words as how my mother in law had told the story, he had cheekily said it was the wind.”

Ling’s own two kids perform on the song with her.

“I would call it a family project. My nine year old son and my 11 year old daughter are featured in this song. When I wrote it, I had intended it to be for a children’s choir to sing.”

Ling says this is her first time trying to write a children’s song.

“And its definitely different from previous songs that I’ve written and released.”

“I really enjoyed it and I will be exploring more writing for children to sing and writing for choir groups actually.

Ling says she recorded the song in her bedroom. She and her two kids perform on the song, with Ling doing all the arranging, recording, mixing and mastering herself.

She adds after the Grande Prairie Junior Boys Choir performed Cheeky Wind at their spring concert in March, she wrote another children’s song for the Peace Region Girls Choir.

Cheeky Wind was the winning song in the Grande Prairie Boys Choir songwriting competition held in January.

Ling says local artists Genuine Advent Reyes did the cover art for Cheeky Wind and is also doing an animated video that will come out on April 22.

“She does exceptional work, so I’m really excited to showcase her animation work with my song Cheeky Wind.”

Ling says she is hoping to release an EP sometime in 2026. She says these would be love songs.

“Love has always been a popular muse for many artists and in all kinds of genres.”

“I have these songs that tell stories of love, romance, heartbreak, that are still quietly living in the pages of my notebook. The demo files are just sitting in (my) computer and I believe it’s time for them to get released and heard.”

Ling says she hopes to find a producer to work on the five-song EP with her.

Photo supplied by Esther Ling.