The Surprising Reason Norah Jones Didn’t Sing to Her Son When He Was a Baby

Fans have enjoyed Norah Jones‘ silky voice since her 2002 debut Come Away With Me — but the singer once held out on sharing her pipes with her own son.

“When he was a baby, I was reading all these books that told me not to play with him in the middle of the night because you want him to go back to sleep,” says the singer in the new issue of PEOPLE. “My mom was like, ‘That’s the saddest thing ever. You’re a singer!’ ”

The nine-time Grammy winner, 37, changed her ways shortly after and sings to both her son, now 2, and daughter, whom she welcomed this summer.

In addition to crooning lullabies to her brood, the singer recently returned to her jazzy piano roots on Day Breaks, her sixth solo album. Jones had nearly completed the LP but took a break to care for her daughter.

“We made it right around the time I got pregnant, and I knew that it was almost done and that we could have rushed it out, but then that didn’t really make a lot of sense either,” says Jones of the acclaimed record, adding balancing her career and new life as a mom has been “challenging” — but also rewarding, as she’s acquired two new roadies.

“I’m just going to bring my kids on tour and hope for the best,” Jones says. “We’ll know in a few months if they’re good at it or not! But I think kids are adaptable, and I have a lot of help. Everybody in our touring family is like an uncle to them, or an aunt; we’re all a pretty close band. It’ll be fun.”

While she’s back to her musical routine, Jones enjoyed some changes in her personal life: In addition to becoming a mother, she also recently married. However, the fiercely private singer’s partner is just as enigmatic and prefers to keep his name — and their kids’ names — confidential.

“He likes to stay mysterious, and I’m going to let him stay mysterious,” Jones told Billboard recently. “Totally his call!”

For more from Norah Jones, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now.