Lionel Richie Is "G-Pa"
April 10 2008, Published 9:42 a.m. ET
Don’t call Lionel Richie “grandpa”!
The Grammy winner has a granddaughter — little Harlow by daughter Nicole Richie — but he doesn’t really like his new familial title that comes along with the new addition.
“I went to Nicole and said, ‘Grandpa, how does that sound? Does that fit me?’ She said, 'Dad, that sounds old.' So I kind of searched out. G-Pa sounds a lot better,” he tells Extra at the 25th Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards, where he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.
G-Pa has been helping Nicole and Joel Madden out, too, with Harlow, often baby-sitting the 3-month-old.
“He actually baby-sat the other day him and Joel and they were amazing,” Nicole says, adding that Harlow slept the whole time, which was perfectly fine with her dad.
“It’s when the baby wakes up that I freak out!” Lionel says.
Joking aside, Nicole says her family has been nothing short of helpful now that she’s a mom.
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“Motherhood is definitely like nothing I could have imagined,” the 26-year-old says. “It’s beyond amazing and my family has been supportive.”
And does Lionel see a change in his daughter?
“She went from, ‘Dad, I don’t care. Whatever you say.’ to ‘Wash your hands, dad.’ and ‘Be quiet, dad,’ ” he says. “It’s a whole new sound of the house.”
For more on Lionel and Nicole, tune in to Extra tonight!