“Kevin went upstairs and brought the kids down to play beside him,” the source says. “He said to the kids, ‘You wanna see daddy on TV?’ And the kids were excited.”

“They joked, ‘Are you sure they didn’t just use your name to boost ratings because of all the BS BS (Britney Spears b.s.) and you ain’t really in it?’”

But before long, Kevin finally appeared on screen rocking out, and immediately “grabbed Sean Preston and pointed at the screen saying, ‘Look - daddy!’ and Sean responded, ‘Daddy!’ As soon as Jayden heard Sean speak, he responded, ‘Dada’ and he clapped repeatedly,” the insider says.

While his sons were proud of their daddy, Kevin was overcome with self-consciousness at his appearance, asking, “Do I look a little chubby?”, to which his friends admitted he was carrying a little belly weight.

“You could tell Kevin was very anxious as to what his friends thought,” the source says. “Everyone had in the room commended him on his performance. He asked if that image worked for him. One of his friends responded with, ‘If the music is hot, it does not really matter what you look like. You fans will love you.’”