Donny Osmond reflects on six decades of song, entertainment as he plans Meadow Brook show

One of Donny Osmond’s biggest hits was the Paul Anka-penned tune “Puppy Love,” but another Anka hit, “My Way,” is a better reflection of the performer’s career. His path from a 1970s teen idol to a successful television and stage performer shows that the Utah native was able to “take the blows” and carve out a memorable career despite numerous setbacks and challenges.

Now, the 66-year-old entertainer is bringing his high-energy, award-winning Las Vegas show to Meadow Brook Amphitheatre on Saturday, June 15. The Rochester Hills concert is the sixth stop of his 48-city summer tour, where Osmond offers a fast-paced retrospective of his 60-plus-year career that includes opportunities for fan interaction.

“It’s a fun show,” Osmond remarked, adding, “My favorite segment is where the audience dictates what we do. I display all 65 of my albums and let the audience choose the songs we perform.” After nearly three years in residence with the family-friendly fare at Harrah’s Showroom, Osmond was anxious to hit the road. “Not everybody can come to Las Vegas, and I wanted people to see why this is an award-winning show. I am really proud of the show, and my team.”

Osmond’s appreciation for his fans is part of his motivation; celebrating his career with as many of them as possible before he winds it down is his goal. Although he has not made definitive plans, retirement is on his mind. “I see the light at the end of the tunnel,” he admitted. “And the reason is that the standard at which I like to perform is to give over 100% every show. And as soon as I can’t, I am going to stop. I never want people to say ‘Donny, close the curtain.’ I am going to close it on my terms. I am touring now because I still have the stamina. But I am getting up there, and 61 years is a long time to do anything.”

Donny debuted as the youngest singing Osmond on Andy Williams’ television show in 1963, and joined his brothers’ barbershop act, playing a pivotal role as The Osmonds reinvented themselves as a rock band in the 1970s. His solo recordings earned him teen idol status. His partnership with his sister, Marie, included two television tenures, as the youngest headliners of a variety show in the 1970s, and then as talk show hosts in the late 1990s, not to mention an 11-year Las Vegas residency.

But it wasn’t always smooth sailing; throughout the 1980s, he struggled to reignite his singing career and went over a decade without a hit record until the success of “Soldier of Love” in 1988.

Not one to sit idle, he’s also hosted game shows and made many television appearances, including a number of sitcoms, as well as “Dancing with the Stars” and “The Masked Singer.” He also had a movie turn as the singing voice of Li Shang in the Disney classic “Mulan.” Not content to voice a Disney hero, Osmond also has played a Disney villain, appearing as Gaston on Broadway in “Beauty and the Beast.” Yet his most memorable stage appearance was as the lead in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat,” a role he performed over 2,000 times in more than six years. When this summer tour ends, Osmond will return to Harrah’s for three months, and then join the cast of a Scottish Joseph production playing the Pharaoh.

His varied show business career has included behind-the-scenes roles as a songwriter, director and producer. When asked if there is anything left on his professional bucket list, Osmond said:  “Not really; I have done everything I have wanted to do and more.” Not that he rests on his laurels; he looks at his current show as another exciting challenge. “I just take what I have done and take it to the next level. It’s a celebration of six decades of music.” That music includes a hit record catalog that produced 33 gold records and sold over 100 million albums.  He released his 65th album “Start Again” in July 2021, and started his Harrah’s residency the following month.

Osmond’s career has had storied highs and challenging lows, with a path that he jokes reads like far-fetched fiction, except it’s true. “I’d like to be known as someone who reinvented himself time and time again, and was a professional in what I did. And that I never gave a performance I did not care about,” he said.

Although proud of his career, he said his greatest accomplishment is his family, which includes his wife of 46 years, Debbie, five adult children and 14 grandchildren.

“I would like to be remembered as a family man, always faithful to my wife and hopefully a good father and good grandfather.” A lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints, Osmond credits his faith for providing the right foundation. “I married my sweetheart for eternity, and my children and my grandchildren will be with me forever. In show business, the curtain comes down someday. But your family are always your family, and I am proud of mine.”

Donny Osmond performs at 8 p.m. Saturday, June 15 at Meadow Brook Amphitheatre, 3554 Walton Blvd., Rochester Hills. 313-471-7000 or meadowbrookamphitheatre.com.