After more than 60 years in the spotlight, Donny Osmond attributes his humility to his marriage and his faith.
“I'm very grateful. I have a strong marriage and a good foundation; my faith keeps me strong,” the “Puppy Love” singer told Fox News Digital. “I know a lot of people might say that's a little logical, but no, I'm a lover of God and I respect the deity. Jesus Christ is the center of my life and that's what keeps me grounded.
“That gives me the foundation I have to continue forward in this very difficult business, but it is also rewarding.”
DONNY OSMOND HAS NEVER uttered a curse in his life: “I'D LOVE TO SAY CERTAIN WORDS”
After more than 60 years in the spotlight, Donny Osmond attributes his humility to his marriage and his faith. (Brian Ach/WireImage)
Osmond met his wife Debbie, now 65, when they were teenagers and they married in 1978.
WATCH: DONNY OSMOND SAYS HIS “STRONG MARRIAGE” AND FAITH KEEP HIM “GROUNDED”
Osmond, 66, said he believes the key to his success over more than six decades in the business is reinvention.
“You have to keep doing new things. You have to reach new heights, constantly climb new mountains,” he said. “It's a lot of work, especially when you go from a teenage career to an adult or mature performer. But that's what makes my show here in Las Vegas unique: I take people through six decades of the entertainment industry in 90 minutes.”
Osmond said she began singing professionally at age 5.
Marie and Donny Osmond started their show, “Donny & Marie,” when they were teenagers. (Getty Images)
““I don't know any other life,” the 66-year-old explained. “When you start that young, you start singing at 4, professionally at 5, it's like there's really nothing else to know or want to do because, yeah, it's a tough business. I mean, you talk to anybody in the business and they'll tell you it's hard to get there. It's hard to maintain it. But I love getting on stage, man. It's in my blood. It's in my DNA. And I love hard work. I love a challenge and I love reinventing myself. I'm going to add some things to this show next year that will blow your mind.”
But she admits she missed out on a “normal childhood, or whatever 'normal' means, that other people have.”
Osmond revealed that she spoke to Michael Jackson “many, many times” about child stardom.
MARIE OSMOND STAYS FIT TO BE A FUN GRANDMOTHER TO HER 8 GRANDCHILDREN
Donny Osmond, 66, met his wife Debbie, 65, when they were teenagers and they married in 1978. (Robin Platzer/IMAGES/Getty Images)
“We had a great relationship before we lost him, about this very issue,” she said. “And he said something to me one time and I thought, 'Wow, that's pretty, pretty amazing.' He said, 'You're the only person on this planet that I can relate to and who knows exactly what I've been through in my life.'”
“I looked at him and said, 'You know what? The same applies to you. We understand exactly what it takes to be in the business, to start at such a young age and to keep doing it over and over again.'”
Jackson died in 2009.
American singer Michael Jackson (1958-2009) poses with Donny Osmond at the American Music Awards in Hollywood on February 19, 1974. (Frank Edwards/Photos International/Getty Images)
Osmond's Las Vegas residency at Harrah's, now in its fourth year, has been extended through 2025.
“I'm very grateful. I have a solid marriage and a good foundation: my faith keeps me strong. I know a lot of people might say that's a little absurd, but no, I love God and I respect the deity. Jesus Christ is the center of my life and that's what keeps me grounded.”
LIKE WHAT YOU'RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS
“They call this city the entertainment capital of the world,” he said of Las Vegas. “They say if you make it there, you make it anywhere. But this is the capital. And I mean, everyone has tried to replicate Las Vegas all over the world, but there's only one Las Vegas. And to have my own show on the Strip and probably in one of the best locations on the Strip, it's really cool.”
Donny Osmond performing at his Las Vegas residency. (Denise Truscello/Getty Images for Caesars Entertainment)
CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE TO THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER
Osmond said the Harrah's theater seats about 600 people.
“And the show that I designed is perfect for that kind of audience, because there's not a single bad seat in the entire place,” he said. “There's a segment that I do on the show called the request segment, where I put all 65 albums up on the giant screen behind me, and the audience gets to choose any song from any album that I've ever done in my entire life. And it changes every night, obviously, because the audience controls the show for about 20 minutes. And that's one of my favorite parts of the show.”
WATCH: DONNY OSMOND REVEALS ONE OF HIS FAVORITE PARTS OF HIS LAS VEGAS RESIDENCE
Osmond said that after becoming a star as a teenager, it wasn't necessarily easy to be respected as an adult performer.
Osmond acting as a teenager. (David Redfern/Redferns)
“There are a lot of obstacles when you get to fame as a teenager,” she explained, “but then you get on the show 'Donny & Marie,' which gave me a very, very cheesy image. And it was a very powerful show and very successful. But the fallout from that was a little hard to overcome because I was pigeonholed into a certain thing.”
But he said he found that “time tends to let things linger in the past.”
WATCH: DONNY OSMOND SAYS 'DONNY AND MARIE' 'PLUGGED' HIM INTO A 'CUTE' IMAGE FOR A WHILE IN HIS CAREER
The “Why?” singer even pays homage to his days on the variety show “Donny & Marie” in his Las Vegas show.
“It's a film that makes you cry and people come up to me all the time and say, 'This brought me back to my youth, to my years of innocence.' But then I give them everything else too… So those difficult moments are forgotten over time and you accept them.
“'Puppy Love.' I mean, there was a time in my life, back in the '80s, where I didn't even want to hear that song anymore. But then I grew up and realized it was a great song when I was 14. And it was. It got me to where I am today. I accept it, the second song on the track list, and I treat it with respect.”
MARIE OSMOND ON HER JOURNEY TO LOSE 50 POUNDS: 'FOOD IS NO LONGER MY ENEMY'
Marie Osmond and Donny Osmond previously did a Las Vegas residency together. (L. Cohen/Image from Wire)
Osmond and her younger sister Marie, 64, hosted their variety show from 1976 to 1979. Most recently, they did a Las Vegas residency together for 11 years before it ended in 2019. She said she didn't see them doing another residency together.
“Marie and I don't do concerts together anymore, Marie does her tours and I do mine,” he explained. “But I thoroughly enjoyed working with her. Yes, we got a bit nervous, but that was the fun of it – sibling rivalry. But the professionalism between the two of us was second to none. We could look at each other in case a mishap happened on stage and we knew instinctively what we were supposed to do and what we were going to do. So I miss those years. They were great years.”
WATCH: DONNY OSMOND ON IF HE AND HIS SISTER MARIE WOULD DO ANOTHER RESIDENCE IN LAS VEGAS TOGETHER
She added that along with her tribute to “Donny & Marie” in her new show, she is also doing one for her success with the Osmond Brothers.
Reflecting on his career, Osmond said he would tell his younger self: “Don't take yourself so seriously. Isn't that what we all say when we get older? Because we try so hard to climb that ladder of success in life. But then you say to yourself, 'What success? '”
He said he doesn't “criticize what I've done because I worked very, very hard, especially in the '80s, to reinvent myself before the success of 'Soldier of Love.' But I look back and say, 'Smile a little bit more, laugh a little bit more, enjoy the ride a little bit more.'”
Osmond recalled a funny story about when he was hosting “Pyramid” and Dick Clark, who had hosted the show for years, was his guest.
Donny Osmond with Marie Osmond in 2019. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
“When I was hosting 'Pyramid,' Dick Clark, that was his show for, how long? 17, 18 years? He was my guest when I was hosting. So, he comes on, I introduce him. 'Ladies and gentlemen, Dick Clark!' The place goes crazy. We were talking. I was doing a little interview. I said, 'Okay, let's play the game. ' And he started heading toward the podium. I grabbed him and I said, 'Not this time, buddy. It's my show. ' It was a great moment.”
Osmond, who hosted “Pyramid” from 2002 to 2004, said the key to hosting a game show is to remember that the host is “in the driver's seat.”
“You have to keep going all the time and think of funny jokes all the time,” he said.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Donny Osmond spoke to Fox News Digital about his experience on game shows. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)
Osmond also joked about her “horrendous” experience on “Celebrity Family Feud” with her older brother Merrill, 71, this summer.
“It was worse than bad,” he laughed. “And I'm not going to take the blame for that. My brother. I'll never ask him to do another contest with me again, because Steve was the key.” [Harvey] He said, “What would you find in a baby’s crib that you wouldn’t find in a teenager’s bed? Well, you know, a pacifier, right?”
But, Osmond said, Merrill couldn't remember the word. “And he didn't understand it. So I'm going to send him about a thousand pacifiers for Christmas.””
