Will Donny Osmond Ever Retire? Singer Shares His Plans on ‘The View’

Donny Osmond Reveals When He’ll Retire on ‘The View’ (VIDEO)

Donny Osmond on The View
ABC

Donny Osmond was the final guest on Thursday’s (March 13) episode of The View, promoting his Las Vegas residency show, and he found a lot of fans both in the audience and on the panel. (Sunny Hostin in particular was starstruck, and after she admitted she was a big Donny and Marie fan, he treated her to an impromptu rendition of “A Little Bit Country-A Little Bit Rock ‘N Roll.”) He also got an opportunity to reminisce about his 63 years in show business, explain how his new show honors all of his career achievements, and give viewers a hint about when he’s planning to hang up his proverbial hat.

“I don’t want to sound like it’s a nostalgic show. It’s six decades of show business in 90 minutes, so it goes from the beginning to the current and everything in between. I don’t know how I fit all six decades in the 90 minutes, but I did!” he explained.

He also explained how he’s been using artificial intelligence technology to bolster the show, explaining, “I had a hit called ‘Puppy Love’ back when I was 14 years old… And about the middle of the show, I’m standing there, the curtain opens up and there’s an AI version of me at 14. And we sing ‘Puppy Love’ together.” The computerized element, he said, brings his face onto the body of his grandson. “I’m looking into the eyes of myself 53 years ago, talking to him and singing with him… There’s a lot of negative things you can go down that path [with AI]. I look at the other glass, I look at the one that’s half full. And what I did with AI is I created entertainment. I recreated myself.”

He went onto announce that the show is getting an extension, saying, “We’re announcing right now, yubi we’re extending till the end of the year. You never know in show business what’s gonna happen. And I put everything into the show. I have the best in the business, the best dancers, the band, the crew. It’s just we’re having the time of our lives, and the audience is having a great time. What I find interesting is — because I really do spend a lot of time on social media — I find the demographics of the audience have become so wide and varied. I got a lot of young kids that know me from Mulan… So I find that the audience is expanding.”

Donny Osmond hints at retirement, revealing that 'it's coming'

Osmond eventually, when talking about the breadth of his career as a performer, broached the subject of when he might finally retire.

“I mean, let’s be honest, it’s inevitable… to retire. I love what I do. I really enjoy it. I’ve got a great job. My job is to make people happy. How can you complain about that? It’s a lot of work, and I put 100 percent into my show, but I still have a lot of fuel in this body,” he explained. “And because I’ve raised the bar so high for myself, the day that I can’t reach that bar and give 100 and 110 percent on stage is the day the curtain will not go up. It’s not around the corner, but it’s inevitable.”

 

The View, weekdays, 11 a.m. ET, ABC