*Donny Osmond recently opened up about the candid advice he received from his late friend, Michael Jackson, who passed away in 2009.
During a 2023 interview on the Adam Carolla Show, shared via Instagram on July 30, Osmond recounted how his name became a liability in the 1980s music industry. The stigma tied to his 1970s variety show “Donny & Marie” made his name “a joke,” as he put it, hindering his comeback.
“The name Donny Osmond was a joke, years ago. If you said you liked Donny Osmond music, you were ousted,” Osmond said, noting how New York’s WPLJ radio station tested his 1988 single “Soldier of Love” without revealing his identity, PARADE reports.
Jackson offered Osmond stark advice. “Your name’s poison, Donny. You’ve gotta change your name,” Jackson told him when Osmond sought guidance on re-entering the charts.
“It was very offensive, I mean, it was tough to hear that,” he said. Yet, the strategy worked; radio stations played his music anonymously in 1989, leading to a hit once his identity was revealed.
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Osmond and Jackson shared a profound connection, detailed in the 2024 documentary “Larger than Life: Reign of the Boybands.” Both rose to fame as child stars in large musical families, The Osmonds and The Jackson Five. “Donny, you’re the only person on this planet that knows what my childhood was like,” Jackson once confided.
Their similarities were striking: both were the seventh of nine children, and their mothers shared the same birthday. “I spent a lot of time with Michael Jackson,” Osmond said, highlighting the “uncanny” parallels between their lives.
Meanwhile, anticipation grows for “Michael,” a Lionsgate and Universal biopic about Jackson, now set for release on April 24, 2026, after multiple delays. Directed by Antoine Fuqua and starring Jackson’s nephew Jaafar, the film faced challenges, including a lengthy initial cut and legal issues tied to a 1993 settlement with Jordan Chandler, who accused Jackson of molestation. The $25 million settlement barred depicting the Chandlers, prompting reshoots in March 2025.
“The Michael Jackson biopic is not in total chaos,” a source told PEOPLE, emphasizing progress under producer Graham King. With a cast including Colman Domingo and Nia Long, the film aims to portray Jackson’s genius and struggles, offering a nuanced look at his legacy.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Michael Jackson Biopic ‘Michael’ Shifts to April 2026 Amid Production Challenges
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