Donny Osmond
AN E XCLUSIVE INTERVIE W
T
BY K ELLY ODEN
he way you know Donny Osmond may say a lot about your age, your interests and your pop culture credibility. For many, Donny is the adorable younger brother of the infamous family band, The Osmonds. First hitting the stage at just five years old in 1963, Osmond’s singing ability, adorable smile and boyish charm soon won over the fans of the existing Osmond Brothers band. But that child star phase was relatively short lived – eclipsed by the screaming of young women worldwide as Donny transitioned into a teenage heartthrob, gracing the covers of every teen magazine and, as the front man for The Osmonds, filling the charts with a never ending series of hits. His late teens and early twenties saw him take the television stage with his sister, Marie, as half of the wildly popular Donny and Marie Show, which ran from 1976 to 1979 and brought in an entirely new fan base for the natural born entertainer. The 1980s brought a painful decline in popularity as well as multiple opportunities for rebirth, including a massive musical comeback with his solo hit “Soldier of Love” and a six year run as Joseph in the beloved traveling Broadway show Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. In 2008, Donny reunited with his sister, Marie, for the live, Las Vegas variety show at the infamous Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino. The show, also titled The Donny and Marie Show, ran for 11 years and included 1,730 performances.
22 COMING OF AGE FALL 2022
More recently, Osmond tried his hand at reality television— winning the ninth season of Dancing with the Stars and appearing as The Peacock and the very first contestant on The Masked Singer. 2021 saw Osmond release “Start Again,” his 65th studio album and his first solo album in seven years. The album is inspired by Osmond’s own unique career journey of constant reinvention. 2021 also saw Osmond’s return to Las Vegas with his first-ever solo multi-year residency inside Harrah’s Showroom at Harrah’s Las Vegas. The show is a Broadway-style production and energy-filled musical journey through Osmond’s unparalleled life as one of the most recognized entertainers in the world. It has quickly become a Vegas favorite, filling seats nightly and earning The Best of Las Vegas Awards for Best New Act/Show and Best Resident Performer/Headliner in 2021. Whether you know Donny Osmond as a singer, actor, triplethreat television series host (talk show, game show, variety show), best-selling author, commercial spokesman, motivational speaker or even a racecar driver, one thing is certain—you know Donny Osmond. Coming of Age had the great pleasure of speaking with Donny Osmond about his life, his career, his family and how sigmoid curves can create opportunities for artistic reinvention.