Donny Osmond Recalls A Special Anniversary On Instagram

Singer Donny Osmond recalled a special anniversary on Instagram, one which he says gave him a second chance to do what it is that he loves so much — entertain his fans.

Osmond posted a photo from a video made 30 years ago, one which he called a comeback. This return to form came for Osmond after he endured a series of missteps that threatened to end his time in the spotlight. The song responsible for his resurgence of popularity was “Soldier of Love,” and the story behind it is one of the greatest musical comebacks of the music video era.

After two years which saw Osmond attempt many different avenues in order to validate himself in the public eye — most of them unsuccessful — he met with New York-based songwriters and producers Carl Sturken and Evan Rogers. Through them, Osmond received a demo for the tune “Soldier of Love,” and from there they began working together, much of the time in England. There, he spent a considerable amount of time away from his wife, Debbie, and their sons.

In his book, Life Is Just What You Make It: My Story So Far, Osmond revealed that the now-defunct New York City radio station WPLJ was playing “Soldier of Love,” which was an import record from England at the time, and that listeners were really enjoying the tune. The catch was that they were billing Osmond as a “mystery artist.”

Osmond quickly flew to New York City, where the song was the No. 1 requested tune on the playlist, and revealed his identity live on air. The song was a smash, and a full album was released in the U.S. after the song’s success.

Osmond’s subsequent single, “Sacred Emotion,” was also a smash hit, and he went on tour to support the album throughout 1989. His follow-up release, Eyes Don’t Lie, didn’t do as well. According to Osmond’s book, the album’s release coincided with a change of leadership at Capitol records, and it was not promoted the way it should have been.

Still, the singer was back in the public eye. Osmond undertook a successful run as the star of the Andrew Lloyd Webber production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat for five years, playing his last show as Joseph in May of 1997.

In 1998, Osmond sang one of the titular songs from the Disney animated film Mulan, titled “I’ll Make A Man Out Of You,” as the character of Li Shang.

Osmond released several albums, which were successful in England, following his tenure as Joseph. In 2007, the singer was tapped to appear on Dancing with the Stars, where he would win the show’s iconic mirrorball alongside Kym Johnson in Season 9.

Osmond recently appeared on Fox’s The Masked Singer, playing the character of The Peacock.

Donny and his sister, Marie Osmond, are concluding a successful 11-year stage show run at the Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas. They will perform their final shows in November of 2019.