Barry Manilow is unsure whether his singing voice will ever be the same after undergoing surgery in December to remove a cancerous tumor from his lung.
The “Copacabana” singer, 82, was forced to postpone several shows and his Las Vegas residency earlier this year to recover from the operation.
He is set to kick off a summer tour later this month; however, in a new interview with Good Morning America, he revealed, “My voice, I don’t know whether it’s coming back.
“I did my first sound check about a month ago, and I didn’t sound like me at all,” Manilow said. “I just couldn’t believe that it’s over.”
He added that the discovery is “really upsetting because I don’t want to stop.”
open image in gallery“I looked at my band, and they were all looking at the floor,” he continued. “So that was the first hint that something was not right. I’ve always taken my voice for granted. I don’t take it seriously. Now I do, because it doesn’t seem to be there the way it always was.”
Asked how he was doing otherwise, Manilow said: “I’m doing good. It took longer than I thought it was going to take to get past this lung cancer.
“I’m in great shape, I’m ready to go. I just hope my voice is there. If I sound good, that would be just great!”
He admitted that when he was initially told he had lung cancer, he “paid no attention to it. It was just too heavy for me.”
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Enjoy unlimited access to 100 million ad-free songs and podcasts with Amazon Music
Sign up now for a 30-day free trial. Terms apply.
ADVERTISEMENT. If you sign up to this service we will earn commission. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Doctors ultimately determined that he would not need chemotherapy or radiation after his successful surgery, but he then landed in the ICU after contracting pneumonia.
“I was in the ICU for seven days, because they couldn’t grasp this pneumonia that was just about killing me,” Manilow said in a teaser for the Good Morning America broadcast released last week.
Since the start of the year, the “Mandy” artist has announced multiple rounds of show postponements as he continues his recovery.
open image in galleryHe described a February visit to the surgeon ahead of his anticipated return to the stage as “very depressing.” Despite “using the treadmill three times a day” to prepare for his upcoming arena tour dates, his surgeon advised against him resuming the previously postponed concerts.
Speaking in March to People, Manilow described the ordeal as “a nightmare.” However, he acknowledged: “I’m one of the lucky ones; I don’t have to have chemo, radiation and all that stuff.”
The Grammy-winning artist’s career has spanned over six decades. In that time, he’s released more than 30 studio albums, including 1978’s Even Now, which features his best-known hit “Copacabana,” as well as three other major singles: “Even Now,” “Can’t Smile Without You” and “Somewhere in the Night.” His other top hits include “Mandy,” “Somewhere Down the Road” and “Could It Be Magic.”
Despite concerns about his voice, Manilow still plans to kick off his farewell tour, billed as The Last Concerts, on June 25. From July 9 through December 19, he will resume his Las Vegas residency before wrapping up the tour in January 2027.