"I’m still healthy" — Pop icon Barry Manilow ends his special live shows at 81

Barry Manilow has opened up about his decision to embark on a farewell tour all around the US. In a recent interview with Billboard, the Could It Be Magic singer talked about his ongoing The Last Concerts tour, where he is performing at the age of eight one. He said:

"I’m still healthy."

Barry Manilow, who rose to fame in the 1970s with a slew of hits that include Mandy, Looks Like We Made It, Copacabana, and I Write the Songs, among many others, had previously undertaken similar last concert tours, but ultimately went back on his decision to stop performing.

More about Barry Manilow's decision to embark on his The Last Concerts series tour

Barry Manilow in his recent interview with Billboard, published on June 4, spoke about how, at his age, there are few musicians who are still in perfect health, adding that he remains strong and capable of hitting the high notes. He said:

"There must be only a handful of people in my world that are still there. I’m strong and I’ve still got my voice and my energy. The night I can’t hit the F natural on 'Even Now,' that’s the night I throw in the towel. But I can still do it."

He added:

"It’s like, ‘What? Am I the only one left? It’s Billy Joel, and Elton [John] is not well and Rod [Stewart] and Neil [Diamond]. Diana Ross is still in great shape, I think."

Manilow, who is set to release his last album sometime this summer, previously released Night Songs II back in February 2020. Talking about his upcoming project, the Can't Smile Without You singer said:

“This’ll probably be my last album. I’ve been working on it for a long time… for so long that the style of music has changed. I had to go back and redo [the songs] so they sounded a little more contemporary. I had to take all the strings out, all the background vocals out, 'cause they don’t do that anymore. They don’t use strings and background vocals and all that. Even I heard that it sounded dated, so we had to go back and redo it.”

He went on to say:

"I think people who like what I do will like this album; I don’t know about everybody else who likes today’s music, but it’s a solid album."

Barry Manilow also reminisced about what it meant for him to go back on tour in select few cities across the US for his special live shows. He said:

"It’s a bittersweet experience for me because I know that I’m not coming back here and [the fans] know I’m not coming back here.And when I finish and I say ‘goodbye’ it is goodbye.'

He added:

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"I’ve never felt that before. Usually I know that [on] the next tour, I’ll probably come back here. But this time I know I’m not coming back to these cities. I’ve been doing this for so many years, and I’ve done these cities over and over and over, but this is it.”

According to People, Barry Manilow will resume his much anticipated Las Vegas residency at the Westgate Las Vegas Resort & Casino at the end of his The Last Concerts series tour on July 20.

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