Donny Osmond in Toronto on Monday.Chris Young/The Canadian Press
Former teen idol Donny Osmond has some advice for Canuck heart-throb Justin Bieber: Enjoy your moment of superstardom, because it won't last forever.
"I look at Justin and I know exactly what he's going to be going through," said Osmond, who sent girls into a frenzy in the 1970s with hits including Puppy Love and One Bad Apple.
"I know what he's going through now, it's very exciting. I hope he's relishing every moment. Because it will disappear. It's going to go away. We all know it. He knows it. But when it disappears, it's a very difficult time in your life. If (he) can just weather the storm and get through it and reinvent (himself), he'll be fine."
Osmond, 53, made the comments Monday as he announced that he and sister Marie are bringing their popular stage show to the city's Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts from July 5 to 17.
The concert - which features the "little bit country, little bit rock 'n' roll" siblings performing hits and engaging in their trademark banter - has been a big draw at the Flamingo Las Vegas for the last two years and drew crowds on Broadway over the recent Christmas period.
Dancap executive Peter Lamb, who worked with Osmond on the Toronto production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in the 1990s, approached the singer about bringing the variety show north of the border.
"We've never taken the show out to any other city other than New York and we thought: 'We gotta do this,"' Osmond said in an interview.
"That two-week break in July was our vacation, our holiday. I said: 'Marie we've got to do Toronto. Can we forfeit our holiday and go to Toronto?' and she said, 'OK.'"
The singer has long professed a fondness for the Ontario capital, where he lived for two years while starring in Joseph, which breathed new life into his career.
Osmond greeted many in attendance at Monday's news conference like long-lost friends, calling Toronto his "second home" and enthusing about the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood where he lived during his time here.
He even vowed to get his multi-coloured cloak from Joseph out of storage and wear it during the Toronto shows - which will include a multimedia component featuring archival footage from the old days.
"I said (to Marie), 'The audiences here are amazing, you're going to have a great time, the atmosphere is fantastic - it will be a vacation. Yeah, we're going to have to work hard every night, but it's just a great city.' I love it here."
Osmond - who first rose to fame singing with his brothers and later hosted a popular TV variety show with Marie - says he's amazed at the range in age of fans who come to the show.
"There are such a large contingent of people who have gone through that entire career with us. So when they do see the show and they see the old clips and they get the current stuff as well, it's like they're re-living their lives."
In addition to the old songs such as Paper Roses and Go Away Little Girl, the show also features some good-natured ribbing between the siblings. In particular, Osmond says he likes to tease Marie about her third-place finish on Dancing With the Stars (he came in first during his turn on the show).
"The banter - that's a given, because sometimes Marie will say a line and it'll spark an idea in my mind and vice versa," said Osmond. "It keeps it fun, fresh and exciting for both of us."
Also Monday, Dancap Productions announced that Colm Wilkinson in Concert: Broadway and Beyond will play at the Four Seasons on Aug. 12 and 13.
Meanwhile, the Canadian premiere of Green Day's American Idiot will launch at the Toronto Centre for the Arts on Dec. 28 and run through Jan. 15.
But it was clearly Osmond who was the centre of attention at Monday's news conference, doing a blitz of media interviews and posing for photos before jetting back to Vegas.
The wholesome singer - who recently filmed a spoof for The Tonight Show in which he replaced the troubled Charlie Sheen on the sitcom Two and a Half Men - is clearly busy these days.
Still, it sounds like the one-time teen sensation would be happy to make time for a duet with the latest bubble-gum hitmaker.
"I always thought that (Justin Bieber) and I should do a song together," said Osmond, who, like the Stratford, Ont., sensation, is known to have a penchant for the colour purple.
"Wouldn't that be kind of interesting? So, I don't know. If it happens it's meant to be," he added.
Thinking further about singing with the mop-topped performer, Osmond showed his goofy sense of humour.
"But I had the haircut first!" he said.