11 things Lionel Richie wants his Pinoy fans to know

Tonight, premier pop icon Lionel Richie is bringing the magic of his “All The Hits – All Night Long” World Tour at the Araneta Coliseum.

Richie was first here in the late 70s with his band The Commodores and he saw firsthand how "insane" his Filipino fans could be. Back then, they had packed the Araneta Coliseum in a string of shows that sold out on the strength of one funk-heavy party album, the band's self-titled debut.

Since then, the guy has gone solo, sold 100 million records, won 5 Grammy awards and unleashed a volley of karaoke staples like “Three Times a Lady,” “Easy,” “Stuck on You”, “Lady” (featuring Kenny Rogers), “Endless Love” (a duet with Diana Ross), “Hello,” “Say You (Say Me),” “We Are the World” and “All Night Long” in a long laundry list.

Richie, who's been in the biz for 46 years, requested the local music press for an email interview in advance of his Manila show. Here are a few things he spilled.

1. He grew up surrounded by music  

"My grandmother plays the organ and my uncle is a passionate musician. I grew up in a campus community where we danced all day and all night long to Motown records. Music was just in the fiber of the community. So I was inspired by things going on all around me.”

2. His ‘aha!’ moment came while he was still with his old band The Commodores

“’Easy’ like Sunday morning (written in 1977) was the song when I had that ‘aha’ moment. I thought then I could be in the music business and make some noise.”

3. He was inspired by music legends who never went to music school

“I really didn’t know I could be a songwriter until I met Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder and found out these guys didn’t go to music school. That gave me some kind of license to break the rules a little bit.”

4. His love songs aren't inspired by love

"To me, children are the best source of inspiration. By the time I came off the One World Tour (2004), I had stories about the lives of the people I met during the tour. I’d just go home and remember all their stories and write them down.”

5. He begins every song with a story

“Basically, I’ll find a story, then find a melody, and there I go.”

6. He can't choose a favorite song

“I’m a music junkie. I listen to many different forms of music, even classical, and there’s pop radio on the side. I grew up in Tuskegee, Alabama ,where country music was everywhere. So all of Nashville is in my soul. It is tough for me to find one favorite song,”

7. He’s looking for new artists to collaborate with

“I have dreamt of working with Diana Ross and then it happened. And of course, I also dreamt of working with Barbra Streisand and we just finished a duet together so I’m thinking I’ll just go out there and do a duet with every new artist I can find. And yes, ‘We Are the World’ has to be the best duet ever on the planet.”

8. He’s not in it for the money (no, really)

“I could say what keeps me going is because of the staggering fact that musicians like me make a lot of money. But that’s not it, the point being you can’t do this every night and not enjoy doing it. Otherwise, you’re just killing yourself.”

9. He, too, struggles with work-life balance

“Balancing quality time among family, friends and the business is the biggest challenge. I want to spend as much time with my family and, at the same time, a tour comes up and you wanna say ‘Well, I’ll do it one more time for old time’s sake’ and by the time you finish that tour, you come back home and there’s another record to do. It’s a tough balancing act.”

10. He measures his success the same way we do

“The fact that I have happy, healthy wonderful kids, I think I’ve kinda succeeded in fatherhood in spite of myself."

11. The best advice he ever got comes from the Bible

“Do unto others what you want others do unto you. And the second thing is, if you don’t love it, if you’re not passionate about it, don’t do it.”

Special thanks to Xperience Genting Magazine in Malaysia for facilitating the interview.

Tickets to Lionel Richie’s All The Hits – All Night Long: Live in Manila are available at the Ticketnet Box Office (Yellow Gates) at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Araneta Center, Cubao, Quezon City or all Ticketnet outlets.