Donny Osmond says AI is a 'tool, not a substitute'

Donny Osmond has been in the entertainment business for decades, but he is not afraid to embrace new technology.

The 66-year-old singer told Fox News Digital that artificial intelligence (AI) can benefit recording artists, and he pointed out that there is often a fear of new technology when it is first introduced. 

"Let's go back to the '80s when digital audio workstations (DAWS), whether it be Pro Tools — I use Cubase — but everybody was afraid of it," Osmond recalled. 

He continued, "Rightly so, because it's turned out a lot of horrible singers and producers and artists who think they're musically inclined, but the computer does all the work for them." 

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"But now you look at the Bruno Marses or the Harry Styleses and all those kinds of people, the Dua Lipas, or even just I was listening to Justin Bieber stuff," Osmond added. "There's DAWS all over it. It's a tool if you use it as a tool. "

"AI is a tool, not a substitute. So I love the prospects of AI. I love what it can do for me as a producer, as an artist — as a tool. And that's it."

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The "Donny & Marie" alum has previously shared his enthusiasm for implementing new technology in his performances. 

During a 2023 appearance on the "Just Trish" podcast, Osmond described some of the effects that he had incorporated into his shows ahead of his "Direct from Vegas Tour," including lighted beach ball-like orbs that were thrown into the audience. 

 I love the prospects of AI. I love what it can do for me as a producer, as an artist — as a tool. 

— Donny Osmond

"And I'm actually doing the programming in the writing console for all these," he said. "There's like 24 orbs all over the arena. And the dancers have some too. And the orbs change colors according to their choreography. And they're doing this one thing where they spin and let go that it changes color when they let go and changes it again when they grab it."

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"It's so cool," he added. "You know, it's never happened before. I'm the first one to be able to do it because I think it's my brain. I mean, this is the way my brain thinks."

The former teen idol said he was mostly homeschooled, but he explored his love for technology during a semester of college that he attended before dropping out to focus on his entertainment career.

"It's a passion of mine," he said. "I studied electronics in college for that one semester and aced it. But I'm pretty much a geek when it comes to electronics and all that kind of stuff. If I wasn't a singer, I'd probably work for Apple or something. Some computer company."

While speaking on the podcast, Osmond also said that he planned to use AI in shows at his residency at Harrah's Las Vegas.

"I'm going to be incorporating AI into my show," he said. "I'm not going to say any more, but next year is going to be some amazing stuff happening here at at Harrah's."

"I wish I could tell you because it would blow your mind," Osmond told host Trisha Paytas. "You can only imagine with the technology of AI, what I can do with it."

During his interview with Fox News Digital, Osmond reflected on the success of his Las Vegas residency, which is now in its fourth year and has been extended until 2025. 

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"This is called the entertainment capital of the world," he said of Las Vegas. "They say ‘New York: If you can make it there, you make it anywhere.’ But this is the capital. And, I mean, everybody's tried to replicate Vegas all around the world, but there's only one Las Vegas. And to have my own show on the Strip and probably one of the best locations on the Strip, it's pretty darn cool, really is." 

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Osmond told Fox News Digital that the theater at Harrah’s, which seats approximately 600 people, is a great fit for his show because it is "intimate."

"And the show that I designed is perfect for that type of crowd, because there's not one bad seat in the house," he said. "There's a segment I do in the show called the request segment, where I put all 65 albums on the huge screen behind me, and the audience can pick any song from any album I've ever done in my entire life. And it changes every night, obviously, because the audience controls the show for about 20 minutes. And that's just one of my favorite parts of the show." 

Osmond, who began singing at the age of 5, has maintained a career in the entertainment industry that now spans more than six decades. 

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While speaking with Fox News Digital, Osmond shared that he believes the key to his success is reinvention. 

"You’ve got to keep doing new things. You've got to go to another height, climb another mountain constantly," he said. "It's a lot of work, especially when you're going from a teenybopper career to an adult or a mature entertainer. But that's what's so unique about my show here in Las Vegas, is that I take people through six decades of show business in 90 minutes."

Osmond recalled that he struggled to make the transition from teenage star to becoming a respected adult performer. 

"There’s a lot of roadblocks when you hit it so big as a teenybopper," he explained, "but then you go into the ‘Donny & Marie’ show, which gave me a really, you know, cutesy, cutesy image. And it was a very powerful, very successful show. But the aftermath of that was kind of difficult to get over because it pigeonholed me to a certain thing."

However, Osmond said that he has found "time has a tendency to let things remain in the past."

The "Why?" singer noted that he even included a tribute to his "Donny & Marie" variety show days in his Vegas show.

"It's a tearjerker, and people come up to me all the time and say, ‘Man, that took me back to my youth, my innocent years.’ But then I give them everything else as well. … So, those hard times kind of get brushed away with time, and you embrace it.

"‘Puppy Love.’ I mean, there was a time in my life in the ‘80s I never even wanted to hear the song again. But then I grew up, and I realized, ‘You know what? It was a great song when I was 14 years old.' It was. It got me where I am today. Embrace it, the second song in the set list, and I just, and I treat it with respect."

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Osmond and his younger sister Marie, 64, hosted their variety show "Donny & Marie" from 1976 until 1979. More recently, the two had a Vegas residency together for 11 years before it ended in 2019. However, Osmond told Fox News Digital that he does not see himself and Marie teaming up for another Vegas residency. 

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"Marie and I, we don't do shows together anymore, and Marie does her touring, and I do mine," he explained. "But I thoroughly enjoyed working with her. Yes, we kind of got on each other's nerves, but that's what was funny — the sibling rivalry. But the professionalism between the two of us was just second to none. We could look at each other in case of a mishap on stage, and we would know instinctively what we were supposed to do and what we were going to do. So, I miss those years. They were great years."X

Fox News Digital's Brie Stimson contributed to this report.