When you are a child performer, you don’t get to have a typical childhood. That means you don’t go to a regular school so you have to work a little harder to make friends. Jimmy Osmond and Michael Jackson, thankfully, found each other.
Jimmy was actually good friends with Michael just like his brother Donny. Although the two families performed a lot together, they hung out a lot too. It was due to this friendship, many songs written for one family might have traded hands to the other. Both families would watch the other’s performance in order to get tips.
Secret Agent Osmond
Fans were constantly looking for ways to get close to their dear Osmonds. No security arrangements can match the ingenuity and tenacity of a diehard fan. Another story of an Osmond lover getting alarmingly close is this:
Once when the family returned to their hotel room in Florida to rest after a performance for their adoring fans. When they got in, they discovered that there were ropes hanging down to their hotel room balcony. The family notified the lobby to see what could possibly be going on only to find out that two fans had climbed onto the roof and then slid down to their room!
Forget the Bed, Check Under the Stage
It wasn't only hotel rooms that deranged fans tried to get access to. A performance venue or a concert hall was also fair game for any fan with enough conviction. Just think about all of those backstage doors and ceiling beams to help you be as inconspicuous as possible and hide for hours until you get your shot!
A young girl wanted to meet the Osmonds so much that she decided to hide backstage. Wait, did you think we meant backstage where she could have had the chance to meet the Osmonds? Haha, nope. Actually, she really hid where the drum set stood and when the drummer was doing a solo, she sprung up and wrapped her arms around his legs.
Good Influences
Nowadays, every person can be as eclectic as they want with their musical taste and have a playlist ready to be shown off at the drop of a hat. In the 70s, however, things were a little different, and curating a playlist or being exposed to new influences was a lot harder.
Some people think that it may have been difficult for artists like the Osmonds to have musical influences because of how close-knit they all were and how they didn’t have CDs or MP3s back then. The way they did it was by soaking up and appreciating all the music they heard on the numerous variety shows they went on. They paid attention to all genres and incorporated them all into their act.
Trying to Sing Opera
Opera and pop music rarely share the same fanbase. However, for a brief period in 2010, they overlapped! Jimmy Osmond, the youngest of the original nine children, was on a British reality television show called "Popstar to Operastar," a program where they make known pop singers sing opera songs.
The challenging competition had Jimmy eliminated third but he was a good sport about it. He stated that it was one of the most challenging things he has ever done, but also that he absolutely loved it. He sang the same way since he was three years old and said it was awesome to hear his voice in a different way.