Donny Osmond Recalls Bonding with Michael Jackson Over 'Uncanny' Similarities in Their Families and Famous Lives

Mar. 15, 2025

Michael Jackson and Donny Osmond in 1974.Photo:Frank Edwards/Fotos International/Getty

Frank Edwards/Fotos International/Getty

Donny Osmondknows the highs and lows of working with family.

“The work ethic my father instilled in us was second to none,” Osmond, 66, says of dad George Osmond. “I remember as a tiny little kid, my brothers in front of that piano playing and learning the parts and harmonizing to where it was perfect. My dad was an army sergeant and so that kind of infiltrated how he raised us. I never wanted to disappoint my father.”

“When we hit big, my father said, ‘Back in the rehearsal hall. Learn a new number. Keep this engine going,' " he continues. “I think having a very strong father figure was very important for our success, however it can go a little overboard.”

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The Osmonds in 1970.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

Michael Ochs Archives/Getty

While that wasn’t Osmond’s experience, he knew a bit about that dynamic from his friendship with a rival “boybander” on the charts,Michael Jackson.

“If you look at the Osmonds andthe Jackson 5, the comparisons of the two families are just uncanny,” Osmond explains. “There are nine children in each family. Mike and I are both the seventh child of nine. Our mothers' birthdays are on the same day. Michael and I are the same age.”

The young entertainers would discuss what it was like working with their brothers. Both would also later find their little sisters incorporated into the mix.

Michael Jackson with Ricky Segall and Donny Osmond in 1974.Hulton Archive/Getty

Hulton Archive/Getty

“Mike would tell me a lot of stories aboutJoe,” Osmond acknowledged of the Jackson family patriarch. “You look at the dangers of show business in general, whether you’re a single artist or a boyband, I don’t know if I could have been able to survive show business if I didn’t have my family.”

The two singers cherised each other’s company and perspective, Osmond shares. “We would get together and just laugh and reminisce about the comparisons and the similarities. Michael said something to me one day and he said, ‘Donnie, you’re the only person on this planet that knows what my childhood is like.’ "

source: people.com