As one of the biggest boybands of the 1970s, The Osmonds have enjoyed decades of fame. But Jay is gearing up for a lone venture as he stars in a musical about his life in the popular band. Speaking on Thursday’s BBC Breakfast, the 67-year-old admitted Merrill “turned him down” when he invited his former band member to join him in England for the musical.
Speaking to BBC Hosts Naga Munchetty and Charlie Stayt, the singer explained: “When I was first approached by this very well-known and respected producer, he said, ‘What are you doing?’
“And I said, ‘I’m writing a story about my life, trying to find my identity.’
“In a group that’s… I had this group identity and I wanted to be Jay.
“I wanted to find out you know, and so you can tell the story in many different ways.
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“And so he said I’d like to see it through your eyes and so every brother will have a different perception of it.
“Because of my team mentality, I was always involved in helping my brothers work through their projects.
“We had this motto, ‘all for one and one for all.’
“And so I was always involved in helping them and when I was approached to do something on my own, I really didn’t have the confidence.”
“Did you take exams?” he inquired, to which Jay replied: “Yes, in fact, I went to college and this musical that I’ve written-”
Before he could complete his sentence, Charlie quipped: “You got that in very early, that was good!”
“But it’s true,” he replied. “Because that is part of the musical.
“I wanted to go back to college and take exams, I wanted to be a normal person.”