{"id":105759,"date":"2025-10-05T01:55:24","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T05:55:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/lionel-richie-reveals-he-almost-became-a-priest-before-one-fans-comment-changed-his-life-105759"},"modified":"2025-10-05T01:55:24","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T05:55:24","slug":"lionel-richie-reveals-he-almost-became-a-priest-before-one-fans-comment-changed-his-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/lionel-richie-reveals-he-almost-became-a-priest-before-one-fans-comment-changed-his-life-105759","title":{"rendered":"Lionel Richie reveals he almost became a priest before one fan’s comment changed his life"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Lionel Richie<\/a> revealed that he almost joined the Episcopal priesthood before one encouraging shoutout from an audience member convinced him to pursue a musical career.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In his new memoir “Truly,” the 76-year-old music icon recalled growing up, he was a “disastrously shy altar boy” who considered becoming a member of the clergy and was training for the priesthood.<\/p>\n

During a Friday appearance on “Today with Jenna & Friends” to promote his tell-all, Richie recalled the pivotal moment, while performing with his college band, The Commodores, that inspired him to commit to music.\u00a0<\/p>\n

SINGER LIONEL RICHIE ATTRIBUTES FAMILY, GOD TO HIS GENERATIONAL STAYING POWER<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“I couldn\u2019t figure out what the heck to do with my life, couldn\u2019t figure it out,” the four-time Grammy Award winner said. “I\u2019m as shy as I can be. And then I realized, maybe the priesthood might be the best way to go.”<\/p>\n

“Here\u2019s what happened to change my mind,” Richie continued. “I joined the Commodores in my second semester of my sophomore year and something amazing happened. A lady on the front row of some club said, \u2018Sing it, baby!\u2019”<\/p>\n

Richie said that the audience member’s comment prompted him to contact church leadership and abandon his training for the priesthood.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

“I called back to the priest and I said, \u2018I don\u2019t think I\u2019m going to be college material. I just gotta be honest with you,\u2019” the “All Night Long” hitmaker said. “There\u2019s a moment when you have that moment.”<\/p>\n

“All of a sudden, I got an acknowledgment from the other side,” Richie continued. “From that point on, I kept thinking, now how does this go forward? I didn’t know I was a writer, didn’t know I was a singer. Thank God for The Commodores because I would have never discovered Lionel Richie.”<\/p>\n

LIKE WHAT YOU\u2019RE READING? CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWS<\/u><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Richie admitted that he continued to struggle with his shyness while he was performing with The Commodores.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Scared to death, can you imagine having panic attacks on stage?” the “American Idol” judge said. “But I wanted to be in this band so badly, and I wanted to be in this business.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

In “Truly,” Richie recalled telling the priests at his church that he had second thoughts about his vocation for the priesthood. \u00a0<\/p>\n

“They gave me wise words of encouragement and told me that if things changed the door was always open,” Richie wrote. “In fact, in the coming years, whenever I worried that the music thing was to be short-lived, I\u2019d talk about returning to my earlier plans.”\u00a0<\/p>\n

He continued, “I even picked out a seminary in Wyoming. Never went. The moment of truth probably arrived when I began to write songs\u2014and realized they were my real sermons.<\/p>\n

“Truly” will be released nationwide on Oct. 15, 2025, through HarperCollins.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Source – https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/entertainment\/lionel-richie-reveals-he-almost-became-priest-before-one-fans-comment-changed-his-life <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lionel Richie revealed that he almost joined the Episcopal priesthood before one encouraging shoutout from an audience member convinced him to pursue a musical career.\u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"twitter_2902945987_2902945987":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[16563],"tags":[],"stock_ticker":[],"class_list":["post-105759","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-market-news","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nLionel Richie reveals he almost became a priest before one fan's comment changed his life - Wall Street PR<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cablemanpro.com\/wallstreetpr\/lionel-richie-reveals-he-almost-became-a-priest-before-one-fans-comment-changed-his-life-105759\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lionel Richie reveals he almost became a priest before one fan's comment changed his life - 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