Barry Manilow returns after lung cancer ICU ordeal

Barry Manilow’s – Barry Manilow, 82, is opening up about a lung cancer diagnosis from December, a January surgery that led to a collapsed lung, pneumonia and a week in the ICU, and how he’s rebuilding his strength—while aiming to resume tour dates in the UK and the US later in

Barry Manilow says the days after his January surgery were the kind that don’t leave your mind quietly.

He has shared that he was diagnosed with lung cancer in December. then went through surgery in January that was followed by a collapsed lung. pneumonia and a week in the ICU. He also describes how the uncertainty didn’t end when he left the hospital—he is still weighing whether he can handle a full 90-minute show as tour rehearsals approach.

“I started healing” about four months ago. Manilow said. describing how the “real healing started in February.” He said he pushes himself every day—singing in his studio and trying to get stronger—yet some days he feels fine and the next day he can’t even talk. He says he’s “getting close,” but isn’t sure he can do a full performance length yet.

That struggle is now running alongside the calendar of a comeback. Manilow said tour dates are expected to resume in the UK and then in the US later in June. He also plans to return to his record-setting Westgate Las Vegas residency and has more American dates postponed from earlier this year.

Even the ambition has a human edge: “I really don’t want to cancel,” he said. He added that he loves performing. especially in England. and that he will do everything he can to make it happen. Before stepping back into the rhythm of a full tour. he said rehearsals are coming up and he and his team will see whether he can get through them.

His new album. “What a Time. ” is out now. and it offers another kind of measure of where he is in the recovery arc—especially after a period when he hasn’t tried to make a record since the surgery. When asked whether his voice has changed, he said he hasn’t been certain how it will sound. He pointed to a rehearsal a couple of months ago when he didn’t feel like himself and said he and his band were reacting as he performed.

While he’s wary about rushing assumptions, the bigger picture is clear: he’s back working, and he’s trying to get his instrument—his voice—steady again.

Manilow framed the health scare as a personal turning point that changed how he thinks about his career. He said that after he came out of surgery. pneumonia “nearly got me. ” and that once he was out of the ICU he was “a mess.” He described weighing 128 pounds and said he had to rebuild himself completely.

He has also been open with fans about what happened, saying the response was overwhelming and that strangers around the world were rooting for him. He said he didn’t even know they were out there, but the messages kept coming.

The album also carries the emotional tone of that rebuild. “What a Time” is his first collection of new material in nearly 15 years. Manilow said he has been doing concept albums for the past 10 years—Broadway. big band and era-based projects—while continuing to write songs. but he didn’t have a place to put them. Now, he said, he finally does.

The record includes songs he said he has loved for a long time. and Manilow pointed to how the collection blends romance and turns of triumph. He named “Once Before I Go. ” which was a Top 10 hit on the Adult Contemporary chart and extends his run to six decades. and he referenced the title track as a kind of victory lap.

On the tracklist, there’s also a bonus cover: “Reunited,” Peaches & Herb’s 1978 duet, featuring Melanie Taylor. Manilow said it made him laugh because Melanie was a former Harlette with Bette Midler. who he said he has history with dating back to the 1970s. He described it as “full circle” in effect, but he stopped short of pretending it was planned that way.

He said Melanie’s involvement happened quickly—“two takes and she was done”—and described her as sounding great. Manilow said his dream partner would have been Bette, but she didn’t want to do it, saying she doesn’t like singing anymore.

He also talked about trying to write in a more contemporary pop style and deciding against it. He said he tried writing like younger artists, naming Billie Eilish, but that approach “didn’t work” for him. He said the songwriting landscape has changed. with the producer and engineer often taking center stage. and that he missed writing melodies and lyrics. So, he said, he went back to what he loves doing.

Manilow was asked about “Sun Shine” on the new album and whether his voice has a deeper resonance now. He answered by describing that he hasn’t tried making a record since the surgery and that he and his team will see what sounds different. In his view. the question isn’t just about voice—it’s about whether he can return fully to himself as a performer.

He also addressed a performance favorite that surprised even him: “I Write the Songs. ” which he said is his favorite to perform. even though he didn’t write it. He said at first he had trouble with the idea because people think it’s about him. but he later realized it’s about “the spirit of music.” Once he connected to that. he said he loved performing it.

When asked about singer-pianists in the same tradition. he said he’s trying to think and can’t come up with anyone whose songs are built around the piano in that way. He said young artists tend to pick up the guitar because piano “isn’t as hip. ” but he argued his own style is percussive and rhythmic and that’s what makes him different.

Outside the stage, his Manilow Music Project has been helping students whose schools couldn’t afford instruments. Manilow said he meets young people who know about the program and are grateful. because some schools “have no money.” He described a saxophone shown to him that was in terrible shape and said he also saw a picture of a timpani with a large tear across it. Still, he said the kids love their music classes and that’s encouraging.

He was also recently honored with the President’s Award from the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame for his work writing jingles. He said he learned everything from writing jingles. explaining that the rule is the same as pop songwriting: you have “15 seconds to grab the listener and hit the hook.” He named jingles he wrote for State Farm. Band-Aid and McDonald’s as examples. and said if he hadn’t spent those years doing jingles. he wouldn’t have known how to write pop songs.

Even the personal timeline of his life is coming back into focus. Manilow said he has a birthday coming up later in June. calling it the “most depressing day of the year” because he is “100 years old.” When corrected. he pushed back in conversation. saying he is very happy with how his life has turned out. and he tied the reflection to the hospital experience.

He said the health scare opened his eyes to mortality, noting that nobody thinks about dying until they are close to it. He described a couple of nights in the ICU-like shadow of his recovery when he asked himself whether he had done everything he wanted to do and whether he had been good to people.

For him, the questions turned into a standard he wanted to live by: “Have I been good to my friends and my family?” He said he hoped others would think that way if they’re “at the edge of the door.” He said he felt OK when he left the hospital, but that it was “a trip.”

When asked whether he could say yes to those questions, he said he wondered what his epitaph would be, adding that he hopes he made people feel good. He said his goal has always been that people feel better when they leave his shows than when they came in.

Barry Manilow lung cancer ICU Westgate Las Vegas residency What a Time tour dates June music project President’s Award advertising jingles