Who

Album: Start Again (2021)
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Songfacts®:

  • After 11 years performing at the Flamingo hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip, Donny & Marie Osmond ended their residency on November 16, 2019. After they announce the end of their run that summer, that played a show to a particularly appreciative audience. That show was Donny Osmond's inspiration for his solo single "Who." In a Songfacts interview with Osmond, he told the story: "The audience was just on fire. It was the perfect show. It was one of those moments where I had so much adrenaline. I could barely sleep that night, because I wanted the show to continue on and on.

    So, that was the inspiration for 'Who,' because when you read the lyrics after knowing the story behind it, when we start, "Who keeps me up all night? Who can make it feel so right?" That was the inspiration behind it. It was the amazing audience that night. The adrenaline rush was amazing."
  • The music video was directed by Shane Drake, whose work includes Kelsea Ballerini's "Miss Me More" and Carrie Underwood's "Love Wins."

    In the video, there are three Donnys and lots of speed changes as they perform the song. Osmond, who has lots of TV experience, brought the idea to Drake. A big challenge was getting the audio to sync, which required some deft editing.
  • Osmond wrote "Who" with Dalton Diehl, Marc Sibley, Nathan Cunningham and Seth Roger. Diehl also sings backup on the track, and Roger is the guitarist. Sibley and Cunningham produced it.
  • "Who" is the lead single from Osmond's album Start Again, his first since 2014. An all-around entertainer, Osmond was born into a musical family - The Osmonds - and joined them at a young age as part of their group and various TV ventures. Throughout his career, he was always taking on new projects and looking to "start again," thus the album title. One notable turn came in 1992 when after releasing a huge comeback album, he took the role of Joseph in Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which ran for six years. When he released the Start Again, he was just starting a new Vegas show, his first without his sister Marie. "Who" featured in the setlist.

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