Releasing 13 albums platinum and six multi-platinum albums, Barry Manilow’s immensely successful career as a singer-songwriter for the past six decades. Still doing what he loves at 82, the “Mandy” crooner looked forward to kicking off his arena tour this month. Unfortunately, Manilow will once again have to delay the tour amid his ongoing battle with lung cancer.
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Barry Manilow is “Going Back to Healing”
Taking to social media Friday (Feb. 20), Barry Manilow revealed that he is rescheduling all arena shows from Feb. 27 through March 17. He had initially planned to launch the tour on Feb. 27 at Benchmark International Arena in Tampa, Florida.
“I’m SO, SO sorry I have to reschedule some of these first Arena shows. Again!” the singer wrote, promising, “But when I do come back, I will COME BACK!!!”
The news follows a “very depressing visit” with his surgeon, Manilow said. Despite using the treadmill three times a day, the Grammy-winning artist is still unable to sing more than three songs in a row before needing a rest.
While Manilow said he felt confident in his ability to perform a few weeks from now, his doctor reportedly told him, “Barry, you you won’t be ready to do a 90 minute show. Your lungs aren’t ready yet. You’re in great shape considering what you’ve been through, but your body isn’t ready. You shouldn’t do the first Arena shows. You won’t make it through.”
Despite wanting desperately to return to the stage, the “Copacabana” singer had to concede that his “body knew what my heart didn’t want to admit: I wasn’t ready.”
According to Manilow’s statement, his doctor predicts he could likely embark on his Westgate Las Vegas residency by the end of March, with the second batch of arena shows following at the beginning of April.
For now, however, the beloved crooner is “going back to healing.”
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More About Manilow’s Health Battle
In December, Barry Manilow announced he would undergo surgery to remove a “cancerous spot” on his lung—necessitating the postponement of his 2026 farewell tour dates in January.
In February, he pushed back the dates once again under the “guidance and recommendation” of his doctor.
The good news, however, is that by “pure luck,” doctors detected the cancer early. Manilow wrote in a December Instagram post that he will not need chemotherapy or radiation. “Just chicken soup and I Love Lucy reruns,” he said.
Featured image by Scott Legato/Getty Images
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