In 2022, Foreigner announced their plan to retire and embark on a farewell tour. When the band announced their tour and Hansen his impending retirement, the vocalist stated, “This catalog of songs, it’s extremely challenging for a rock tenor vocalist like myself to sing” and “I don’t know how much longer I can do that at the level I need to,” per UCR.
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Hansen stayed true to that point, as he officially announced his retirement in May of 2025. “Being the voice of Foreigner has been one of the greatest honors of my life, but it’s time to pass the mic,” said Hansen, via UCR. While Hansen has been a key figure in Foreigner ever since his arrival in 2005, the rock group has found a replacement. That replacement is multi-instrumentalist Luis Maldonado, who joined the group in 2021.
Concerning the decision to replace Hansen with Maldonado, Jeff Pilson told Billboard, “Luis really had no intention of this.” “He was trying to talk Kelly into staying. And when it became clear Kelly really wants to live a life now…Luis just stepped up and, oh my God, that voice came through.”
In addition to that comment, Pilson made the news official by stating, “There’s just a lot of forward movement, and the band is incredibly excited.” “What started off as being a farewell tour ended up being Kelly’s last tour and [the band] moving forward,” says Pilson.
What is Next for Maldonado and Foreigner?
In his official retirement announcement, Hansen stated that the North American leg of their 2025 summer tour will be his last. After the departure of Hansen, Louis Maldonado will take over as the lead singer and close out the rest of Foreigner’s tour dates. Which, according to the tour schedule found on their website, is not until March 14, 2026.
As of now, it is unclear what tour dates Foreigner will add or if they will just schedule a whole new tour entirely. However, per Pilson’s comments, there seem to be some plans in the works. Providing his final thoughts on the matter, Pilson concluded, “Making this change, with Luis, with Mick and Lou’s endorsement and having the whole organization working more together, has been such a positive thing,” per Billboard.
Photo by Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images
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