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Lionel Richie admits it was a “surprise” that Britain's King Charles chose him to perform at his Coronation Concert.
The 73-year-old singer – who became the first global ambassador of The Prince's Trust in 2019 – is among the star-studded line-up along with the likes of Katy Perry and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, 64, who will duet with 57-year-old Welsh opera icon Sir Bryn Terfel.
And the ‘Hello' hitmaker couldn't believe it when he found out the monarch wanted him to perform for him, of all the “names” he could have chosen.
He told People: “I mean, you don't get in the business and say, ‘You know what? I'll be at the King's coronation.' You know, that just never comes up.
“[It's] A, a surprise. B, what an honour. And C, the fact of all the names that are out there that he could have had for this, he called my name.”
He continued: “I really do celebrate his now stepping into the king role.”
The ‘All Night Long' hitmaker expects there to be more “pomp and circumstance” than a concert by The King of Pop, the late Michael Jackson, or The Queen of Pop, Madonna.
Lionel added: “I want to see the pomp and circumstance because I don't care what you thought Michael Jackson did. I don't care what you thought Prince did. I don't care what you thought Madonna did. Nothing's going to be like this. This is the grandiose of grandiose right here.”
The concert will be held in the grounds of Windsor Castle a day after Charles, 74, is crowned along with his wife Queen Consort Camilla, 75, at Westminster Abbey on May 6.
Charles' concert will also include soul pianist Alexis Ffrench, 53, and 28-year-old singer-songwriter Freya Ridings.
The headliners were revealed after it emerged Lionel had signed up, along with Take That's Gary Barlow, 52, Howard Donald, 54, and 51-year-old Mark Owen.
They will be backed by musicians including a 70-piece orchestra, and the Massed Bands of the Household Division and Countess of Wessex's String Orchestra – with a 300-strong Coronation Choir also lined up to feature in the show.
It comes less than a year after the concert to mark the late Queen's Platinum Jubilee, which included music by Queen, Duran Duran and Diana Ross.
