After over half a century in the music business, Lionel Richie is better equipped than most to speak on what the keys to success truly are.
The legendary multi-hyphenate performer, 76, chatted with PEOPLE at the Nashville American Idol Season 9 press line in November 2025, where he revealed the distinct thought process he has utilized as a driving force towards success over his lengthy career, and it may be a bit more unconventional than one would initially assume.
“I think the message I wanted to impart on people is fear,” Richie shared. “Fear comes with the beginning of life, the middle of life and slowly towards the end of life.”
The “All Night Long (All Night)” singer added, “My dad used to always say, ‘What’s the similarity between the hero and a coward? They were both scared to death. One stepped forward and one stepped back.’ So my message here is I started out as a scared-to-death kid, and every day I’m still scared to death. But the point is, it’s a new day, it’s a new adventure, and anything that can scare you slightly, that’s the right direction.”
On top of maintaining a healthy dose of fear, Richie is cognizant of the fact that the scope of the media landscape has changed drastically since his early days breaking out as a star. As a result, he considers the ability to become a chameleon, of sorts, is equally as integral to staying power in today’s world.
“I think the ability to change is the secret to this whole business,” Richie noted. “And adapt to change. What’s happening to us? What’s happening to Luke? Carrie, when she first started out, she says, ‘Oh my God, we didn’t have that problem when I first auditioned.’ And you’re right. I started out on a little simple thing called radio, and everybody goes, ‘Radio? What’s that?’ It really has morphed into this media mega … What’s happening now is they go, ‘Where did you get your experience from?’ ‘TikTok.’ TikTok, you kidding me?”
Richie added, “That’s where it is now. That’s where we go to find the talent,” recognizing the importance the medium plays in building careers today.
The democratization of the process to stardom that the internet has afforded virtually everyone is something Richie lauds, though, noting, “That’s why we’re finding all of these wonderful, unique voices — because they don’t have to find us, we find them.”