Backstage at his Billboard SXSW gig, Richie chats about the show and new album.
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• PHOTOS: Lionel, Friends + SXSW [1] • Lionel Leads Billboard Showcase [2] [3] • Billboard's SXSW Survival Guide [4]
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"I had so much fun!," Lionel Richie [6] said backstage Wednesday night (March 14), minutes after finishing his energetic SXSW debut headlining Billboard's showcase at ACL Live. Richie -- this week's Billboard cover star [7] -- sat down with Billboard.com video personality Downtown Julie Brown to chat about the show, his upcoming album "Tuskeegee," and more.
Lionel Richie: The Billboard Cover Story [7]
"I didn't quite know that it was going to be the journey that it was," Richie said of "Tuskegee," which features his duets with a slew of country icons including Kenny Rogers [8] (who also took the stage with him at Richie's Billboard SXSW gig) on classic Richie including "Endless Love" to "All Night Long."
The album, Richie explained, "started out where I was just going to do duets and then from there it just took off. When Willie Nelson [9] came on and sang 'Easy Like Sunday Morning'… forget about it! And then Rascal Flatts [10] picked, of all things, 'Dancing On The Ceiling.' I said, '[that] is not country.' They said, 'It is now.'"
- SXSW [11]
