“I can’t wait to get back. I’m in great shape. I’m ready to go. I just hope my voice is,” he said.

Barry Manilow doesn’t know if his voice is ‘coming back’ after lung cancer diagnosis: ‘Couldn’t believe that it’s over’

“I can’t wait to get back. I’m in great shape. I’m ready to go. I just hope my voice is,” he said.

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and NME.

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June 1, 2026 3:22 p.m. ET

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Barry Manilow in New York in 2023. Credit:

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty

- Barry Manilow says he isn't sure if his voice is "coming back" after his lung cancer diagnosis.

- The 82-year-old revealed he'd been diagnosed with stage 1 lung cancer in December and underwent a lobectomy to remove the diseased portion of his lung.

- He is next scheduled to perform in Leeds on June 11.

Barry Manilow is voicing concerns about his voice after his battle with stage 1 lung cancer.

The “Copacabana” singer, who revealed he’d been diagnosed with the disease in December, opened up about how his treatment has affected both his vocal cords and future as a performing musician.

“My voice, I don’t know whether it’s coming back,” Manilow, 82, told *Good Morning America*. “I did my first sound check about a month ago and I didn’t sound like me at all. I just couldn’t believe that it’s over.”

Manilow in St. Paul Minnesota in 2024.

Adam Bettcher/Getty

The Grammy-winning singer explained that his “first hint something was not right” with his vocals was when his band refused to look at him during the practice.

“I’ve always taken my voice for granted. I don’t take it seriously,” Manilow said. “Now I do, because it doesn’t seem to be there the way it always was.”

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The situation is “really upsetting” to Manilow, who isn’t ready to put touring behind him just yet. He has had to postpone several of his Last Concert farewell tour dates amid his ongoing recovery, with his next live performance slated to be held in Leeds on June 11.

While speaking with *Good Morning America*, Manilow confirmed that he’s “doing good” now, but admitted that “it took longer than I thought it was gonna take to get past this lung cancer.”

He shared that his doctors first found “the dot” located on his left lung when he underwent an MRI last November. Instead of radiation and chemotherapy, his medical team recommended he undergo a lobectomy to remove the diseased part of his lung completely.

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But that was only the start of Manilow’s health difficulties. Months afterward, he had a seven-day stint in the ICU due to a bad case of pneumonia.

“It was terrifying. There were a couple of moments there that I thought, you know, this may be goodbye,” Manilow reflected. “But these people at this hospital they were just angels. Saints. I could cry so hard every time I think about these nurses and doctors.”

Now, Manilow's ready to turn the beat around and return to the stage once again — and hopes that his voice will be strong enough to join him.

“I can’t wait to get back. I’m in great shape. I’m ready to go. I just hope my voice is,” he said. “If I sound good, that would be great. I really don’t want to cry onstage, but I don’t know whether I’ll be able to hold that back this time.”

Watch Manilow discuss his vocal health in the clip above.

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