Marie Osmond Faced Her Fears Recording New Album Unexpected : 'I've Never Been Been Afraid to Take Chances'

David Schwep Marie Osmond

More than 11 years have passed since Marie Osmond lost her son Michael to suicide, 11 years that the iconic entertainer has filled with a mix of shows and albums and children and grandchildren, all in an attempt to live the fulfilling life her son would have wanted her to live.

But there are still moments when her heart hurts like it was yesterday.

"'Somewhere' was a very difficult song for me to sing," Osmond, 62, tells PEOPLE of the West Side Story favorite that is now lovingly featured on her album Unexpected. "It has all the emotion of losing my son, you know? That was tough."

His memory welled up in her eyes and shone through her soaring voice yet again as she recorded "Pie Jesu," a song that she has sung countless times since Michael's death and a song that she now performs as a tribute to her late son.

"My son Michael loved it when I practiced that song," she remembers. "I sang for him, in honor of him."

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David Schwep Marie Osmond's Unexpected Album Cover Art

Indeed, for someone whose entire life has been filled with music, it's not surprising that some songs simply inspire her more than others, whether she is thinking of her late son or her late father, who encouraged her pursue whatever type of music that ultimately stirred her soul. And while conjuring those memories are always somewhat painful, Osmond says it's something she forces herself to do.

"This album was a scary project," she says of the record, on which she is joined by The Prague Symphony Orchestra. "But I've never been one who's been afraid to take chances. I learned a long time ago that if something isn't working or something isn't making you happy, you need to close that door and not be afraid of a new door opening. That's the key."

But most of all, as Osmond pushed her voice to remarkable heights on this new album, the musical icon did it for the fans who allowed her to reach this high.

"This album is my thank you to them," she says of Unexpected, an opera-meets-American standards album that is set for release Dec. 10, but available for pre-order here. "This album wouldn't have happened without them. I mean, of all the people in the world, I never expected I'd be lucky, especially as a woman, to be in this business for this long. I never would've had the opportunity to do an album like this if [the fans] hadn't kept me out there and pushing myself."

Of course, while some eyebrows may raise at the mere sound of Osmond's heavenly operettic voice, it is a form of music she has long loved ever since she began performing on Broadway.

"I was a Rodgers and Hammerstein girl for a while where I did shows like The Sound of Music and The King and I on Broadway," says Osmond, who actually has 20 years of opera training experience. "I remember going in and saying, 'I can't sing the hills are alive with a country accent.' She laughs. "The lady who was training me said, 'My dear, you're a soprano. And you can sing opera if you want.' And I was like, 'Shut up!' And so, I spent the last 20 years learning how to do it."

And while some of her operettic style songs did find their way to the stage of her long-running but now-shuttered Vegas show, including Giacomo Puccini's "Nessun Dorma" (from the opera Turandot), Osmond is now looking forward to an extended amount of time out on the road.

"I'm doing a bunch of symphonic touring in 2022," says Osmond, whose youngest child recently became the last one to leave the house. "It allows me to not have to be locked down one place. Plus, it gives me time to go see my grandchildren's football games and spend time with my husband and all these other things that I want to do."

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But first, her time is focused on her A Symphonic Christmas tour, which kicks off Dec. 1 with special guests David Osmond and Daniel Emmet.

"There's something about live symphonic music that vibrates in your soul," she explains. "The tones and the notes… it's just so incredibly healing. And there aren't many people doing it anymore. I just feel like there's this place within me where I think, 'Please don't lose this for this upcoming generation because it's life-changing.'"

Most importantly to Osmond, it's also a show that can be enjoyed by families.

"These shows and this album are something is something that a grandmother can take her granddaughters and her daughter, and they can all go out and have an experience that they'll remember," says Osmond, whose new Lifetime movie, A Fiancé for Christmas, which premieres on Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. ET. "All I want to do with the touring is just have people go out and have joy."

A Symphonic Christmas Tour Dates:

Dec. 1 - Southern Utah State University - Cedar City, Utah

Dec. 2 - Casino Del Sol - Tucson, Ariz.

Dec. 3 - Cerritos Center for the Arts - Cerritos, Calif.

Dec. 7 - Theatre at Westbury - Westbury, N.Y.

Dec. 8 - Mohegan Sun - Uncasville, Conn.

Dec. 10 - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Atlantic City, N.J.

Dec. 11 - Hard Rock Hotel & Casino - Atlantic City, N.J.

Dec. 13 - Chrysler Hall - Norfolk, Va.

Dec. 14 - Kodak Center - Rochester, N.Y.

Dec. 15 - Palace Theatre - Greensburg, Pa.

Dec. 18 - Mystic Lake Casino - Prior Lake, Minn.

Dec. 20 - Motor City Casino - Detroit, Mich.