Engelbert Humperdinck may have announced a farewell tour in 2024, but retirement was apparently never in his plans.

“I was at home for about three months and I was going crazy,” Humperdinck told us in an interview. “So I called up my manager and I said, ‘Listen, there’s no way this is gonna be the last world tour.’”

The singer, whose career spans more than six decades and has reportedly sold over 150 million records worldwide, said he intends to continue performing for as long as his health and voice allow.

“I want to keep going until God calls me,” he said. “As long as I’ve got a voice in my throat and as long as I’m strong and fit and I have a good following, which I do and I’m very happy about that, I wanna keep going.”

His decision to continue comes alongside the release of "Faithfully," out August 28. The 15-track album features reimagined pop and rock classics, as well as the original song “Always My Love.”

For Humperdinck, the album represents another chapter in a career that began nearly six decades ago and made him an international name. “I’ve had a great deal of success with,” he said of his long career. “When I first started, my first record was recognized around the world, so therefore I became a universal name, thank God.”

He credits his continued connection with audiences as another reason he has been able to sustain his career. “I have a great following and I keep in touch with them on a regular basis,” he said, pointing to his weekly social media feature, “Tuesday Museday,” where he updates fans about his work and travels.

That relationship with his audience remains particularly meaningful to Humperdinck, who has frequently performed in Asia. “I come to the Philippines quite a lot and I do enjoy the fact that the Filipino people love music,” he said. “They love music and they love to sing.”

The singer also acknowledged the role of karaoke in keeping his songs familiar to Filipino audiences. “I know that karaoke has been responsible for that,” he said with a laugh. “It’s nice that they all know my songs that I sing.”

According to Humperdinck, Filipino audiences have often sung along with him during his concerts, sometimes loudly enough that he can step back and let them take over. “They all sing my songs with me,” he said. “Sometimes I don’t have to sing. They sing my songs with me.”

Humperdinck also weighed in on the growing use of generative artificial intelligence in music, including AI-generated songs that replicate artists’ voices.

While he acknowledged that there is little that he can do to stop the technology from developing, he maintained that an imitation cannot replace the original artist. “There’s nothing I can do about AI and the way people produce songs in my voice and try to sell it online,” he said. “You can’t stop what is happening in life. It’s something that you just have to put up with.”

“But there’s nobody like the real thing,” he added with a confident smile.

For now, Humperdinck is focused on the real thing: performing live. He will bring "The Legend Continues – Engelbert Humperdinck: The Celebration Tour 2026" to the New Frontier Theater in Manila on September 25 at 8 p.m.

The concert is expected to feature some of his best-known songs, including “Release Me,” “Quando Quando Quando,” “The Last Waltz,” and “A Man Without Love.” With a new album and another international tour ahead, Humperdinck appears to have no intention of slowing down. “I wanna stay as young as I possibly can,” he said. “That’s the reason why I’m still in the business, because I try to stay young.”