Heavy/Getty Chaka Khan is done touring.
A former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant has decided she is ready to slow down, at least a little bit. Singer Chaka Khan competed in season 21 of DWTS with partner Keo Motsepe. They were the first couple eliminated during their season, but fans know that Khan has been a superstar performer on stage for decades.
People noted that Khan recently celebrated both her 70th birthday as well as her 50th year in the music business. In addition, she was just inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The “I’m Every Woman” singer has earned plenty of accolades, and now she is ready to enjoy at least a small amount of downtime. She will still do some traveling and performing, she revealed, but she is done doing constant, major touring.
Here’s what you need to know:
Chaka Khan Is Ready to Stop Full-Blown Touring
On December 28, Rolling Stone released an interview with Khan. They noted that the former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant recently left her long-time home in Los Angeles, California.
Now, the singer is embracing a quieter life in Georgia where she is settling into a large and rural property. There, Khan says, she’s found “peace of mind.”
Khan has been regularly performing at venues around the country for some time now, rarely taking more than a month or two off. In the list of her upcoming events, her website shows one performance in late January, then nothing else until six shows in the United Kingdom in June and July.
That’s it for scheduled touring dates right now, and it seems that is just the way she wants it.
The iconic singer opened up about it all in a podcast episode of “Rolling Stone Music Now,” which was released on December 28. She noted that for some performers, touring is “all they have.”
Khan, on the other hand, said she has this “Rich-a** life” outside of touring. “I’ve got great-grandchildren that I want to get to know better. Real special kids,” she pointed out.
The former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant noted, “I say I will not do another tour.” Khan clarified, however, that she’ll probably still perform occasionally. However, it “won’t look like a tour…and it won’t act like a tour.”
She further explained, “I’ll do dates, but they’ll be far enough apart so I can have time to sleep in between, and not so many dates.”
Khan Found Full-Time Touring ‘Lonely’
“The road will kill you,” Khan declared. She shared she was constantly touring for decades when she was younger.
Khan talked about how tough the touring lifestyle is. “Riding on a bus, p*ssing in a little bathroom, waking up in the morning and you’re five hours from your hotel where you can take a proper bath or shower and go to bed like a normal human being,” she described. Then, she pointed out, “You got a gig that night.”
“That’s friggin’ insane. It was just insanity,” Khan said of the touring life. “It’s like being a truck driver and a performer. It’s lonely as all get out.”
The former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant may not be fully retiring anytime soon, though. Khan quipped, “Well, I might do that three or four times, like other b*tches do.”