Lionel Richie reveals he almost became a priest before one fan's comment changed his life

Lionel Richie revealed that he almost joined the Episcopal priesthood before one encouraging shoutout from an audience member convinced him to pursue a musical career In his new memoir Truly the -year-old music icon recalled growing up he was a disastrously shy altar boy who considered becoming a member of the clergy and was training for the priesthood During a Friday appearance on Currently with Jenna Friends to promote his tell-all Richie recalled the pivotal moment while performing with his college band The Commodores that inspired him to commit to music SINGER LIONEL RICHIE ATTRIBUTES FAMILY GOD TO HIS GENERATIONAL STAYING POWER I couldn t figure out what the heck to do with my life couldn t figure it out the four-time Grammy Award winner commented I m as shy as I can be And then I realized maybe the priesthood might be the best way to go Here s what happened to change my mind Richie continued I joined the Commodores in my second semester of my sophomore year and something amazing happened A lady on the front row of chosen club mentioned Sing it baby Richie disclosed that the audience member's comment prompted him to contact church leadership and abandon his training for the priesthood CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSLETTER I called back to the priest and I noted I don t think I m going to be college material I just gotta be honest with you the All Night Long hitmaker mentioned There s a moment when you have that moment All of a sudden I got an acknowledgment from the other side Richie continued From that point on I kept thinking now how does this go forward I didn't know I was a writer didn't know I was a singer Thank God for The Commodores because I would have never discovered Lionel Richie LIKE WHAT YOU RE READING CLICK HERE FOR MORE ENTERTAINMENT NEWSRichie admitted that he continued to struggle with his shyness while he was performing with The Commodores Scared to death can you imagine having panic attacks on stage the American Idol judge mentioned But I requested to be in this band so badly and I needed to be in this business In Truly Richie recalled telling the priests at his church that he had second thoughts about his vocation for the priesthood They gave me wise words of encouragement and narrated me that if things changed the door was perpetually open Richie wrote In fact in the coming years whenever I worried that the music thing was to be short-lived I d talk about returning to my earlier plans He continued I even picked out a seminary in Wyoming Never went The moment of truth apparently arrived when I began to write songs and realized they were my real sermons Truly will be issued nationwide on Oct through HarperCollins