Donny Osmond has had many eras a performer, from breakout star of the Osmonds band, to musical theater actor, daytime talk show host, and his current reign as one of Vegas’s top live acts. But in the ’80s, Osmond went through an era where things were a little less sunny … and he got some very unexpected advice from fellow pop star Michael Jackson about how to get through it.

During an appearance on the Adam Carolla Show, which Osmond posted to Instagram on July 30, Osmond recalled that “the name Donny Osmond was a joke, years ago. If you said you liked Donny Osmond music, you were ousted. In fact, it was WPLJ in New York, they got a hold of ‘Soldier of Love’ as an import. They played the record to test it cause they liked the song, but they just didn’t want to say my name.”