George Michael has heaped praise on his loyal devotees for sticking by him throughout his troubled personal issues and album delays.
The Older hitmaker has endured a series of setbacks - most notably spending a spell in jail last year (10) for possessing cannabis and driving under the influence of drugs.
Michael has also been involved with other drug controversies, in 1998, he was arrested for "engaging in a lewd act" in a public toilet in California. It was revealed the gay star had approached an undercover cop for sex.
But, despite his many mishaps, many of his fans have stayed loyal - and he is thankful they have stuck by him, even though he's failed to make or perform music on a regular basis throughout his career.
He tells WENN, "I was surprised by the amount of support we had in some ways, but my fans have always been incredibly loyal. There was a period where I didn't work for three years - and there were several periods of my career where you would think I had a problem holding on to my fans, but my fans are incredibly loyal.
"There aren't many fans who will put up with an average between albums of about eight years, or people that would wait so long to see someone live, so they've never let me down. I was fairly overwhelmed by the amount of support in the last 10 months, but it shouldn't surprise me because I have an amazing group of fans."
On Wednesday (11May11) Michael announced a new tour in August (11). Symphonica: The Orchestral Tour will be his first in three years.