Veteran singer Lionel Richie panicked every time he underwent vocal surgery over fears the procedure would rob him of his voice.
The Hello hitmaker revealed on Wednesday evening's (28Mar12) Piers Morgan Tonight show that he has had three operations in relation to his voice, and each time he worried about the results.
He says, "I have been through three surgeries, vocal surgeries. And while you're sitting there in silence, the question comes up, 'Who am I? Who am I really?' Without this voice... who are you really? And as an artist, you are defined by your voice."
And Richie admits he still faces anxiety before he steps on stage to perform - because at 62, he realises his vocals are changing.
He adds, "Let's look at when you first start. It's a young voice. As you get older, can you hit those same notes from 19 at 45? No. You take it down a half step. Then by 50 and 60, you take it down a whole step. In other words, you're not as spot on as you're supposed to be.
"You are going through what we call panic, because we are perfectionists, or as I say, all artists - we're egotistical maniacs with inferiority complexes. We want to take over the world. But at the same time, you know, 15 seconds after walking down that elevator to walk off the stage, and it's 30,000 people that said, 'We love you', in your head you go, I bet you I can't do that again, until you walk back up those stairs again and actually do it."