For Stevie Wonder, retirement is far from a foregone conclusion.
In fact, the 75-year-old music icon said that as long as he’s alive, he will continue to perform and create music in a new interview with BBC’s Sidetracked podcast published on Monday, July 21.
“For as long as you breathe, for as long as your heart beats, there’s more for you to do,” Wonder told host Annie Mac. “I’m not gonna stop the gift that keeps pouring through my body.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
He explained that “an artist doesn’t stop drawing just because.” Instead, “you keep on. So as long as you can imagine, as long as you are going to be creative, and as long as you let your mind work, you don’t have to retire.”
Wonder, who released his debut studio album when he was 12 years old, said that even to this day, “I love playing music, that’s like my mantra. I think I can do all the stuff I want to do – still have fun and do what I need to do – but I’m not going to stop the gift that keeps pouring through my body.”
He added, “I love doing what I’m doing.”
Paras Griffin/Getty
Stevie Wonder onstage at the BET Awards on June 9, 2025
When it comes to his many hits, including “Signed, Sealed, Delivered I’m Yours,” “Superstition” and “I Just Called to Say I Love You,” the 25-time Grammy winner has no problem performing again and again. “Songs are like children, they’re with you forever,” he said on the podcast, explaining that “they are statements from the spirit within you, and singing those songs is like me taking another breath.”
Wonder — who made a surprise performance at the 2025 Met Gala — is currently slated to play his many hits around the country with the Sing Your Song! As We Fix Our Nation’s Broken Heart tour, which has upcoming stops planned for Pittsburgh, New York City and Atlanta.
Prior to that, he was most recently playing live onstage in the United Kingdom for the Love, Light & Song UK Tour. It was during a July stop at Blackweir Fields in Cardiff, Wales, the singer made headlines after he joked about rumors that he can actually see.
The PEOPLE App is now available in the Apple App Store! Download it now for the most binge-worthy celeb content, exclusive video clips, astrology updates and more!
“I must say to all of you, something that I was thinking, ‘When did I want to let the world know this?’ But I wanted to say it right now,” Wonder began. “You know there have been rumors about me seeing and all that?”
“But seriously, you know the truth. Truth is shortly after my birth, I became blind,” he continued. “Now, that was a blessing because it’s allowed me to see the world in the vision of truth, of sight. See people in the spirit of them, not how they look. Not what color they are, but what color is their spirit?”
Read the original article on People
