How Donny Osmond Felt About No One Knowing Who He Was on 'Claim to Fame'
What do Elvis Presley, Elton John and Billy Idol all have in common? None of them are related to Claim to Fame Season 2's Chris, now revealed to be none other than Chris Osmond, the son to "teen idol in the '70s" Donny Osmond. Chris broke records this season finding his celebrity relative being guessed in four out of 11 of the show's guess offs. While Chris didn't quite win the show, he came pretty darn close and was responsible for many of his fellow contestants' eliminations. A master strategist and crafty social player, Chris buddied up to many of his fellow players, scooping up information that ultimately helped him finish third.
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Parade sat down with Chris to chat about the season and his time on Claim to Fame.
Matthew Huff: What was going through your mind coming into the house? What were your strategies for the show?
Chris: I think leading up to the show, I was like, "OK, what am I going to do? Am I going to act like I'm related to this person or that person? I look like Jim Carrey. I look like John Mayer. Let's do this. I very much look like Donny Osmond. So how can I deflect that?" But going into the house, everything just fades away, and you're so present and you don't know who's who. And then they start making these assumptions. And you're like, "I guess I'm just gonna roll with that." So the strategy definitely changed a lot. But on top of that, I think creating alliances really quickly was my gameplay. And, you know, linking up with Jane early on helped me a lot. She's kind of a fountain of pop culture knowledge. And in that moment, I saw her at the very end. In fact, I thought she was going to win. But I sent her home, I guess.
Did you know in any of the four times your relative's identity was guessed that they were going to guess incorrectly? Were you nervous? What was the energy?
Well, the energy is always tense, no matter what, even if somebody's telling me, "Hey, I think they're gonna say Elton John." Yeah, that's great, but do they have Donny Osmond in their mind too? And I just don't know that. So yeah, it's always tense. And I would say the most tense moment for me besides the ending, was when Jane went up because out of anybody in that house, I felt like Jane would have been knowledgeable about the Osmond family and that whole era.
Did you know that she was going to guess Elvis? Had you heard that?
I did hear it through the grapevine that she was going to say Elvis. It was interesting, because based off of my clue, it was very, very insightful, and honestly, pretty smart to think about Elvis Presley. So I knew that that was a potential. But again, I still had that little, little piece in my brain thinking, "OK, I could be going home right now."
Were you surprised that it took everybody so long to guess Donny Osmond, and that they tried so many other people before they got there?
Oh, absolutely. I mean, I was blown away, especially when JR pulled me up there. I was like, "OK, this seems a bit reckless, honestly." But, you know, I was kind of the talk of the town, which made it worth it. It was funny. And every time we watch an episode, my dad calls me, and he just laughs his head off thinking this is totally wild. You're going from Elvis Presley to Elton John, and then Billy Idol out of nowhere, like, it's just so funny.
How did you get so many people to give you so much information? How did you make that work? Because you had so many good alliances and were just like getting all of these clues.
It was probably a bit of luck, honestly. But I think too, when I pulled Hugo's clue, I think that really set the tone in the house. It's like, "Oh, Chris is a serious player," because I didn't tell that to anybody for quite some time. And I used that as leverage thinking like, "Hey, nobody knows what clue I have and so they probably don't want to put me in the bottom to be a guesser." And then I told Gabe that and he really took that to heart and thought, "OK, that's a smart idea." And so he kind of did too. As you're in the house, though, you start to learn patterns of people's actions and how they play the game. So you start building your own patterns. And if something works, you try and replicate it again with somebody else.
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What was what was going through your mind as you went into the final guess off. Did you think there was a chance that you could still win? Or did you know that people were on to you?
I had this feeling that Gabe and Monet were really working hard to figure me out. And so I was worried because the clue that came out of that final challenge was a Donny and Marie lunch box, which was wild. And then Gabe came up to me and said, "You know, I think you may be related to Donny Osmond." And that was the moment where I thought, "my cover is blown." Like they're on to me, they know. And so yeah, that was kind of the ending for me.
Is there anything you feel like you would do differently or something you regret?
I kind of stand by my statement of, "I honestly wouldn't change a single thing." I had a great time, and yeah, I didn't win it, but I felt like I gained a lot of friendship. And I was on television. It was an amazing experience to be there with the Jonas Brothers and 11 other people who came from very similar backgrounds. Something that I, going into the house, wanted to experience was just conversation with these other people and how their upbringings were and what type of fun experiences they had.
Who from the house are you the closest with now?
I'd say several people. Jane and I are pretty close. She's always been so sweet and really good at staying connected. And she even sent my little girl a signed picture of Dolly [Parton], which was so nice of her. I hung out with Cole a little bit the other day, because Alicia Keys came into town to perform. So I got to see him. We're in a giant group chat with everybody. And we talk daily about just funny things and reactions to the show. So we're all still connected, and I hope we can all get together soon.
Lastly, how did you get involved with the show? And what was your dad's reaction when you first told him about it?
Well, they reached out to me through direct message on Instagram, which to be honest with you, I thought it was a scam. And then I did an interview and was like, "Oh, this is a real thing." And as it progressed, I did other interviews and I called my dad up. I'm like, "Hey, I think this is turning into a reality." He said, "Well, that's super cool. That's amazing." And he's always been a big support. And I think he was just really excited for me to do it. And to experience it for myself, you know, because I've always wanted to [be on TV] all these years. And obviously, I've had a great role model as a dad. I've always expressed my want of doing something like this, and so I think it was a bit of manifestation that it just came onto my plate.
