Music fans with a puppy love for a certain ‘50s-era teen idol ready themselves inside Morristown, NJ’s MPAC auditorium this Tuesday, November 2, 2026 evening for a sold-out You Are My Destiny Tour performance by singer/songwriter Paul Anka. With over 100 million albums sold, Anka has the distinction of being the only artist in history to have a song on the Billboard charts during seven consecutive decades.
The lights dim and a rhythm section consisting of musicians on piano, guitar, synthesizer, bass, drums, and percussion — along with a six-piece horn section — take their places on stage as a short film about Paul Anka plays on a screen behind them. The crowd cheers as Anka enters through the rear of the theater high-fiving and taking selfies with concertgoers while performing an upbeat and jazzy arrangement of his 1957 chart-topper “Diana.”
Reaching the stage, Anka, 85, exclaims, “Good evening, everybody!” His voice sounding full and resonant, he performs an upbeat medley of Stevie Wonder’s “For Once in My Life” and Johnny Mercer’s “Come Rain or Come Shine” deftly backed by the ensemble.
Revealing, “I sang this when I was 15 in Tenafly,” Anka moves on to his 1957 hit “You Are My Destiny” where he croons with passion, “You are my happiness/That’s what you are,” to hoots and hollers from the crowd.
“It’s been 70 years this month I’ve been doing this!” exclaims Anka. After talking about writing his next song for Frank Sinatra, Anka sings live while Sinatra sings the 1973 ballad “Let Me Try Again” on screen.
Launching into a swing version of Sinatra’s “All of Me” Anka croons effortlessly with style and flair, “All of me/Why not take all of me,” as audience members clap in rhythm to the easy big band sound.
After Anka autographs an album for Mary Ann, a fan in the audience, he performs a request for her, his 1958 hit “(All of a Sudden) My Heart Sings.”
Upbeat music introduces the Latin-influenced “Tonight My Love, Tonight” which features Josh Sklair rendering a lyrical guitar solo. When a concertgoer calls out, “Can you sing ‘Papa’ tonight?’ Anka jokes, “What the hell do I look like, a jukebox?” before promising to perform the song later in the evening.
Anka talks about how Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin welcomed him into the fold in the ‘60s prior to paying tribute to fellow Rat Pack member Sammy Davis, Jr. with “I’m Not Anyone,” a song he wrote for Davis in 1973. As Davis, Jr. sings on screen to the live orchestra, Anka joins in and the two friends perform together in harmony.
Announcing, “This was my first #1 in the ‘70s,” Anka presents an on-screen duet with Odia Coates on his 1974 chart-topper “(You’re) Having My Baby.” He also talks about how he helped to discover singer Michael Bublé before stepping into the classic Nelson Riddle arrangement of “I’ve Got You Under My Skin.”
“Let’s go back to the ‘50s!” exclaims Anka, prior to going back down into the audience to sing his 1959 hit “Put Your Head on my Shoulder.” After dancing with several women in the crowd, he segues into his 1960 smash “Puppy Love” where he picks up a fan’s phone and jokingly responds to a person on the line, “Hello, yes this is me/Whoever the hell you are/You’re getting this show for free.”
He follows up by performing his 1959 chart-topper “Lonely Boy” where fans sing along with Anka as he vocalizes, “I’m just a lonely boy/Lonely and blue/I’m all alone/With nothin’ to do.”
Anka reveals, “I wrote this song for Tom Jones,” and he and the band launch into an upbeat and rockin’ rendition of 1971’s “She’s a Lady.” Walking among concertgoers, Anka gets the crowd singing along on the tune’s “Woah, woah, woah” lyric before he returns to the stage and takes a moment to appreciate the audience’s enthusiastic applause.
“You guys are cool, man!” exclaims Anka prior to taking a seat at the piano to perform “Do I Love You (Yes in Every Way),” a duet he recorded in 2012 with Dolly Parton. After segueing into a dynamic rendition of Prince’s “Purple Rain,” he and the band slip back into “Do I Love You” where Dolly Parton appears on screen singing on the song’s coda.
Anka and Josh Sklair play acoustic guitars on “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore,” a 1958 song Anka wrote for Buddy Holly. Anka, Sklair, and the band segue into Don Gibson’s “Oh, Lonesome Me” and The Everly Brothers’ “Bye Bye Love” prior to segueing back to “It Doesn’t Matter Anymore” where Anka echo sings “Hey-ey-hey” with the crowd and concertgoers react with energetic cheers and applause.
“Give it up for the boys!” exclaims Anka before presenting an impromptu arrangement of “Papa” where he sings with emotion, “I remember every word that Papa used to say/I kiss my kids and I pray that they’ll think of me/That way, some day,” on this touching story song.
Announcing, “I wrote this next song for Barbra Streisand,” Anka conducts the orchestra as various band members are featured on “Jubilation.” Following a slap bass solo, a rhythmic drum solo, and an extended percussion break, concertgoers respond with large applause and Anka takes a bow.
He follows up by performing one of his greatest compositions, “My Way,” a song he wrote for Frank Sinatra in 1969. When Anka chants, “And now, the end is near/And so I face the final curtain,” the audience cheers.
As the arrangement progresses, Anka’s dynamic vocal performance crescendos before Sinatra appears on screen singing on the finale and the audience stands, cheers, whistles, and applauds.
Anka says, “Keep standing!” as photos of the New York City skyline appear on screen and Anka and the band step into their version of “Theme from New York, New York.” Thoroughly enjoying himself, Anka does a few high-step kicks before slowing down for the number’s dramatic “It’s up to you/New York, New York” conclusion.
The crowd whistles and applauds and the band plays a reprise of “My Way” as Anka fist-bumps audience members at the foot of the stage, takes a final bow in the spotlight, and exclaims, “Goodnight, everybody, until next time!”
To learn more about Paul Anka, please go to paulanka.com.For information on great upcoming performances at MPAC — including Three Dog Night on November 20, Judy Collins on November 22, and Darlene Love on December 4 — please go to mayoarts.com.
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