Step aside, Garth Brooks, and move over, Bette Midler: you’re about to face a little (friendly) competition in Las Vegas. On Tuesday, Barry Manilow — Mr. I-Write-The-Songs himself — announced that he’d signed up for a two-year residency at the Paris Las Vegas hotel. The show, to be produced by AEG Live, will open on March 5 at the hotel’s Paris Théâtre and will be directed by Jeffrey Hornaday, the choreographer whose credits include “Flashdance” and the film version of “A Chorus Line.” It will mark Mr. Manilow’s second stint on the Las Vegas Strip, following an earlier residency at the Las Vegas Hilton that ran from 2005 to 2008.

At the end of a lengthy, interview-filled afternoon, Mr. Manilow spoke with us about his new Vegas show. (Despite our best efforts, he wouldn’t take the bait to start a feud with Mr. Brooks.) These are excerpts from that conversation.

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