Patti LaBelle on taking on new challenges at 73
"Age is not gonna stop me," the legendary singer says.
— -- Seventy-three-year-old diva Patti LaBelle isn't ashamed to admit her age ... or how painful it was for her to compete on "Dancing with the Stars" two years ago.
LaBelle competed in the twentieth season of the ABC show, and was voted off during week six after she sustained a knee injury.
As she reveals to ABC News' Robin Roberts on the new edition her "Everybody's Got Something podcast, "That show will kill you. It's physical. It's a rough show."
"It's a live Monday show and you have to make sure you do all of those steps and you break your knees and stuff trying to make sure Monday you're ready," she said. "When that live thing comes on and you're out there dancing, you better be correct. And I was correct, but hurting."
Even though the "Lady Marmalade" legend finished in eighth place on the dancing competition show, she says she's proud she took on the challenge of competing.
"In life, you get choices," she said. "And I had a choice to do 'Dancing with the Stars' or not. I said 'no' for two months and then I said, 'Yes. I'm gonna do it because I can. Age is not gonna stop me.'"
"It's like when I was told I was too ugly to be a singer," she continued. "[A white manager] said I had a big nose. I had a big nose but whatever. I still looked in the mirror and saw beauty. And I certainly heard my voice."
Ultimately, her message was to always push forward.
"People try to bring you down," she noted. "If you let them. So don't stop trying to do anything, everybody."
Subscribe and listen to the "Everybody's Got Something" podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play Music, Stitcher and the ESPN and ABC News mobile apps.