Singer George Michael says he's sorry for disappointing young gay people.

Three years after he said he would quit performing live, the 47-year-old Michael on Wednesday announced he's going on tour. During a press conference at London's Royal Opera House, Michael said his concert would include a symphony orchestra.

The former Wham! star added that he'll record a new album during breaks in the tour.

“I felt it was really what I want to do as an artist,” he said.

The Faith singer spent 28 days in prison last year and fined nearly $2,000 for crashing his Range Rover into a Snappy Snaps 1 hour photo shop in north London. Michael pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of drugs.

He was also arrested in 1998 for lewd conduct in a Los Angeles men's room. The incident forced the reluctant singer to come out gay.

In an interview with BANG Showbiz, Michael talked about his string of troubles with the law and how it relates to him as a role model to young gay people.

“It's really a matter of thinking what can I do to contribute as a gay man, because I have a serious problem with the fact that every time I would let myself down I felt definitely that I was letting young gay people down, because they would then witness the homophobia that is thrown at me and the wording of that homophobia and the language that is being used,” he said.

Earlier this year, Michael released a cover of New Order's True Faith. (The video is embedded in the right panel of this page.)