Prince Royce Says the Pandemic Forced Him to 'Grow Up' and Deal with the 'Obstacles of Life'

courtesy Prince Royce Prince Royce

For Prince Royce, the COVID-19 pandemic served as a time for a change in perspective. Now, he's finding motivation every day to be the best version of himself.

In honor of his upcoming Classic Tour, the bachata singer opened up to PEOPLE about what fans can expect from the shows, celebrating his 10-year career and what he learned about himself during the pandemic.

"This is a moment of reflection for me," the "Darte Un Beso" singer, 33, tells PEOPLE. "I'm just really proud of myself. I think when I first started, I wasn't realizing a lot of the things that I was achieving and accomplishing. Now that I look back, I'm like, 'Damn, I really did that.' "

He continues, "I don't feel old, but I work with some of these younger artists and they're like, 'Man, you're a legend.' At first that was a little weird to me, like, "Damn, legend?' But it's something that I'm proud of."

courtesy Prince Royce Prince Royce

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The singer went on to cite the musicians that inspired him during his rise, like Aventura, Marc Anthony, Enrique Iglesias and more. "To see that I can follow their footsteps and create my own legacy, and create my own lane, and my own story — I think it's something really beautiful. I don't want to sound all mushy, but I'm excited to continue to motivate my culture and the youth."

On Sept. 16, Royce (né Geoffrey Royce Rojas) will kick off the United States leg of his Classic Tour, which will open at the FTX Arena in Miami with 15 stops across the country. This tour is one that fans won't want to miss, as it celebrates his decade-long career and will feature his greatest hits.

"My tour got canceled during COVID and I was like, 'I want to celebrate these classics.' These songs that changed my life, these songs that have been a part of so many people's lives." he says.

He adds, "It's really just a celebration of life. We've made it out of COVID. Hopefully the monkeypox don't get us. I'm just very grateful that I'm doing what I love and then I can get to share it with the fans."

And as for his tour essentials? The singer says he always makes sure he has a "Nintendo Switch or an Xbox or PlayStation" on hand. "It's something that connects me to my family. When we go on there and we play PlayStation, it's all the guys, we're playing Call of Duty. It keeps me from getting consumed too much by the social media world."

Reflecting on the pandemic, the "Te Espero" singer — who announced he and his wife of three years, Emeraude Toubia, made a mutual decision to divorce in March, which inspired his new song "Si Te Preguntan" — says that it made him "mature."

"COVID made me mature a little more, forced me and a lot of people to grow up and deal with the obstacles of life," he says. "Deal with just being like, 'Yo, life is short.' "

courtesy Prince Royce Prince Royce

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"Time has passed by so fast. I remember when I released my first song — now I'm on my 30th No. 1 or something crazy like that. Sometimes there's ups, there's downs, then sometimes you feel lost, sometimes you feel confused," Royce says. "But right now I'm taking things day by day, step by step. I'm focusing on myself, on my mental health, on my physical health. I'm trying to find motivation."