George Michael Back on the Road—and in Good Health

By George, he's back! Nearly a year after his near-fatal bout with pneumonia, George Michael makes a triumphant return to Vienna

George Michael is giving it one more try.

The "Faith" singer has resumed his Symphonica Tour in Vienna, the same city where he was forced to postpone it 10 months ago after coming down with a life-threatening case of pneumonia.

Per the BBC, the 49-year-old Michael looked fit as ever upon taking the stage at Wiener Stadthalle arena and paid tribute to some 300 medical staff who kept him alive after he became seriously ill and had to be hospitalized in intensive care for five weeks.

"This is one of the greatest honors of my life, to sing to the men and women who saved my life," the pop star told the crowd, adding that it was "great to be alive."

Michael kept the faith with his nurses and doctors by giving them free tickets to the show as well as taking special requests from them, including a rendition of Nina Simone's "Feeling Good."

Backed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, the former Wham! man performed a slew of solo hits including "Father Figure" and "Praying for Time" as well as a variety of covers such as Rufus Wainwright's "Going to a Town," the Police's "Roxanne" and Rihanna's "Russian Roulette."

He finished the set with another dedication to the hospital staff—"White Light"—a new tune inspired by his brush with death, during which time he suffered severe memory loss, an experience that he wrote about during his months-long recovery.

"I think given the manner of men and women who did save my life, we could not go without singing this song," Michael said.

The crooner's trek will include Paris this weekend for an AIDS charity benefit before he heads on to Amsterdam followed by the U.K.