It was the first independent release of his career, through his Stiletto Entertainment label (distributed by Fontana/Universal Music). In interviews around the time of the release, Manilow said that his long-time friend and mentor, Clive Davis, had told him he couldn't sell an album of Manilow performing new Manilow songs now, given the string of great albums covering other artists' songs Manilow released in the 1990s and 2000s. Manilow thought he could still be relevant as a songwriter too. This led to his second departure from Arista and the decision to go independent.

Although described by Manilow as a concept album, it can be as accurately described as a rock opera, making this his debut in this genre. The majority of the songs were co-written with longtime lyricist Enoch Anderson, with one song "Wine Song" co-written with another longtime lyricist, Adrienne Anderson. "He's a Star" was originally featured on Tryin' to Get the Feeling in 1975 as "She's a Star;" the version heard on 15 Minutes, in addition to the change in gender, is also recorded in a much more uptempo style compared to the original.

15 Minutes won Manilow a Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Grammy nomination in 2012.

The album debuted on the Billboard 200 album chart at its peak position of #7, his first studio album of mostly original songs to crack the Top 10 since 1979's One Voice, thus proving Manilow could still be a relevant singer and songwriter. It also debuted on the UK album chart at its peak of #20. In Canada, the album reached #36 on the Canadian Albums Chart.

The album tells the story of a fictional singer/musician who dreams of fame (15 Minutes), works to achieve fame (Work the Room), and realizes his dream and shares the news of his success with his partner (Bring on Tomorrow). The main character then experiences the euphoria of realized dreams (Now it's For Real), and begins to enjoy a more indulgent lifestyle (Wine Song). The album goes on to explore fame from the outsider's viewpoint (He's a Star).

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Wikipedia