Michael Buble

Ask Michael Bublé how he felt going in to record his third studio album, Call Me Irresponsible, and this artist with 11 million albums sold and two Grammy nominations under his belt can sum it up in one word. “Terrified,” he says simply. Terrified? “Completely, because I knew that it had to be better than the first two • that it had to show growth without alienating anyone, and that’s a tough line. So I sat there from the very beginning and came up with the songs, put together the skeleton, and thought about what arrangers I would hire. I even ended up at the mastering session, which artists rarely attend. I wanted to be involved in every aspect because I wanted it to be conceptually beautiful.” Bublé has certainly achieved success on that front. As with his previous two 143/Reprise bestsellers, 2003’s self-titled debut and 2005’s multi-platinum follow-up It’s Time, Call Me Irresponsible boasts more of Bublé’s buoyant, modern interpretations of standards from a variety of eras, including songs by such greats as Leonard Cohen, Eric Clapton, Cy Coleman, Gamble and Huff, and others, as well as two self-penned originals, including the first single, the uplifting love song called “Everything.” But it’s hardly business as usual for this Vancouver native. It never is for Bublé, whose irrepressible spirit, engaging humor, and confident charisma once led the New York Times to call him “an entertainer who is completely at home on the stage.” His new CD, which he calls “my remark on the state of love,” contains a depth of feeling that will surprise and delight long-term fans and impress those new to his music. “To me, what’s different about this CD is that it has a certain raw emotion because I recorded many of these songs live in the studio.” Bublé introduces the electrifying, impeccably orchestrated set to follow with the opening track, Cy Coleman’s “The Best Is Yet To Come,” (made famous by Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, and others). Then there’s the exhilarating, salsa-flavored “It Had Better Be Tonight,” written by Johnny Mercer and Henry Mancini, which Bublé attacks with a hot-blooded vengeance•“another very sexy song…and edgy.” From there, he takes on “Me and Mrs. Jones,” the 1972 Gamble and Huff classic popularized by soul singer Billy Paul. “David (Foster) brought it to me, I’d never actually heard it before,” Bublé says. “We wanted it to be authentic and tell the story.” Next up is Leonard Cohen’s “I’m Your Man” from the Canadian singer/songwriter’s 1988 album of the same name.

“I always thought it was a wonderful song • desperate, sexy, and dark,” Bublé says. “I actually called Leonard and told him I was afraid of performing it live. When he asked me why, I said because he’d written too sexy of a song and I was afraid men were going to throw their underpants at me. He just laughed and said, ‘I wouldn’t worry too much about that.’” Then there’s a swinging, hep-cat version of Mel Tormé’s 1962 pop hit “Comin’ Home Baby,” featuring vocals from Philly soul faves Boys II Men; and a sentimental, self-penned ballad “Lost,” co-written with Chang and Canadian singer-songwriter Jann Arden. “It’s an anthem for star-crossed lovers,” Bublé says. “Sometimes relationships don’t work out because love isn’t enough, but that doesn’t mean you have to discard the person. There is a way to end a relationship and still be there when they need you. That’s basically what it’s about.” A languid, emotional rendition of Eric Clapton’s ballad “Wonderful Tonight,” on which Bublé duets with Brazilian singer-songwriter Ivan Lins, whose work has been covered by everyone from Sarah Vaughn to Ella Fitzgerald follows. “I’ve always been very sentimental about that song,” Bublé says. “What is interesting about that track is here I am, a 31-year-old guy from Canada who’s singing a song that means so much to me with a 61-year-old man from Brazil, who’s singing in his own language but it means the exact same thing to both of us.” Other highlight’s include two of Bublé’s original songs, including the acoustic-guitar driven “Everything,” co-written with Amy Foster-Gillies and Alan Chang (who also co-wrote Bublé’s touching hit ballad “Home” off It’s Time) and produced by fellow Canadian Bob Rock (Bon Jovi, Metallica, Mötley Crüe, Bryan Adams). “I wrote that song about the great happiness of real love, but at the same time I was making a statement about the world,” Bublé says. “We’re living in really crazy times, and I wanted to say that no matter what’s happening, this person in my life is what really makes it worthwhile.” Rounding out Call Me Irresponsible is Frank Sinatra’s “That’s Life,” which, in Bublé’s hands, becomes a powerhouse complete with a full choir. “I brought the song to a wonderful guy named Mervyn Warren, from the acappella group Take 6 and said, ‘I want to take this to church; I want to make it a huge gospel tune.’ So he brought in a choir and I love it. It’s one of my favorite things about the record." To help him capture the intensity in the songs’ meanings, Bublé turned to his long-standing team of producers, which include 14-time Grammy winner David Foster (Barbra Streisand, Céline Dion, Josh Groban) and producer/engineer Humberto Gatica (Elton John, Destiny’s Child, Michael Jackson). “We definitely have a great working relationship where I think I interfere just enough,” Bublé says with a laugh. “I mean, David is the greatest producer in the world. They’re both so amazing, I couldn’t do it without them.” Foster first discovered Bublé seven years ago when he caught the aspiring star performing at the wedding of former Canadian Prime Minster’s daughter. The son of a British Columbia-based salmon and herring fisherman, Bublé spent the months his parents were away with his music-loving Italian grandfather, who introduced him to the singers who would become Bublé’s idols: Bobby Darin, Dean Martin, Sinatra, Ray Charles, and Elvis Presley. “These guys were triple threats,” he says. “They could sing, they could dance, they could act. They were entertainers, and I believe that’s a lost art now.” Bublé honed his skills as a showman through years of performing in hotel lounges and smoky bars • gigs his grandfather, a plumber, helped the underage singer secure by trading his plumbing services. By the time Foster met him 2000, Bublé already knew exactly what he brought to the table • a warm, engaging voice and unassailable taste in music. His debut album was an international smash, going Top Ten in the U.K. and Canada, and earning him his first Juno award for Best New Talent in 2004. The follow-up, It’s Time, sold more than 5.5 million copies, and has remained on the Billboard Traditional Jazz charts for a staggering two years, and in the Number 1 slot for more than 80 weeks, an all-time record. But along with his passion for creating great music in the studio, performing on stage is pure paradise for Michael Bublé. “I just love getting in front of people,” he says. “It’s so important to be in touch with your audience. They’ve paid their money. I want them to be entertained. If they want to cry or laugh or dance or sing or yell, they can do whatever they want. My responsibility is just to take them away.”

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Michael Buble: Call Me Irresponsible

Read "Call Me Irresponsible" reviewed by Woodrow Wilkins

by Woodrow Wilkins
November 30, 2007

Once in a while, you come across an artist who seemingly can do no wrong. Michael Bublé is such an artist. Charismatic, talented and just plain good, the Canadian singer has a way of making every song seem golden. With a recording career that began in 2003, Bublé has sold more than eleven million copies, establishing him as one of the most popular jazz artists in North America, if not the world. He has been nominated for a ...

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Album Review

Michael Buble: Caught in the Act

Read "Caught in the Act" reviewed by Woodrow Wilkins

by Woodrow Wilkins
March 25, 2006

Michael Bublé has become somewhat of a one-man army, one of the few jazz artists from the Reprise label to have widespread exposure. This young vocalist gained lots of momentum and popularity with his 2004 release, Come Fly With Me. In addition to national television exposure, he's been featured in ads for Starbucks.

Bublé stays on the front lines with his fourth CD, Caught in the Act. It's his second live effort which, like Come Fly With Me, is supplemented ...

232

Album Review

Michael Bubl: It's Time

Read "It's Time" reviewed by Woodrow Wilkins

by Woodrow Wilkins
March 24, 2005

Michael Bublé has got momentum and is showing no signs of slowing up. The young singer has gotten a lot of attention in his short recording career. It doesn't hurt that he's getting plenty of promotional assistance from his label, 143/Reprise, a division of Warner Bros. Sadly, that can't be said for many jazz artists. Still, Bublé is making hay with the opportunities afforded him.On It's Time, he offers thirteen fresh tracks, including his original “Home, and dazzling ...

134

Album Review

Michael Bubl: Come Fly With Me

Read "Come Fly With Me" reviewed by Brian Soergel

by Brian Soergel
April 14, 2004

If ever one CD was worth a little extra money, this one’s it. Of course, fans of the Canadian old-style crooner trapped in a young body, whose style is a mix of Frank Sinatra and Bobby Darin, will have snatched this off the shelves the first day it arrived. There are eight songs on the recording—“Nice ‘n Easy” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love” were recorded in the studio and the rest were recorded live.

What fans will really love, ...

Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Michael Buble, Tributes to Oliver Nelson and Thelonious Monk, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
September 12, 2013

After a very busy few days of live music in St. Louis last weekend, things are a little slower this week. But if you've checked out parts one and two of StLJN's fall 2013 jazz preview, you know that it's just the calm before the storm, as the last ten days of this month and the first week of October will be filled with touring musicians visiting our town. And of course, “calm" is a relative term, for as you'll ...
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Recording

Guilty Pleasures: Michael Buble - Come Fly with Me (2004)

Source: Something Else!
December 10, 2011

Diana Krall ... Harry Connick Jr. ... Josh Groban ... Norah Jones ... Michael Bublé. What to make of young, attractive musicians who seem rooted in the past? Are they tryin' to trick us by offering lite and easy-to-chew nostalgia? Sorry, but that's a big loada hooey. Even though the visually-oriented marketing makes me a little nervous (especially in the case of Krall ... though her “Peel Me A Grape" makes me forget for a while), it's not fair for ...
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Award / Grant

Michael Buble Wins American Music Award

Source: Michael Ricci
November 28, 2010

Michael Bublé went home Sunday night with an AMA for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist on ABC's American Music Awards. “It was truly an honor to win and be among so much amazing talent. It was a big night for Canadians—especially my family and Justin Bieber's," quipped Bublé. Bublé left LA the very next morning to begin rehearsals for another run of 14 dates of his phenomenally successful “Crazy Love Tour, “ promoted by Beaver Productions which begins on November 23rd ...
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Performance / Tour

Michael Buble Reviewed, Erin Bode Previewed

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
June 28, 2010

Singer Michael Buble was in St. Louis on Friday night to perform at the Scottrade Center, and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch sent veteran freelancer (and pal o' this website) Terry Perkins to cover the show. You can read his review online here. The Post also just published a short interview Terry did with singer Erin Bode about her new CD Photograph, and the release party for the disc that will take place next weekend at Jazz at the ...
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Performance / Tour

Jazz This Week: Michael Buble, Kim Massie, Brave Combo, and More

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
June 24, 2010

St. Louis may be without a major jazz festival this June, but fortunately there's enough other activity this weekend that many fans of jazz and creative music can probably find something to their liking.It looks like the busiest night of the next few is Friday; that's when singer Michael Buble (pictured), who's arguably a jazz-influenced pop singer rather than a jazz singer per se, brings his current tour to the Scottrade Center, and singer Kim Massie opens a ...
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Video / DVD

STLJN Saturday Video Showcase: Four from Michael Buble

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
June 20, 2010

This week, let's take a look at some videos featuring singer Michael Buble, who will be in St. Louis next Friday, June 25 to perform at the Scottrade Center. Undeniably influenced by Frank Sinatra and, to a lesser extent, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin and other tuxedo-clad crooners of the 1950s and 1960s, Buble doesn't really fit the textbook definition of a jazz singer, primarily because he rarely seems to improvise. Think of ...
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Award / Grant

Michael Buble Tops Juno Awards

Source: All About Jazz
April 19, 2010

It was all about crooning and swooning this weekend as Vancouver singer Michael Buble topped the 32nd Juno Awards, Canada's music honors, with four trophies, while teen YouTube phenom Justin Bieber -- shut out of his three nominations -- caused fan pandemonium.

Seven statues were handed out on Sunday at a ceremony broadcast on CTV, featuring several live performances, while 32 Junos were bestowed at a non-televised gala dinner on Saturday night, both held in the fog-bound east coast city ...
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Performance / Tour

Michael Buble to Perform Friday, June 25 at Scottrade Center

Source: St. Louis Jazz Notes by Dean Minderman
January 29, 2010

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Recording

Michael Buble Meets Madison Square Garden

Source: All About Jazz
May 22, 2009

Multi-Grammy award winning Michael Buble is scheduled to release a new DVD/CD Michael Buble Meets Madison Square Garden on June 16, it was confirmed today by 143/Reprise Records. The DVD/CD documentary will include a masterful Buble performance, which breathlessly captures all the elements surrounding the show including an intimate and complex portrayal of the Canadian singing sensation in the days, minutes and seconds leading up to this historic event. Michael Buble Meets Madison Square Garden also shows footage of Buble's ...
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254

Recording

Mark Weber: The Next Michael Buble?

Source: All About Jazz
December 4, 2008

Move over Michael Buble. There's a new kid in town on the pop-jazz scene. Buffalo, New York's Mark Weber just released his collection of old songs made new again, When I Fall In Love, on amazon.com. If you're a fan of Michael Buble, Harry Connick, Jr., Diana Krall, Nat “King" Cole, Frank Sinatra, or Dean Martin, you'll probably enjoy this collection of classic tunes that make you feel good. The tall, dark and handsome Weber, who is “near 30," got ...
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