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Michael Bublé
Background information
Birth name	Michael Steven Bublé
Born	9 September 1975 (1975-09-09) (age 33)
Origin	Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
Genre(s)	Vocal, jazz/big band, traditional pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter, actor
Instrument(s)	vocals, piano
Years active	1996–present
Label(s)	143/Reprise
Associated acts	Naturally 7, Jann Arden, Laura Pausini, Boyz II Men
Website	Official website

Michael Steven Bublé (pronounced /buːˈbleɪ/¹) (pronounced boo-BLAY) (born 9 September 1975 in Burnaby, British Columbia) is a Canadian singer and actor who took Italian citizenship in 2005.² Bublé attended Lochdale elementary school and Cariboo Hill Secondary School. He has won several awards, including a Grammy³ and multiple Juno Awards.⁴ His first album reached the top ten in Lebanon, the UK and his home country of Canada, and achieved only modest chart success in the United States. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was an even bigger success, reaching number one on the Canadian album chart, the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and the European charts. Bublé has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide.⁵

On 11 December 2008, Bublé became part of the ownership group for the Vancouver Giants, a major junior ice hockey team.⁶

Early years

Bublé was born in the city of Burnaby, British Columbia in Canada to Lewis Bublé, a salmon fisherman, and his wife Amber Bublé.⁷ He is the only son and eldest of 3 children⁸ with two younger sisters, Crystal (an actress) and Brandee.⁹¹⁰ For his education, he attended Seaforth Elementary School and Cariboo Hill Secondary School.²¹¹¹² The first time that his family noticed his singing talent was at Christmas time when Michael was 15 years old and they heard him singing "White Christmas."¹³

His first singing engagements were in nightclubs at the age of 16 and were facilitated by his Italian grandfather,² who was a plumber coming from the country of Preganziol, about 40 kilometres from Padua, Italy, offering plumbing services in exchange for stage time for his grandson.⁸ His Italian Grandfather also paid for his singing lessons. One of his vocal instructors was Joseph Shore, the opera baritone.¹³

At the age of 18, Bublé entered a local talent contest and was informed by organizer Bev Delich that he had won, but was disqualified because he was underage. From there, Delich entered Bublé into the Canadian Youth Talent Search which he won. Following the win, Michael asked Delich to be his manager. Delich signed on and represented Bublé for the next seven, not-so-fruitful, years. According to Delich, Bublé would do every gig imaginable; including talent shows, conventions, cruise ships, malls, hotel lounges, bars, clubs, corporate gigs, theatres, music revues, and even the occasional singing Santa Claus gig.¹³¹⁴[1]

In 1996, Michael appeared in TV's "Death Game" (aka Mortal Challenge) as a Drome Groupie. Also in 1996, Michael appeared (uncredited) in 2 episodes of The X-Files as a Submarine Sailor.¹⁵

Michael's first national TV performance was on a 1997 award-winning Bravo! documentary titled Big Band Boom! which was directed by Mark Glover Masterson. Bublé received two Genie Award-nominations in 2000 for two songs he wrote for the film Here's to Life (I've Never Been in Love Before, Dumb ol' Heart).¹⁶ He recorded three independent albums (First Dance, 1996; Babalu, 2001; Dream, 2002).¹⁷ But by 25 years of age Bublé had moved from British Columbia to Toronto, Ontario and was ready to give up the dream of professional musicianship to move back to Vancouver, British Columbia to pursue a career in journalism when his lucky break came in 2000.¹³¹⁸

Music career

Career Breakthrough (2000–2002)

In 2000, Bublé's career breakthrough came from a surprising chain of events. Michael McSweeney saw Bublé's performance at a business party¹³ and received a copy of Bublé’s self-financed independent album from Michael. McSweeney, an aide to former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, showed the album to Mulroney and his wife. Subsequently, Bublé was invited to sing at the wedding of Mulroney's daughter Caroline, where he sang Kurt Weill's "Mack the Knife".¹³ At the wedding, Bublé was introduced to David Foster, a multi-Grammy Award winning producer and record executive who had worked previously with artists such as Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Céline Dion, Barbara Streisand, Kenny G., Cher, Josh Groban, and Andrea Bocelli.¹³¹⁹

Initially, Foster was reluctant to sign Bublé to his 143 Records label because he “didn’t know how to market this kind of music.” Bublé moved to Los Angeles for a brief period, with his agent, to convince Foster to sign him. Eventually, Foster agreed to produce an album for him if he raised $500,000 to cover the costs of the production, which Michael did. Foster ended up covering the costs of production in the end under his 143 Records label, with no assurances of support from Warner Brothers, and after Bublé received the personal stamp of approval and support of Foster's friend Paul Anka. Bruce Allen (manager of artists like Bryan Adams, Anne Murray, and Martina McBride) who Bublé had been trying to get to manage him for years, also signed Michael after David Foster agreed to produce Michael’s debut album.[2] [3]

Michael did some acting in this period; in 2000, as a karaoke singer in Duets opposite Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis, and in 2001, as Van Martin (a club owner), in Totally Blonde.¹⁵

Michael Bublé Debut Album (2003–2004)

Michael Bublé, Michael’s debut album, was released 11 February 2003 by 143 Records/Reprise Records. The album features a range of standards from various eras including "Fever", "The Way You Look Tonight", "For Once in My Life", "Moondance" and "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine". Also on the album is "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?", with Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees singing back up vocals. The album went to the top 10 in Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa and reached #1 in Australia. It was #33 on the ARIA Top 100 Albums of 2003.²⁰ It achieved marginal success in the United States reaching the top 50 on the Billboard 200.²¹ Three tracks from the album (Kissing a Fool, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?, Sway) reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.

Bublé frequently walks through the crowd at his concerts, as shown here in Philadelphia on 8 August 2007.

Michael appeared nationally on NBC television in the United States on the Today program on 14 February 2003.²² A campaign featuring "Fever" was launched before Valentine's Day with a quirky marketing campaign that simply stated "You pronounce it Boo-blay." The album went Gold there. Then he began to travel all over the world to promote the album. The tour included Singapore, South Africa, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Canada, South America, and eventually the United States.

In November 2003, Bublé released a Christmas EP Let It Snow, containing 5 previously unreleased tracks, that peaked at 56 on the Billboard 200.²³ The title track reached the top 40 of the Australia singles chart. A live DVD/CD called Come Fly with Me was released in early 2004. The Come Fly With Me CD was #99 on the Aria Top 100 Albums of 2004.²⁰ The DVD included live footage and behind the scenes footage of Michael's first world tour. The CD included 3 new studio tracks, 2 live recordings of new songs, and 3 live recordings of songs from the album Michael Bublé. The album peaked at 55 on the Billboard 200.²⁴ In November 2004 the Christmas edition of his debut album was released as a 2-disc set that included both the Michael Bublé and the Let It Snow EP.²⁵

Bublé won the "New Artist of the Year" award at the 2004 Juno Awards and his album was nominated for "Album of the Year", but lost out to Sam Roberts.

Michael appeared in the 2003 movie The Snow Walker. Also in 2003 he portrayed a lounge performer on an episode of Days of our Lives.²² In 2004 he appeared as himself in Las Vegas.¹⁵

Songs from Bublé's debut album ("For Once in My Life", "Kissing a Fool") were released on the soundtrack for the movie "Down With Love" (2003).²⁶ The soundtrack also included a previously unreleased duet with Holly Palmer of the movie's title theme. The Junkie XL remix of the theme for the 60s TV cartoon version of Spider-Man from Bublé's Babalu album was played during the closing credits of Spider-Man 2 (2004), and this version was also released as a single. A CD was released in 2004 of the 7 songs that Bublé sang for Totally Blonde, calling it Totally Bublé.²⁷ After the success of Michael Bublé's self-titled debut, DRG Records belatedly released the jazzy soundtrack from the 2001 film Totally Blonde in which Bublé had a co-starring role as a nightclub singer/club owner. Capitalizing on Bublé's newfound stardom, DRG Records basically ignored the music's connection to the film by altering the title and putting a shot of Bublé on the cover making it appear as if this was a proper Michael Bublé release. The slight misrepresentation was not lost on Bublé who has stated on his website that he did not want these songs released, but that it was out of his control.²⁸

It's Time (2005–2006)

	Feeling Good A sample of the song Feeling Good.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Bublé’s second studio album, It's Time, was released 15 February 2005, again by 143/Reprise Records. The album included standards from a variety of eras including "You Don’t Know Me", "Feeling Good", "Can’t Buy Me Love", "Save the Last Dance for Me", "Song for You", and "Quando, Quando, Quando" (a duet with Canadian Pop Singer - Nelly Furtado). It also included an original track, "Home", co-written by Bublé, his musical director Alan Chang, and Amy Foster-Gilles (David Foster’s daughter).

The album reached # 1 in Canada, Italy, Japan, and the Billboard Top Jazz chart, #2 in Australia, and #7 on the Billboard 200. Additionally it reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Austria, and Sweden. The album spent 104 weeks on the Billboard Top Jazz Charts, including a record-breaking 78 weeks in the #1 spot.²⁹ It’s Time was Billboard’s Top Jazz Album in both 2005³⁰ and 2006³¹ The first single, "Feeling Good", was met with little commercial success. However, the second single from the album, "Home" reached #1 on Billboard Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and #72 on the Billboard Hot 100.³² The third single “Save the Last Dance for Me” reached the #5 of the Billboard AC Track Chart and #99 on the Billboard Hot 100.³²

The original track "Home" has been covered on 3 albums, since the albums release in 2005. It was covered in 2007 by Westlife on their album Back Home, and reached #3 on the UK singles chart.^{citation needed} In 2008, Blake Shelton reached pole position on the Country charts with his cover of Bublé's hit. This meant that "Home" became the first song to occupy the top slot of the AC and Country charts in versions by different artists since 1992, when "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston led the AC list, after Dolly Parton reached #1 on the Country chart with her own composition in 1974 and 1982.³³ Home was also covered on Randy Jackson’s Music Club Vol.1 with guest vocalists Sarah Watkins (of Nickel Creek), John Rich (of Lonestar and Big & Rich), and Anthony Hamilton.³³

Bublé won four Juno Awards in 2006 for Pop Album of the Year – It’s Time, Single of the Year – "Home", Album of the Year – It’s Time, Artist of the Year, and was additionally nominated for the Juno Fan Choice Award, but lost out to the Canadian pop band Simple Plan.⁴ Michael was nominated twice for a Grammy in the category Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in 2006 (It's Time) and 2007 (Caught in the Act) but lost, in both cases, to Tony Bennett. In 2007, Michael received 1 Juno nomination, for Fan Choice, but lost to Nelly Furtado.³⁴

Call Me Irresponsible (2007–2008)

Bublé's third studio album, Call Me Irresponsible, was released 1 May 2007 by 143/Reprise Records. His third effort included songs from different eras such as Always On My Mind, Dream, I've Got The World On A String, and Comin' Home Baby (a duet with Boyz II Men). In the U.S., the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and rose to number one in its second week. Only a few artists have been able to accomplish this, like Michael Jackson and Sugarland.³⁵ The album has sold nearly 2 million copies in the US alone. Internationally, the album also fared well. In Australia, the album debuted in the top position, and was the best-selling album of the year 2007. In the UK, both the standard version and the Special Edition were best-selling albums, with the latter outselling the former (Standard: 300,000; Special Edition: 462,000). Additionally, the album was certified 2x Platinum in Europe with over 2 million copies sold. Call Me Irresponsible has sold over 5 million copies worldwide.

The first single off the album "Everything", which carried a more adult-contemporary sound rather than his usual big band style, was released in May 2007. The song became one of Bublé's biggest hits ever, reaching #46 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 in the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks³⁶ and #10 in Canada. "Me and Mrs. Jones" was set to be released as the second single off the album, but was soon cancelled, despite a music video being made. The next single released in November 2007, "Lost", also entered the Hot 100 at position #97 and #19 in the UK. "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)" was released mainly as a remix single, with many mixes by Eddie Amador. The song reached position #89 in Canada. The final single from the album, "Comin' Home Baby", was released in April 2008.³⁷

Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden (2009)

According to the official website, Michael Bublé's third DVD (after Caught in the Act and Come Fly With Me) titled Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden will be released 16 June 2009.³⁸ An exclusive trailer premiered online at his website. The DVD is a recollection of events building up to Bublé's most important live performance yet.

The standard CD will contain 10 live tracks and has an orange cover. The Online Edition contains two additional tracks (Sway and That's Life) and has a blue alternate cover. In America, the blue edition can only be purchased through his online store--however, everywhere else the special edition is available for purchase anywhere.

Personal life

Michael Bublé was engaged to long-time girlfriend Debbie Timuss, a stage actress, dancer, and singer. Both were in the musicals Red Rock Diner in 1996³⁹ and Dean Regan's Forever Swing in 1998.⁴⁰⁴¹ Timuss was listed as one of the dedicatees in Bublé's self-titled album Michael Bublé and It's Time, and as background vocalist on It's Time. While away in Italy, Bublé co-wrote the hit single "Home" for Timuss.⁴²⁴³ Timuss was also featured in the music video for "Home".⁴⁴ Their engagement ended in November 2005. Their breakup inspired Bublé to co-write the hit original song "Lost".⁴⁵ During an appearance at Australian television's Logie Awards in 2005, he met British actress Emily Blunt backstage. He thought she was a BBC television producer.⁴⁶ She also provided background vocals on the cover of "Me and Mrs. Jones" on the album Call Me Irresponsible.¹ The hit original song "Everything" was penned by Bublé for Blunt.⁴⁷ Bublé's publicist confirmed on 11 July 2008 that he had broken up with Blunt.⁴⁸ On 12 February 2009 Bublé pledged a donation of $50,000 to the victims of the February 7th Bushfires in Victoria, Australia.

Discography

Awards and achievements

• 2007 Me and Mrs. Jones – Song of the Year in The Annual 2007 Résumé of Polish Radio Channel 3

Touring band members

Bublé's band.

• Alan Chang – Piano
• Robert Perkins – Drums
• Craig Polasko – Acoustic Bass, Electric Bass
• Justin Ray – Trumpet
• Mark Small – Tenor saxophone
• Jumaane Smith – Lead Trumpet
• Nick Vayenas – Trombone
• Rob Wilkerson – Alto saxophone
• Jacob Rodriguez – Baritone Saxophone
• Josh Brown – Trombone
• Bryan Lipps – Trumpet
• Rob Castillo – keyboards, Guitar, and percussion
• Dino Meneghin – Guitar

Former touring band members

Bublé with former guitarist, Randy Napoleon

• Frank Basile – Baritone saxophone
• Massimo Biolcati – Bass
• Lyman Medeiros – Bass
• Jason Goldman – Alto Saxophone
• Randy Napoleon – guitar
• Peter Van Nostrand – drums
• Bill Wysaske – drums

References

External links

• Official Michael Bublé site
• Michael Bublé at the Internet Movie Database
• Michael Bublé at Last.fm
• Michael Bublé's Exclusive performance on AOL Sessions
• 'Caught in the Act
• Michael Bublé profile on CBS Sunday Morning - 20 April 2008
• Michael Bublé on Magic Indulgence - Summer 2007