The soundtrack of a lifetime
Michael Bublé reveals the songs that have helped shape his musical career.
Singer, songwriter and lifelong ham, Michael Bublé lives his life through music. Through the ups and downs, breakthroughs and breakdowns, the 37- year- old, one of the world’s most recognizable artists and host of Sunday’s Juno Awards, has grown, thrown and blown up to a soundtrack. While pop music fans await the release next week of his new disc To Be Loved, with tunes by artists including Randy Newman and Smokey Robinson, Bublé recounts the singles that have given him comfort through his radical changes.
1. Heaven, Bryan Adams, 1984
“I was nine years old when I bought this album. It wasn’t even a CD, it was a cassette, and I remember going: ‘ This is a guy from Vancouver. If he can make it, maybe I can, too.’ Reckless has the greatest songs: Heaven; Cuts Like a Knife; Run to You; One Night Love Affair, so many. I remember studying the album cover, like — someday.”
2. Seasons in the Sun, Terry Jacks, 1993
“I’d turned 18 and was working on my father’s commercial salmon fishing boat and we’d sing that old Terry Jacks song. At that time, I wasn’t thinking about melody or voice, I was having fun. We’d sing: ‘ We had joy/ we had fun/ we had salmons up our bum/ but the pain was too strong/ because the salmon was too long.’ I thought that was hilarious — salmons up our bum! It was silly and stupid, but what do you expect? I was 19.”
3. Glory of Love, Peter Cetera, 2000
“I met David Foster when he had a record out, Hit Man, and we were going to work together and I was something like 25 and remember driving down Wilshire Boulevard, I lived on Wilshire and Glen Meade, listening to his record and hearing Peter Cetera’s Glory of Love, which I thought was great. It reminds me of the Karate Kid — not the new Karate Kid, but the old Karate Kid, the real Karate Kid, so wax on, wax off, mother ...”
4. Razamanaz, Nazareth, 2000
“Working on my first record, I could feel a fire burning, and it was incredibly exciting. I loved different kinds of music and this had energy, kick and a drive that brought this period front and centre for me and probably everyone — or am I the only trailer trash from Burnaby?”
5. 2003
“I don’t remember 2003. I was wasted for most of that year.”
6. Home, Michael Bublé, 2003
“One thing I do remember is I wrote a song called Home, and remember thinking, ‘ God, this is a good song. I wrote a good song!’ Then I remember the 57th million time I sang it, thinking: ‘ I don’t know if I want to sing this another 57 million times.’ Then, of course, I sang it a billion times again.”
7. End of May, The Actual Tigers, 2005
“I went through a tough time, real heartbreak and I remember there was this amazing, beautiful, touching song called End of May, that went something like: ‘ Summer day/ it seems like yesterday ... When we meet again/ I’ll ask you how you’re doing and you’ll say fine and ask me how I’m doing/ and I’ll lie and I’ll say: Ordinary, it’s just an ordinary day.’ ”
8. Feelings, Morris Albert; I Want Your Sex, George Michael, 2008
“Backstage in Buenos Aires, I see the most beautiful girl these eyes have ever seen. Again, a fire burns bright in my belly and the music begins: ‘ Feelings, nothing more than feelings,’ but this girl was gorgeous, so there was a little George Michael mixed in: ‘ I want your sex.’ The truth is: I’ve always been able to emote to all kinds of music.”
9. Rolling in the Deep, Adele, 2012
“Like the rest of the world, I’m in love with Adele. You hear it on the radio because Adele’s singing comes from a real place, a deep emotional place and she has an incredible voice. It’s natural, simple and I think the vibe matters more than being perfect.”
10. Pretty Baby, Tony Jackson, 2013
“Even though I’m in love with my new record, I have bigger fish to fry. In a few months, I’ll be a first- time dad and that means everything. I’ve waited my whole life for this and when I see my wife next, the first thing I’ll do is sing to her belly with my little boy or girl in there.”