Michael Bublé Jess O’Sullivan catches up with the King of the Crooners
With his latest album still topping the charts, Michael Bublé talks to Jess O’Sullivan about why he prioritises love and family above all else
As I enter the cosy hotel room in Dublin city centre, I spot Michael Bublé sitting on a chair in the corner. e rst thing I notice is how lean he looks. He’s in great shape and has clearly been working out a lot. Not only this, but his hair is wavy and full, hypnotic in its perfection. He really is quite dreamy...
Okay, so now that I’ve o cially opened with what Michael demanded I start this interview with, I’ve kept my word to the heart-melting hitmaker. It would take a stronger woman than me to break a promise to Michael Bublé. He does actually look well, but more importantly, he looks healthy and happy. is is probably why he’s in a playful mood about previous media stories that were less kind about him carrying some extra pounds.
Before the interview his record company minder asked me if I can keep our chat on a positive note. Michael has been through a tough time since his son Noah was diagnosed with liver cancer at age three. Unlike most families who can try to deal with such devastating news in a private way, Michael has had to relive it over and over again in public. He has shared this personal story enough and now he and his young family are in a great place, focused on living in the moment.
His son is now in remission. His wife, the Argentinian actress Luisana Lopilato, gave birth to their third child, a baby girl named Vida, in July of this year. In November, he released a new album, Love (represented as a red heart emoji icon), which is full of the romance, emotion, drama and joy Bublé’s millions of fans love. e cherry on top is that Love reached the number one spot in the UK and number two in the US, proving that Bublé has still very much got it. ough he says, today only one thing matters to him and it’s not the numbers. “How are my family doing? Everyone’s healthy and happy? en I’m happy. Everything will be bliss.” To haul him back over the last two years seems unnecessarily cruel. e irony is, though, that this life-changing event has been so formative to the man who sits before me, talking enthusiastically about gratitude, perspective and purpose, that it’s very hard for him not to refer to his son’s illness. It has made him the person he is today.
“ is journey has for me gotten much deeper,” explains Michael. “I think I always had integrity in my work, in creating music. When I was on the stage I always gave everything I had. I always felt a great obligation to do that for people who had spent their hard earned money to be taken away, to be entertained. But what has become deeper emotionally for me, is that, because of what our family went through, because of the genuine sense of care and love that we felt we were given by human beings all over the world... it just has given me the greatest sense of appreciation. I wish I had a good way to articulate how moved I am by the support that I have been shown.”
It’s true that people everywhere, fans and not, held their breath, and held their loved ones a little tighter, when news about Michael’s son broke. Everyone hoped for the best for the nicest guy in music. Even on my way into the interview, when I tell the taxi driver where I’m going, his rst question is: “How’s his son?” as if he’s asking a er a neighbour. “In remission,”