I’d been thinking of songs and was firm about keeping them traditional. David has a policy about Christmas albums, that they should always be covers of the classics, and this is coming from a guy who wrote a widely covered original Christmas tune called ‘Grown Up Christmas List’. But even he pushed for the old tunes. I agree with David. There are things that you don’t mess with. I grew up listening to Bing Crosby’s Merry Christmas album, and I dream that my kids will one day listen to mine. I wanted to capture the same warmth and charm of those old albums of yesteryear.
I also pushed again to keep the music recorded live, the old-school way. And I mean really live, like the way Frank and Bing and Dean did it, not the so-called live recording where you sing it live, then fix everything afterwards. I envisaged ‘Silent Night’ with only harp and quartet, nothing more. I wanted it beautiful, rich and authentic, without Pro Tools or any fancy technology. As my piano player Alan says, if you use acoustic instruments that you can’t plug in, the sound becomes timeless. Anyone who has listened to a 1980s band that was heavy on the synthesizers knows what it means to sound dated.
David likes to describe the sound as a ‘beautiful warm sweater wrapped around you’, which is a pretty perfect way to sum it up. He said, ‘You’re the only guy around right now who can deliver a sound like this,’ which made me feel pretty good.
I could have gone into the studio and sung along to twelve tracks arranged and produced someone else’s way, but that’s no longer how I operate. I’d rather spend a lot of time and money on doing it the right way. It can cost around $150,000 a day to record like this, but for me, it’s about artistic integrity. I sing live with an orchestra, without headphones on. I sing better when I’m not wearing headphones.
Christmas is my favourite time of the year, and I cannot wait to promote that album, to sing all those songs on TV shows. A couple of months later, I found out I’d won my third Grammy, for Crazy Love. I’d previously won for my album Call Me Irresponsible and for my live 2009 release, Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden. Along with the other two, I gave my third Grammy to my manager, Bruce, to display in his office.
As for what’s next, I’m still writing songs and reading scripts that come my way. I have always loved all aspects of the entertainment industry, even though I’m a singer at heart. As for my personal life, Lu and I want to start a family, we want to pursue our careers, we want to divide our time between Argentina and North America. We’ll continue to give to charities, including the formation of an animal shelter Lu wants us to launch in Argentina. The welfare of animals is close to her heart. She brings her little dog Simon with her everywhere. I am co-owner of the Vancouver Giants hockey team, which includes a box at the arena for patients at the local children’s hospital, for which I am spokesman. I love kids, and couldn’t imagine the pain of having a sick child. I long to see my own children play backstage, where Lu and I will set up jungle gyms and toys and do our best to keep the family together even while we work and travel.
Although you can never know where life will take you, I’ve had a plan in my head that I’ve somehow managed to follow. In an interview back in 2007, I told a reporter friend that I envisaged getting married within five years, starting a family, playing a few film roles, wearing the music producer’s hat. I’ve since married Lu and am making inroads on those other plans, so I’m a happy guy.
All my life I felt too insecure to do a lot of things. For so long, I struggled against invisible demons. I felt restless and didn’t know why. I’ve never felt academically smart, but I knew I had a different kind of intelligence. I didn’t know business but I understood it. It’s been that way with a lot of things. I have an instinct for what works. My life changed when I became a professional singer. I found my purpose and my calling. I started to see the potential in myself, and it was easier to wake up in the morning. When I started to work at this career, I started to find my happiness. I had something to live for. I wasn’t so scared any more.
I still feel like I’m just getting started. There is a lot more I want to do. But at the end of the day, when the autographs are signed and the crowds have gone away, it all comes back to watching hockey with my sisters, eating a bowl of my grandma’s red risotto with round steak, and uploading music on to my grandpa’s iPod. In other words, I might have finally realized the career I’d always dreamed of, but I discovered along the way that I’ll for ever be a Bublé – that dorky kid from Burnaby, writing songs on his dad’s fishing boat.
Photographs
Dean Freeman Biography
Over the past fifteen years, Dean Freeman has mastered the genre of celebrity documentation, producing over ten books, many of them global bestsellers, for which he acts not only as the sole photographer, but also as the creative director and publishing consultant.
His signature style is inspired by the Hollywood glamour of the 1950s and 1960s, transposed to the twenty-first century and made to feel 100 per cent now.
Dean’s books are often imitated and yet none of these imitations offer the same richness and depth of imagery, combined with the design and overall quality of publications Dean intricately masterminds.
Dean’s photographs are beautiful, fun, dynamic, honest and warm, and his character and subtle approach gain the trust of stars and enable him to bring to the world unique portraits of these modern icons who rarely allow such intimate coverage.
This is a testament to the man and his talent responsible for icon-making in the most truthful and artistic way. Dean is simply a master, one of the world’s preeminent photographers and publishing visionaries in this genre.
Part of the charm of these books is that he makes the images seem so effortless. This is far from the truth: Dean’s ability to seize a moment and still flatter his subject is a truly magical skill.
Michael with Dean
Thank You
I would like to thank Michael for being a dream subject and collaborator. Michael is one of the warmest and most talented stars I have had the pleasure to work with in over two decades.
He is a true voice of an angel and, at the same time, an inimitable, charismatic performer who fills theatres and stadiums worldwide with his unassuming attitude and natural, irresistible charm.
It is an honour to have been allowed into the Bublé world and the warmth and affection of his family and management are truly unique and will stay in my heart. I would also like to thank Michael’s beautiful wife Luisana and all of the Bublé family, especially the ‘Granddad’, Mitch, and Lewis Bublé.
Thank you to Bruce Allen, firstly for often calling me ‘kiddo’ and mostly for sharing the vision and the trust and support in getting this book finished. A genuinely amazing man, manager, legend.
Thank you to Jo Faloona, a real star behind the scenes. Holly Russell, what can I say? This girl is a force of nature and simply this book would not have been possible without the amazing talent of Michael’s right-hand woman.
To all the tour management, especially Chris Chappel, band and crew, thank you for your assistance. And, of course, the guardian angel Jose, gentle and tough. To Doug Young and Transworld: great team and great vision. Dion the Singer, Susan Leon and Mitra Darab, Carsten Love, Chris Fussell, Tory Class, Alan Chang, Bob Rock, David Foster: it has been a pleasure to meet you.
Thank you to Joby Ellis, design backbone and talent. To Richard Poulton, digital genuis. Chris Organ, legal legend and Ryan Vince at Russell’s. To David Lyons and Toby Dodson for LA support. A big Abraco to my Canadian buddy Michael Chamberlain and LPB you're a star.
Love to my amazing wife Olga and son Dylan. You are my world.
Thank You
Believe it or not, I’m not a fan of getting my picture taken. So when I get comfortable with a photographer, it makes the procedure a little easier to handle. Dean Freeman is not only a great photographer, he has the innate ability not to invade one’s space. To get the photos he’s looking for, that skill is paramount. Dean, I thoroughly enjoyed working with you.
You are a true gentleman. I’m glad I’ve had the chance to get to know you and I look forward to hanging with you for years to come.
To Lu – my wife. Thank God you are used to this . . . And gawd you’re hot!
Thank you to Holly, my tireless assistant, who has to cope with an incredibly busy schedule. Somehow it all gets done – thanks to her dedication and skill.
Thanks to Jo Faloona for her calendar manipulations. I hate that calendar. Just kidding!
A special thanks to Kerry Gold. Without her, this book didn’t have a ghost of a chance of coming to fruition.
Thanks to my wonderful family and my incredible friends. My band and crew – who I consider my brothers and sisters. This journey wouldn’t have been half as sweet without you.
Okay, Bruce! You were right. Thanks for talking me into it. To all my fans – I hope you enjoy it!
Michael Bublé
PUBLISHED BY DOUBLEDAY CANADA
Text copyright © I’m the Last Man Standing 2011
Photographs by Dean Freeman. © I’m The Last Man Standing Music, Inc.
"Try A Little Tenderness" Words and Music by Jimmy Campbell, Harry Woods
and Reg Connelly © 1966, Reproduced by permission of
EMI Music Publishing Limited, London W8 5SW
Design by Joby Ellis
Published by arrangement with Transworld Publishers,
a division of Random House Group Ltd.
All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication, reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of the publisher—or in the case of photocopying or other reprographic copying, license from the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency—is an infringement of the copyright law.
Doubleday Canada and colophon are registered trademarks.
www.randomhouse.ca
Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication
Bublé Michael
Off stage on stage / Michael Bublé.
eISBN 978-0-385-67627-4
1. Bublé, Michael. 2. Singers—Canada—Biography.
I. Title.
ML420.B917O32 2011 782.42164092 C2011-902499-3
Published in Canada by Doubleday Canada,
a division of Random House of Canada Limited.
First Canadian Edition
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Onstage Offstage Page 10