WATCH: Michael Bublé Full Interview

Michael Bublé came to Magic to talk about his musical influences and his new album.

Published 18th Oct 2016

The Canadian singer-songwriter came to Magic to talk about his career through his albums. He talked about songwriting, his friendship with Bryan Adams, and artists who have inspired him.

Asked if he remembers the very first time he went into a studio to record an album, Michael says, "I was 20 years old and I went in to record an album called BaBalu, and I went in with a quartet. We had 8 hours to record 11 songs."

"We did everything once or twice and that was it – that was the budget."

On songwriting

In the interview, Michael admits to having written 'Home' in the shower. He says, "it came so easily that I was sure that I had stolen it from somewhere else."

Of his single, Michael remembered the record company president initially writing him a letter saying, "I refuse to have this song 'Home' go out. It's crap. You say the word Home 47 times in it, and it's not happening".

On 'Lost', the singer admits that when he wrote the single, he was "absolutely wasted".

"I was in a hotel room in Melbourne, Australia, and I arrived, and I was jet-lagged. I was drinking, I had broken up with a girl I had been with for a long time. I was crushed because I loved her so much, and I felt like I had let her down."

"For me, sobriety was the enemy while writing," the singer confesses.

On winning 4 Grammy Awards

Although he has won four awards, Michael has never collected one.

When announced as the winner, he has always been "on my couch at home with a bottle of wine – I've never picked it up."

He describes the ceremonies as "a bit cringey", saying, "there's a million places I'd rather be than a red carpet, pretending that I love to be there".

On his musical influences

Michael admits to having great love and respect for Bryan Adams and Rod Stewart: "They both have those distinct voices that sound like they should be sore – they've got that gorgeous grit that we all wish for."

"I try to sound like that and my voice is gone, I need a lozenge!"

He also speaks about Elvis, saying: "I got to sing Fever with my idol, and I had goosebumps the whole time I sang that song (Fever)".

On Christmas

"Bing Crosby was the biggest star in the world – bigger than Bieber, Beyoncé – and now he's known for Christmas music. It's so strange," Michael muses.

On Christmas celebrations, he says it's all about tradition. "Mid-October, all of a sudden, we get sentimental, we start feeling the spirit."

On Frank Sinatra

Richard asks Michael about the first Sinatra song that made him think: "THIS is what I want to do".

After choosing 'Come To Me, My Melancholy Baby', Michael sings a snippet of the track for us (go to 16.00, it's a beautiful moment).

"My grandad used to say to me, 'Sunshine, there was a time when the world was a war. Women didn’t know if thy were ever going to see their husbands, kids, brothers again, and these songs held a deeper meaning than you could ever know.’"

On his new album

Michael's favourite song from the album is 'Today Is Yesterday's Tomorrow', which he describes as "my favourite song that I've written in a long time".

Listen to Michael's new single here:

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