Thanks to his bestselling holiday album, Christmas, Michael Bublé is now linked forever with the holiday. But at first, Michael admits, he was really ticked off about it — until a family tragedy gave him a new perspective.
Appearing on the podcast Our Way with Paul Anka and Skip Bronson, Michael says he experienced “complete clarity” after his son Noah, now 10, was diagnosed with cancer in 2016. “My life changed and I knew what mattered,” he says.
“At the time the Christmas record … just kept on going,” he recalls. “And people didn’t shut up about the Christmas record: ‘Christmas guy! Hey Christmas guy! The King of Christmas!’ And it really bothered me.” Michael recalls complaining to his wife, “I don’t like it that they call me that, you know, I got other things. … I’m killing it in 50 countries.”
But Michael says after his son’s diagnosis, “I thought, ‘Wow. I’m so worried — my ego, my fault self — is so worried that they’re, you know, talking to me about Christmas. What are you thinking about, Mike? What are you doing?"”
“You are connected to the most beautiful time … of the year where people are kinder and more empathetic and they’ve got joy in their hearts,” he says he remembers telling himself. “And they’re inviting you into their homes to celebrate this time with their families, these core memories … and you got a problem with this, a******?”
Noah, who’s doing well now, is one of the four children Michael shares with his wife, Luisana Lopilato. The others are Elias, 7, Vida, 5, and Cielo, 18 months.
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