It's difficult to believe that Michael Bublé, who has such a youthful spirit and appearance, has been gracing stages all over the world for over 20 years. The Canadian crooner has enjoyed a mega-successful career both at home and abroad, charming audiences with his mixture of humor, honesty, and spectacular singing chops.
Michael took a step back from music when his son Noah was diagnosed with cancer in 2016. With his son happily in full remission, he came back on the road in April 2019 and has been continuously touring since.
His new North American tour is set to start on March 17, 2020, so let's look back on his career and count the 20 things that everybody forgets about Michael Bublé.
20 He Was Born In Burnaby, B.C.
Michael was born in Burnaby, B.C., and from day one, he has remained very close to his roots. He even built his new home in the city he was born in. He also never misses an opportunity to perform at home, most recently kicking off his 2019 "Love" tour in front of a home crowd at Rogers Arena.
19 He Dated British Actress Emily Blunt
Michael and Emily met in 2005, after one of Michael's concerts. The two quickly fell in love. Despite leading a quiet life in Vancouver, they were one of the hottest couples on any red carpet for the next few years. Sadly, despite being candid and open about their love many times, the couple split in 2008.
18 He Has Won 4 Grammys
Michael won his first Grammy in 2006, for his album Call Me Irresponsible. Overall, he has seven nominations and a total of four Grammy wins. He has also received multiple accolades at home, winning an impressive 14 Juno Awards throughout his career. Canadians are so proud to call him their own.
17 He Was A Live With Kelly Co-Host
When Live with Kelly host, Kelly Ripa, needed a co-host after the departure of Michael Strahan, her months-long search for a partner inspired 68 potential hosts to sit on the empty chair, including Michael Bublé in October of 2016. That's a lot of potential hosts, isn't it?
16 He Appeared As An Actor In The X-Files
In 1996, Michael obtained a bit part as a submarine crew member during season 3 of The X-Files. Unfortunately, the story has no happy ending as he was fired from the set for eating the food from craft services! Apparently, he wasn't important enough to do that.
15 He Co-Owns A Vancouver Hockey Team
Michael became a co-owner of the Vancouver Giants, a team in the Western Hockey League, in 2008. "I've done lots of amazing things in my life, but this is easily the most prestigious for me" Michael declared, after making the announcement and receiving his own team jersey.
14 He Is Married and A Proud Father Of Three
In 2011, Michael married Argentinian model and actress, Luisana Lopilato. The two met in 2008 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, after one of Michael's shows. The couple now has three children together, Noah, 6, Elias, 4, and little Vida, who will turn 2 this summer.
13 He Is An Italian Citizen
Michael's maternal grandparents hailed from Italy, so he was granted Italian citizenship at birth. Always proud of his heritage, in 2005, he even obtained his Italian passport. When Michael and Luisana married in 2011, they spent their honeymoon in Venice, arguably the most romantic of Italian cities.
12 He Got His Big Break At Prime Minister Brian Mulroney's Daughter's Wedding
After singing at local Vancouver bars for 10 years, Michael got his big break in 2000, when he was invited to sing at the wedding of the daughter of former Canadian Prime Minister, Brian Mulroney.
As luck would have it, one wedding guest was the influential music producer, David Foster, who promptly invited Michael to Los Angeles and then signed him soon after.
11 He Considered A Career In Journalism Before Making It Big In Music
In addition to his acting gigs, Michael considered becoming a journalist if his music career did not work out. "I actually started to write an article every week for this Japanese magazine, and it was so much harder I thought it would be. [...] It was really tough," he confessed in a 2007 interview.
10 He Wrote The Hit "I Haven't Met You Yet" For His Future Wife Luisana
In a 2009 interview, Michael revealed that he wrote, "I Haven't Met You Yet", about Luisana: "I wrote it because I had met this girl and there was nothing solid about anything of it. She didn't speak English. She had just been in a relationship that was very public for her and so had I [...] The song came from that--it was inspired by meeting her." The two later starred in the official video for the song.
9 He Worked As A Fisherman For 6 Years
Michael's father was a salmon fisherman, and at 14, Michael started working alongside his dad on the boat. "It's the most deadly physical work I'll ever know in my lifetime. We'd go out for two or three months at a time. The experience of working with guys twice my age taught me a lot about responsibility and what it means to be a man," Michael has said of his first job.
8 He Has His Own Figure At Madame Tussauds Wax Museum
The new figure was unveiled in December 2019, at Madame Tussauds London. Michael himself made the announcement via Madame Tussauds London Twitter account, joking that he could now be at two places at the same time! Michael's figure joins Drake and Shawn Mendez, who are also Canadian musicians who've been recently immortalized.
7 He Is The King Of TV Specials
Michael has filmed seven music specials for NBC, and four of them were celebrity-filled Christmas extravaganzas. His latest, simply titled, Bublé!, aired in March of 2019. Now his son is feeling better, we'll probably see more TV action from Michael in the future. At least, we hope so.
6 He Has His Own Fragrance
In 2016, Michael launched. "By Invitation"...a new fragrance for women. "I wanted the people to fall in love with the scent," he told In Style, also sharing that he had received the approval of his wife, Luisana: "She loved it, which was a really big deal for me. I knew if she didn't like it, she'd be brutally honest with me."
5 He Once Made A Playlist For Meghan Markle
Meghan Markle met Michael and Luisana at a party in 2015, later writing in her (now closed) blog, "The Tig", that he was "a hell of a dinner companion." Also included in the blog? A Christmas playlist he made for her, which included his own Christmas song!
4 He Owes His Singing Career To His Grandfather
Michael's grandfather, Demetrio, played a big part in steering Michael towards a music career, introducing him to the classic jazz crooners he would later grow to love. "My grandpa's passion for that music kick-started my own. [...] I give him credit for instilling in me everything I know and love about music," he told Today in 2011.
3 His Second Album Is Named After The Bar Where He Started Singing
Never one to forget his roots, Michael titled his second indie album, which was released in 2001, BaBalu. It was named after the Vancouver club where he got his start. Though the lounge later became an Irish pub, the place remains a big part of Michael's 'rag to riches' story.
2 He Has A Cameo In A Gwyneth Paltrow Movie
Michael has shared the stage with many greats, including Barbra Streisand and Diana Krall. In 2000, young Michael was on another stage altogether, when he played a young karaoke singer in the movie, Duets. The film starred Gwyneth Paltrow and was directed by Gwyneth's father, Bruce Paltrow.
1 He Is Great At Vocal Impressions
Michael is a studious researcher of the singers that paved the way for him in the past. As he demonstrated in this 2016 interview, his mastery of technique means he can slip into the voices of Sinatra, Dean Martin, or Elvis, at the literal drop of a hat.