It didn’t take long for Michael Bublé to start getting the Sinatra comparisons. And in some ways, they made sense: Like Sinatra, Bublé was an old-fashioned entertainer, the kind of singer who weighed his success in part by how well he connected with the crowd. But where Sinatra exuded swagger and masculinity, Bublé was soft and humble, a fisherman’s son from British Columbia who could swing if he wanted but tended more toward ballads and delicate adult-contemporary pop. Did the ladies love him? Of course! He’s Michael Bublé. He might be carrying a torch, but he’s lighting his own way.
Born in 1975 in Burnaby, just east of Vancouver, Bublé fell in love with jazz and standards after being turned on by his grandfather, an Italian-born plumber who later offered his services to clubs to fix their pipes in exchange for putting a teenage Bublé onstage. As his star grew, his range broadened, balancing straight takes on classics like “Stardust” and “All of Me” with polished contemporary pop (“Home,” “Haven’t Met You Yet,” and “Nobody But Me”), creating a sound that was immediate, romantic, elevated but accessible. And like his heroes (not just Sinatra, but Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, and a generation of American entertainers), Bublé got his Christmas album (2011’s Christmas) and a string of TV specials (buble!). In 2013, he gave an impromptu a cappella performance in the New York City subway. That, he said, is when you know you’ve made it. A stretch, but if his voice doesn’t get you, his charm will.