MICHAEL Bublé will perform again in Manila as part of his ongoing world tour, “To Be Loved.” The Grammy-winning singer last visited the country a decade ago.
He’s been on the road for a year and half doing some 160 shows around the world as part his current world tour (his fifth), “To Be Loved.” On Jan. 31, Michael Bublé will return to Manila and take the stage at the SM Mall of Asia Arena for a single-night pre-Valentine concert.
Going by Bublé’s set list on his recent tour stops, the Canadian crooner’s Filipino fans can expect—as usual—a well-rounded night of music not limited to big band, swing and jazz standards that catapulted him to stardom in the early 2000s.
There are usually the well-loved classics such as “Fever,” “Feeling Good” and “I’ve Got the World on a String,” as well as his original hits “Home” and “Haven’t Met You Yet.” Every so often, just to spice things up, Bublé throws in a curve ball, like Pharrell Williams’ “Get Lucky” or Backstreet Boys’ “Everybody,” as if to prove that he has the musical proficiency to juggle the old and the new.
Perhaps this willingness to take on other genres of music is what helped Bublé attract a wide range of listeners. “It’s great… I’ve got the very young and old, black and white, rich and poor—everyone,” the four-time Grammy Award-winning artist said in an interview with “60 Minutes” on the US network CBS.
As with any extensive world tour like “To Be Loved”—launched in support of his eighth studio record of the same title—untoward stage incidents are bound to happen at some point. In a concert in Australia last year, the artist accidentally knocked out a tooth with his microphone, but fortunately managed to soldier on.
Such mishaps, we bet, are nothing compared to the inspiration he gets from his wife, Argentine actress Luisana Lopilato and 1-year-old son Noah, who have been accompanying Bublé on the tour.
Asked by US morning talk show “Today” how he balances his career and family life, Bublé stressed, “There’s no balancing [necessary]—there’s family and then there’s everything else. That’s how it should be. My family inspires me.”
“When people aren’t buying my records anymore and once autograph hunters cease to care, they’re (his family) all I’m going to have,” added Bublé, who last held a show in the Philippines in 2005.
While he has yet to release a new album, Bublé’s most recent, the 14-track “To Be Loved,” recently came out with a deluxe Asian Tour edition that contains eight additional songs, including “Mack the Knife,” “Softly As I Leave You” and “These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You).”
“Michael Bublé: Live in Manila” is presented by Wilbros Live in cooperation with Dainty Group International. Tickets are available at SM Tickets; call tel. no. 4702222. (apolicarpio@inquirer.com.ph)
‘Imperial Festival’
Resorts World Manila welcomes the Lunar New Year with a mix of Chinese-themed events dubbed “Imperial Festival” and headlined by a seminar by best-selling author and feng shui master Joey Yap on
Jan. 29, 2 p.m. at the Marriott Ballroom A. Tickets are now available online at www.masteryacademy.com.
‘Music, Dine and Dance 2’
San Pablo Apostol Tondo Parish is sponsoring a dinner-dance fundraiser for the construction of its church. Dubbed “Music, Dine and Dance 2,” it will feature the Manila Philharmonic Orchestra and singer
Cocoy Laurel as special guests on Feb. 20, 6:30 p.m. at the SMX Convention Center.
For tickets and sponsorship, contact Mila Torres at tel. nos. 3596953, 0942-8504421, mila_spa@yahoo.com, or log on to https://sites.google.com/site/sanpabloapostolparishtondo.