New single from Bublé’s exciting upcoming album

At last, something exciting for this new year in popular music. This was the announcement last week of the release of a new single from the upcoming album of Michael Bublé.

A new album by Bublé is always something to look forward to. The guy effortlessly combines old school charm with pop sensibility in his recordings. He has this great knack for choosing the unexpected, but as it has often turned out, the right songs. Then you can add to that the fact that he is also a mean songwriter. No wonder he has won all those Grammys, Junos, etc. and has sold over 75 million records worldwide.

After three years out of the studio, he has now returned with a single that he co-wrote, I’ll Never Not Love You, which promises forever love. No razzle dazzle with this one. It is a sweet tune that is lighter than usual for the Canadian superstar but which I am sure appeals to a wide range of buyers.

While it is easy for listeners to get lost in the lovely I’ll Never Not Love You, the big treat I am waiting for is the album titled Higher, which is due to drop on March 25. That seems like such a long way off after I got a look at the album’s list of songs.

Higher is Bublé’s 11th studio album and it is his first release after three years. His last one was Love, which made No. 1 in the Billboard Top 200 listing upon release. With three years to plan for his next one, you can bet that Bublé produced something very special.

Higher is made up of three new originals composed by Bublé, including I’ll Never Not Love You and covers of standards that come from a very wide spectrum. And I really mean wide.  Think Britain during the Second World War down to country, folk, soul and more of recent times. Check out the titles of some of the cuts.

There is Crazy, the country standard which made Patsy Cline a star and which Bublé now sings with the songwriter himself, no other than the legendary Willie Nelson.

My Valentine, one of the fun music hall-inspired originals from Paul McCartney’s album Kisses on the Bottom and was produced by Sir Paul himself. Bublé has certainly arrived as a star but with a Beatle as his producer, you can say that he has indeed double arrived. I can’t wait to hear what McCartney did with Bublé at the studio.

There are also Make You Feel My Love, a classic by no less than Bob Dylan; Bring It On Home to Me by the much lamented Sam Cooke; You’re the First My Last My Everything by the big-voiced Barry White.

An interesting choice is A Nightingale Sang in Barkley Square, which Dame Vera Lynn popularized in 1940 and has since been recorded by other artists many times over. I wonder if Bublé will go the swinging route taken by Bobby Darin or in the light rock styling done by Rod Stewart with this one.

And then, there is Smile, which was composed by the great comedian CharIie Chaplin for his own film Modern Times. It was popularized during the ‘50s by Nat King Cole. There are a lot of other versions of the song but the best ones of recent times are by Michael Jackson and Seal. I am sure that Bublé is not out to compete or put one over MJ or Seal or the esteemed Cole but I am still very curious and excited to listen to his version, which he does with a gospel choir.

So, watch out for Higher. It must be quite a listening experience.

By the way, Bublé’s Christmas once more topped the Holiday charts last 2021. The album is now the biggest selling Christmas album of all time with over 16 million copies sold globally and over four billion streams. It is no wonder then that Bublé is now also known as Father Christmas.