Michael Buble’ Says New Album ‘Higher,’ Featuring A Duet With Willie Nelson, Was A Dream To Make

Michael Buble’ clearly enjoys doing interviews, especially with so many positive things to talk about. During a Zoom call from New York this week, he shared his thoughts on his record, his excitement about a new addition to his beautiful family, and his latest commercial and campaign for bubly sparkling water.

Higher features new songs, surprising covers of old favorites, a song produced by Sir Paul McCartney, and a special collaboration with Willie Nelson.

“It was truly a dream album to make,” Buble says. “Not just from the songs I was in love with and chose, but I think, my mentality. If every record is a snapshot of where you are in your life, I think you’re seeing a man at peace, a man who is ready to live his best life, and I know it sounds cringy, but ready to reach for the stars, you know?”

His voice has never been stronger, and shines through on songs like “Higher,” “My Valentine” (produced by Paul McCartney), “Make You Feel My Love,” “You’re the First, the Last, My Everything (his cover of the old Barry White song), “Bring It On Home To Me,” and his duet with Willie Nelson.

“You know, I’ve been doing media interviews with countries all over the world and they keep saying, ‘You have a great duet with a country singer.’ Well, I never saw him as a country singer. I’ve held Willie in the same esteem I hold Sinatra and Martin and Bennett. For me as a kid, when he put out “Stardust,” it was one of the great records ever.”

The song they sing together on Higher is Nelson’s classic, “Crazy.”

“When I spoke with Willie and his wife, and we talked about doing this,” Buble’ explains, “I kept telling him the version of “Crazy” I’ve always been in love with was his. We all love Patsy Cline and I know people think hers is the definitive version of that song, but it wasn’t for me, it was Willie’s.”

Their version is a stellar blend of both men’s unique vocal styles.

“You know there’s not a lot of my heroes left, so the fact I got to work with my hero,” Buble’ says, “is one of those ‘tick,’ scratch it off the bucket list opportunities.”

That’s true, too, he says, of the opportunity to work with McCartney. McCartney doesn’t sing, but served as producer on the song “My Valentine.”

For the album’s title track, “Higher,” Buble’ wanted the video to be something special, so he sought out dancer and choreographer Derek Hough. Buble’ says he couldn’t have been more pleased with the end result.

“Derek might be the smartest, most ambitious entertainer/creator I’ve ever worked with. He has so much care for every single thing he did, and that kind of integrity inspired me to want to be greater. He’s a special guy and if people haven’t already, they’re going to recognize that he’s our generation’s Fred Astaire, our generation’s Gene Kelly. He’s a special guy.”

As Buble’ marks the release of the album and gears up for his 2022 tour, he also has some special family news to celebrate. He and his wife, Luisana Lopilato, will welcome their fourth child this summer.

“I’m trying to build a hockey team,” he says with a laugh. “You can imagine how amazing this is for us.”

Buble’ has shared the family’s struggles in the past, as his oldest son battled cancer. Six years later, everyone is healthy and doing well.

Since 2019, Buble’ has starred in ads for bubly sparkling water. Their popular commercials have made good use of his name, and his comedic personality as he consistently tries to come up with new ways to “change” the name on the can to reflect his own. The Pepsi-owned bubly has just launched a brand new commercial and campaign.

“Wait a second,” Buble’ says, when asked about his work as the brand’s spokesperson. “You’re saying they pay money for these kinds of things? Honestly, I’ve been doing this for free cases of bubly. They actually send me the new flavors before other people get them. That was the deal.”

He admits to having a good time doing those commercials since getting the script for the first bubly Super Bowl ad in 2019.

The new campaign touches on the value of finding the silver lining when things aren’t going so well. The idea is whether it’s a bad day or something as simple as breaking a dish (as shown in the commercial), it’s always good to try to look on the bright side.

Interestingly, Buble’ says there’s sort of a parallel here with his new album, especially in the wake of the pandemic.

“The record is called Higher but for nine months it was called Smile. And it was called Smile because I really felt like I needed hope, I needed to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And this was the love letter I wanted to send, that no matter how hard things get, we can persevere, stand up, and somehow get through it. That’s the message. And I think we could all use a little more of that.”

As a result, starting Monday, April 18th, bubly will seek out people’s “bummer moments” on Twitter and gift them with prizes and/or tweets as a reward for their online optimism.

As he balances all he has going on in 2022, Buble’ says he’s taking time to appreciate his many gifts. A happy, healthy family, the ability to make some incredible new music, and heading out on tour to perform for live audiences this year. Life is very good.

“The one thing I’ve got to do is to be in the moment, because I don’t know if it gets any better than this.”