Best Michael Bublé Songs: 20 Of The Canadian Crooner’s Finest Moments

19: My Valentine (from ‘Higher’, 2022)

Ex-Beatle Paul McCartney agreed to produce Michael Bublé’s interpretation of this song he wrote for his third wife, Nancy Shevell, and recorded on his 2012 album, Kisses On The Bottom. Macca’s original version was distinguished by a sparse, jazzy production with just a hint of strings, but on Bublé’s remake, a colossal orchestra – arranged by Nicholas Jacobson-Larson, a rising young Los Angeles-based conductor – frames the Canadian singer’s voice with lush swathes of violins, horns and a swirling harp. The result is one of the best Michael Bublé songs, thanks to a performance that’s heartfelt but not histrionic, warm yet coolly understated.

18: I’ll Never Not Love You (from ‘Higher’, 2022)

Also taken from his 2022 album, Higher, which debuted at No.1 in the UK, this gently pulsing uptempo song, produced by the Grammy-winning Canadian producer Greg Wells, is defined by Bublé’s pitch-perfect vocal and an addictive, singalong chorus. The singer co-wrote it with the in-demand mainstream pop songwriter Michael Pollack, whose previous writing credits included Maroon 5, Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry. A catchy slice of pure pop, I’ll Never Not Love You rose to No.10 in the US Adult Contemporary chart.

17: Hollywood (single A-side, 2010)

Recorded at the same time as the Crazy Love album, the poppy and surprisingly un-Bublé-like Hollywood was dropped from that record’s original running order because the singer believed it didn’t fit with the mood of the other material he’d assembled – yet it’s this kind of about-turn that ensures its place among the best Michael Bublé songs. Co-written by the singer, who described it as a “tongue-in-cheek statement on the culture of celebrity”, the song was originally titled Hollywood Is Dead and was intended as a satirical critique of fame and people that crave the spotlight. Issued as a standalone single in the wake of Crazy Love’s release, it scored its highest chart position in Ireland, where it reached No.2, and later ended up on the expanded Hollywood Edition of Crazy Love.

16: Fever (from ‘Michael Bublé’, 2003)

There’s no doubt that Bublé – who was immersed in the Great American Songbook from a young age – has helped to introduce old, seemingly unfashionable, songs to new and enthusiastic generations of listeners with his numerous cover versions. His take on Fever – a febrile 1956 Little Willie John number that Peggy Lee adapted in 1958, stripping it back instrumentally and transforming into a pop smash – is an example of how the best Michael Bublé songs can be updates of old classics that don’t sacrifice the spirit of the original.

15: Cry Me A River (from ‘Crazy Love’, 2009)

An iconic torch song that was written by Sing A Rainbow composer Arthur Hamilton and was immortalised by the sultry jazz chanteuse Julie London in 1955, Cry Me A River’s bluesy exploration of heartbreak has been covered by an array of diverse vocalists – everyone from Barbara Streisand to Joe Cocker, Rick Astley and Elaine Paige. Michael Bublé brought a noir-like edge to his 2009 rendition, recorded for the Crazy Love album, which begins with a tense and menacing string intro arranged by the Emmy Award-winning composer William Ross.

14: Me And Mrs Jones (from ‘Call Me Irresponsible’, 2007)

Bublé’s assured and soulful take on this 70s Philly soul classic about the guilty pleasure of an extramarital affair – written by the eminent songwriters and producers Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, and taken into the pop charts by Billy Paul – shows that the Canadian singer wasn’t content to solely reheat old chestnuts from the Great American Songbook, and sought to broaden his repertoire’s horizon. Interestingly, the track, which appeared on the Call Me Irresponsible album, features British actor Emily Blunt, whom Bublé was dating at the time, on backing vocals.

13: To Love Somebody (from ‘To Be Loved’, 2013)

Nina Simone and Jimmy Somerville are just two of over 200 singers who have covered this tune, one of the early successes of the British sibling band Bee Gees, who wrote and recorded To Love Somebody in 1967. Bublé, who’s often thought of as a retro-style saloon swinger and the heir to Sinatra’s throne, shows his soulful rather than his jazz side on his emotive interpretation of a song that co-writer Barry Gibb once told interviewer Piers Morgan was his favourite of all the tunes he had written.

12: Lost (from ‘Call Me Irresponsible’, 2007)

Co-produced by David Foster, the award-winning producer of Céline Dion and Barbra Streisand who masterminded Bublé’s ascent to mainstream adulation, this storytelling ballad finds the singer reflecting on a troubled relationship and offering comfort and moral support to his floundering loved one. Co-written by Bublé, Lost is a painfully autobiographical entry among the best Michael Bublé songs, and purportedly refers to his break-up from his ex-fiancée, Debbie Timuss. It was the third single lifted from Call Me Irresponsible, and it made the US Adult Contemporary Top 10 as well as the UK Top 20, where it earned a silver disc award.

11: Save The Last Dance For Me (from ‘It’s Time’, 2005)

This famous and much-loved Doc Pomus-Mort Shuman song was made famous by the R&B vocal group The Drifters in 1960 and has also been covered by the country singers Emmylou Harris and Dolly Parton. Michael Bublé, however, put a different spin on Save The Last Dance For Me for a version that appeared on the 2005 album It’s Time, serving it up as a Latin-flavoured groove with punchy horn charts and hints of Afro-Cuban montuno rhythms. Securing its place among the best Michael Bublé songs, his version went gold in the US after reaching a peak of No.5 in the Adult Contemporary chart.

10: Love You Anymore (from ‘Love’, 2018)

A chugging guitar-driven ballad with a hint of The Beatles via its chord changes and George Harrison-style slide guitar solo, Love You Anymore was co-written by the US singer-songwriter Charlie Puth with three other writers, including Ilsey Juber, a Californian tunesmith who had previously written songs for Beyoncé and Camila Cabello. It’s a bittersweet love song from Bublé’s 2018 album, Love in which the narrator tries to disguise the fact that he still has some feelings for his ex-lover, cloaking his sadness with an upbeat, singalong melody. “I’m grateful to Charlie Puth and I’m a little bit jealous,” Bublé confessed to ABC Radio in 2019, “’cause I wish I would’ve written it.”

9: Baby, It’s Cold Outside (Idina Menzel with Michael Bublé) (from ‘Holiday Wishes’, 2014)

Though it’s widely associated with the Yuletide season, Baby, It’s Cold Outside – usually performed as a male-female duet – makes no mention of Christmas in its lyrics. This much-loved song was written by the celebrated US composer Frank Loesser in 1944, and its interpreters have ranged from Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Jordan to Tom Jones and Cerys Matthews and, more recently, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson. In 2014, Bublé teamed up with Broadway singer Idina Menzel (of Frozen fame) for a playful reconfiguration of the tune, which appeared on her album Holiday Wishes. The track was also issued as a single and went to the top of the US Adult Contemporary chart.

8: Sway (from ‘Michael Bublé’, 2003)

One of Bublé’s idols, Rat Pack crooner Dean Martin, immortalised this sultry, Latin-flavoured mambo groove in 1954 when he took it into the upper echelons of the US and UK charts. The song had first been recorded a year earlier, with the title ¿Quién Será?, by its co-writer, the Mexican bandleader Pablo Beltrán Ruiz, but it became known as Sway when the renowned US lyricist Norman Gimbel penned English words for the tune. Claiming its spot among the best Michael Bublé songs, this slick David Foster-produced version appeared on the singer’s self-titled major-label debut, hitting the US and Australian charts. Dutch DJ Junkie XL’s remix of the tune helped put Bublé on the radar of hardcore EDM fans (it got to No.3 on America’s Hot Dance Singles chart in 2003) and, in May 2022, a sped-up version was released to cater for the TikTok generation.

7: It’s A Beautiful Day (from ‘To Be Loved’, 2013)

A joyful affirmation of being alive and in love, this vibrant uptempo pop number – complete with a lively horn section, which helps underline its infectious sense of joie de vivre – was co-penned by Bublé with his long-time collaborators Alan Chang and Amy Foster, the songwriting team responsible for a number of the best Michael Bublé songs, among them three other big chart singles, Haven’t Met You Yet, Everything and Home. Taken from Bublé’s sixth album, 2013’s To Be Loved, It’s A Beautiful Day lit up the charts in 23 countries across the globe, including Iceland and Japan.

6: All I Want For Christmas Is You (from ‘Christmas’, 2011)

Made famous by its co-writer, the US singer Mariah Carey, back in 1994, this much-covered song – which has been recorded over 300 times – was the first single taken from Michael Bublé’s Christmas album, and it quickly found itself at the top of the US Adult Contemporary chart. Careys’s original version was distinguished by a slow ballad-style intro before morphing into a 60s-style Phil Spector-esque dance number; by contrast, Bublé gives All I Want For Christmas Is You a silky makeover, avoiding a tempo change and singing it as a ballad throughout. It topped the Adult Contemporary chart in the US and earned a silver disc for its sales in the UK.

5: Everything (from ‘Call Me Irresponsible’, 2007)

Bob Rock, the redoubtable Canadian record producer who has earned credits on Metallica, Mötley Crüe and Aerosmith records, helmed Everything, the first single taken from Call Me Irresponsible. One of two songs on the album co-written by Bublé, it is an upbeat love song purportedly written for his then girlfriend, Emily Blunt. The track, which topped the US Adult Contemporary chart, offered early indication that the best Michael Bublé songs could embrace contemporary pop and convincingly extend his musical grasp beyond his core repertoire of jazz standards.

4: Home (from ‘It’s Time’, 2005)

A poignant ballad about loneliness and the pain of separation, Home finds Bublé – who co-wrote the song – expressing a yearning to be back in familiar surroundings with a loved one. The track was taken from his 2005 album, It’s Time, and offered one of the earliest indications that the Canadian singer sought to explore music that took him beyond his jazz comfort zone. The second single released from the album, Home topped the US Adult Contemporary charts; the Irish boyband Westlife covered the tune two years later, taking it to No.3 in the UK charts.

3: Haven’t Met You Yet (from ‘Crazy Love’, 2009)

This slick slice of self-penned jaunty, contemporary pop showed that the best Michael Bublé songs, though indebted to the great crooners of yesteryear – Sinatra, Crosby, Sammy Davis, Jr, et al – wouldn’t be bogged down in the past. The infectious Haven’t Met You Yet was a big chart hit in 16 countries – including the UK, where it peaked at No.5 – and helped propel its parent album, Crazy Love, to multi-platinum status. At the Juno Awards – Canada’s answer to the Grammys – it grabbed the Single Of The Year gong in 2010.

2: It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas (from ‘Christmas’, 2011)

Bublé’s dream of being a singer began when he heard the deep-voiced crooner Bing Crosby’s White Christmas album as a young boy growing up in British Columbia in the 80s. In 2011, after his career had taken off spectacularly, Bublé recorded his own entry among the best Christmas albums, including in its tracklist this revamp of a song Meredith Willson wrote in 1951 and which was popularised by Perry Como later the same year. Preceded by a slow intro of glistening glockenspiels, ice-smooth strings, and cascading harps, Bublé delivers the tune in a soft, silky croon that was tailor-made for the Yuletide season. One of the best Christmas songs of all time, Bublé’s rendition of It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas became a double-platinum-selling hit single in the UK.

1: Feeling Good (from ‘It’s Time’, 2005)

Topping our list of the best Michael Bublé songs is a tune known for being a signature number in the repertoire of the “High Priestess Of Soul”, jazz and blues goddess Nina Simone. Feeling Good was written by the British songwriters Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley, for their 1964 musical, The Roar Of The Greasepaint – The Smell Of The Crowd, and though it’s indelibly associated with Simone, the song has been covered myriad times, by everyone from pop icon George Michael to visionary jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. Bublé’s interpretation – expertly orchestrated by the noted US jazz arranger Don Sebesky – exudes a sassy big-band swagger, and was the perfect opener for his multi-platinum-selling 2005 album, It’s Time.

Buy Michael Bublé vinyl and more at the Dig! store.