这个来自加拿大温哥华的25岁男歌手天赋异禀,他让许多当代经典歌曲摇身一变,成为带有其个人色彩的作品。他的名字就是麦可布雷(Michael Buble /Buble这个字的发音为Boo-blay)。麦可在Reprise/143 Records唱片公司旗下所发行的个人首张专辑「温柔本色」,将全方位的呈现他非凡卓越的歌唱魅力,这张专辑不仅是对乐史上某些不朽歌曲表示崇敬、不仅是对已逝去的音乐年代致上敬意,更重要的是,「温柔本色」专辑中的13首歌曲,宣告了一个明日之星的降临,他就是有本事以新鲜、独特而饶富创意的自我风格,诠释大家耳熟能详的歌曲。
打从幼年时期,麦可布雷对音乐的喜好就很早熟,他喜爱Ella Fitzgerald, Keely Smith, Sarah Vaughan和Rosemary Clooney等歌手的音乐,胜于Stevie Wonder, Elvis, Bobby Darin, Vaughan Monroe或是Ol' Blue Eyes。「在我成长的过程中,爷爷是我最要好的朋友。」麦可说,「是他为我开启了通往音乐世界的大门,让我认识了我们这一代所忽略的那些歌曲。虽然我喜爱摇滚乐和现代音乐,但是当爷爷第一次播放Mills Brothers的音乐给我听时,神奇的事情发生了!它们的歌词是如此浪漫、如此真实……对我而言,一首真正的歌曲就应当如此。我彷佛看见自己的未来闪现在眼前,我希望当一名歌手,我知道这就是我想演唱的音乐。」
事实上,麦可的爷爷是促使他走上音乐之途的幕后推手。「他要求我帮他一个忙,去学习演唱他喜爱的那些歌曲。」麦可说,「爷爷根本不用花什么力气说服我,随后我便开始练习,并参加当地的一个才艺竞赛,最后我赢了比赛,不过却因为年龄不足而被取消资格。我的爷爷是一个很有经验的水电工,当时他开始向镇上的音乐家提供免费的服务,交换的条件就是让我和他们一起在舞台上表演几首歌。」当温哥华所有漏水的水龙头都被修好时,一颗明日之星就诞生了!
17岁时,麦可已累积了许多演唱经验,他很明确地知道自己的方向。他在加拿大的新秀选拔赛中再次赢得首奖,于是在独立唱片公司的旗下录制并发行了一连串的专辑,并且在音乐剧「Red Rock Diner」与「Swing」中得到演出的机会。麦可之所以正式踏入乐坛,多亏了加拿大的前首相Brian Mulroney,他本身是经典流行老歌的歌迷,是他将麦可引荐给葛莱美奖制作人/音乐家、同时也是是华纳唱片的主管戴维佛斯特(David Foster)。当麦可在Mulroney 女儿的婚礼上演唱"Mack The Knife"时,这位初出茅庐的年轻歌手和这位经验老道的制作人一拍即合,随后,麦可便正式的签入戴维福斯特的唱片公司143 Records旗下。2001年春天,他们着手进行麦可的首张专辑。「我们在录音室里合作愉快。」麦可解释道,「当时我们想做的东西,是一张向经典歌曲致敬的专辑、或是一张沙发音乐,我们希望这些音乐得到它们应受的尊敬与喜爱,但最重要的是捕捉到它们的精髓与活力,那是超越任何一个音乐年代的。」
一开始,戴维福斯特与合作伙伴HumbertoGatica制作的焦点,都是让麦可演唱经典流行老歌,但是很快的他们就发现,麦可杰出的歌唱技巧,已完全不受限于30与40年代的歌曲。
「结果,我们并没有走上原先设想的方向。」麦可说,「戴维和Humberto带来了 很广泛的音乐素材,这些东西立刻吸引了我。我们一直很小心的维持我的风格, 后来我们发现在这样的风格范围中,任何种类的歌曲都并行不悖。」
他们的合作造就了「温柔本色」这样的一张专辑,轻而易举的将所有曲目融合在 一起,包括了不朽老歌"For Once In My Life"、"Fever"、"The Way You LookTonight",并将Van Morrison的"Moondance"与Lou Rawl的代表作 "You'll NeverFind Another Love Like Mine"改头换面。专辑中还翻唱了BeeGees的经典作"How Can You Mend A Broken Heart",由他与Bee Gees一同演唱, 在这首歌众多的翻唱版本中,麦可的版本可视为顶尖之一。「我想,这些歌曲都有一个共同点。」麦可表示,「它们都有感情、有灵魂,如何和一首歌的特质灵 犀相通,并栩栩如生的呈现在听众面前,对任何一位歌手而言都是一种挑战。当 然,专辑中某些歌曲一直是我的最爱,但是新的题材也带有相同的特点,那就是 一种超越时空的特质。」
除此之外,麦可也为这13首歌曲浸染了独属于他自己的色彩。「麦可不仅是学习 了这些音乐,」戴维佛斯特下了结论,「他使它们活了起来,他注入了年轻的活 力,刚柔并济的特质是我从来没有听过的。最棒的是,他踏入了一个领域,可以 让他继续往下走50年。他现在只是站在一段漫长事业的起跑点而已。」
Michael Bublé's introduction to the music of the swing era came to him through his grandfather, who filled his grandson's ears with the sounds of the Mills Brothers, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and others. As Bublé eagerly absorbed the recordings, he began to realize that he wanted to be a singer and that this style of music, virtually foreign to his own generation, was what he wanted to perform. With his grandfather's assistance, Bublé soon learned a whole catalog of tunes and gained experience and exposure by singing as a guest with several local bands. While still in his teen years, he won the Canadian Youth Talent Search, released several independent albums, and performed in a musical revue titled Swing that traveled across the U.S. It wasn't long before Bublé was introduced to Grammy-winning producer David Foster and signed his first major recording contract with Reprise Records.
The two Canadians began work on a debut album that would incorporate Bublé's aptitude for pop standards into songs that spanned several decades. His self-titled debut disc was released in early 2003 and featured jazzy takes on old standards like "Fever" and "The Way You Look Tonight" as well as newer classics like Van Morrison's "Moondance" and the Bee Gees' "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart." Further exposure ensued with a world tour and appearances on several television programs like NBC's Today Show, in which he sang a duet with host Katie Couric. He finished off 2003 with an EP of holiday material, Let It Snow, and began 2004 with the live CD/DVD set Come Fly with Me. In 2005, It's Time was a number one hit in Canada, Japan, Italy, and Australia and made the Top Ten of both the U.K. and U.S. Later that year he released the live album Caught in the Act. The holiday-themed album Christmas followed in 2006, with the studio effort Call Me Irresponsible dropping in 2007. Bublé returned in 2009 with the live concert album/DVD Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden, which documented the singer's first ever performance at the storied New York City venue.