Ahead of UAE debut, Michael Bublé talks music, mystique and everything that’s to be loved

Michael Buble is coming to the UAE for two big shows – and a big family holiday.

For his UAE debut, Michael Bublé will perform two shows at the Dubai International Stadium. Neilson Barnard / Getty Images / AFP

The Canadian superstar singer Michael Bublé lands in Dubai this week for a pair of gigs at the Dubai International Stadium. His entourage includes his parents,his wife as well as her sister and her Dubai-based magician boyfriend. Between the screaming fans and the UAE sights on offer, Buble says it’s set to be “a big family holiday”.

By the time you come to Dubai, you will have played more than 150 shows as part of this world tour. How are you holding up?

Pretty good, actually. The way I basically did the tour was to do it at chunks at a time – a couple months on and a couple of weeks off. It has been a lot of work and if I look at that big calendar I am amazed at how many shows I played. But you know what? I enjoyed every single one of them.

While your latest album To Be Loved (2013) was critically acclaimed, it did far less business than your previous albums. What do you put it down to?

It's funny because I went from Crazy Love [2009], which sold seven million copies, to the Christmas album [2011], which sold another ten-and-a-half million copies, and now to this record, which sold three million. You know, when you look at it this way, you can get down on yourself pretty easily and say: "Whoa, what's wrong?" But the truth is the industry has changed so much and it is so hard to sell a physical copy of a record these days that three million copies today is a huge number. Also, I think the success of this tour has also pushed it home.

To Be Loved saw you writing a few songs. For example, the single It's a Beautiful Day celebrates a break-up. As an artist loved for your romantic streak, was that a risky move?

I would have reached more people if I wrote about love. Instead, I wrote about a break-up and I don't think it resonated as much. If you look at people like Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars and their massive hits, the common denominator there is they are absolute love songs. There is something romantic in these songs that people used to escape to. When I wrote It's a Beautiful Day, it was an anti-love song. It was the first time I ever did that and I could definitely see the difference in the reaction.

Intimacy is key to your sound. Is it tough to find that when playing in cavernous arenas?

Even in these arenas there is a sense of intimacy and that comes down from what I feel about the audience. To me, they are not some cold sea of strangers. Instead, I feel very connected to them. We are all on the same spiritual level and they are like my family. That’s why I communicate with them warmly and even being tactile – I like touching them and being out there with them. They realise I am one of them and they enjoy the experience even more.

The flip side of that is you may lose some of your mystique as an artist.

Well, it needs to be a mix. There are parts of my life that they definitely don’t know. I can name you a thousand acts that are in magazines, red carpets and tabloids more than I am. There is a part of me that I do keep behind wraps. As my manager says: “No mystique is a big mistake.”

This is your first trip to the UAE. Are you going to spend some time checking out the sights?

I am going to do some exploring. I am flying my mother and father in and they can’t wait to come down. I am going to take every single moment I can to explore the culture. My wife’s sister is actually with a young guy who lives and works in Dubai. They are going to be there as well, so it will be a big family get-together.

• Michael Buble performs at Dubai International Stadium on Thursday, March 12, and Friday, March 13. Tickets from Dh295 at www.timeouttickets.com. Doors open 5pm on Thursday and 3pm on Friday

For a photo gallery of six more Canadian acts we wish would come to the UAE, go here