Michael Bublé told the Late Late Show audience on Friday night that he "wanted to write a love letter to the world" in the wake of the pandemic.
He also spoke about how he felt about life, and about his new album, and getting to work with some of his musical heroes.
The Canadian crooner made a great entrance on the show by pretending to be a member of the audience – much to the surprise of the couple seated beside him.
He then performed a song before finally sitting down for a chat with Ryan Tubridy. "Come on over and say hello!" Ryan said. "It's been over three years." And got straight in to discussing his current state of mind.
"It would be fair to say that my home life is good, my kids are healthy, my wife loves me – I think," he laughed. "If you see her, you’ll know I’m punching well above my weight.
"I think, just going through this pandemic with everybody, I feel grateful just to be able to create. It sounds cringey, probably, but I wanted to write a love letter to the world. And to my world. So I did.
"I think we need it," he added, before Ryan added: "The world is troubled. People are in a lot of pain. It was not an easy time for people – and music has been a great salve."
They then spoke about Michael’s new album, where he got to work with some of his heroes, including former Beatle and all-round music legend Paul McCartney. "The man himself," as Ryan described him.
"His manager knew I was making a record," Michael explained. " He sent a letter from Paul saying 'I think you could do a great job with this song’. And I knew this song, it was from a wonderful record called Kisses on the Bottom.
"And I knew it because a girlfriend of mine – Diana Krall, the greatest jazz pianist in the universe – had played on it. So I made demo and I sent it to him. He called me, he said ‘Hi, it’s Paul Mac’, and I ‘Mickey Boobs’, that’s what I said.
"And then we made the record in New York and it was a joy."
Ryan then brought up a duet he did with Willie Nelson. "My hero," Michael replied. "I worked with my hero. I hold him in the highest esteem. I hold him up there with Tonny Bennett, and Sinatra and Dean."
Things got a bit more serious when Ryan brought up the subject of Michael's son Noah, who was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2016 when he was just three years old. He’s been in remission since 2017.
"I don’t love to talk about," he admitted, before saying to Ryan: "You’re my friend. Behind the stage, and behind each other’s back, I think I can say that we care about each other.
"So it’s impossible for me not to speak about my life, and what happened, in the context of what I do for a living and how I feel. I think that when I saw you last . . . I was just surviving. Dipping my toes in the water.
"If every record is a snapshot of your life, then this snapshot is just pure joy."
