Buble's keeping it real

FOR Canadian crowd pleaser Michael Buble, it's all about having fun these days -- and keeping arena ticket prices within reach of all the fans.
You've just worked with Reseda Beach, the new jazz/hip hop act produced by Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda. Is that part of expanding your musical horizons? Totally. It's cool. I'm not "the Crooner Boy''. Not that I'm trying to prove something, but I'm not just a man in a suit singing standards. That song (Damn) is the root of the music I do. It's jazz. It's fun. What are the plans for your next album? I want to take the audience with me, grow a little bit more. I want to give them what it is they liked in the first place, but take it forward. I'm excited to be coming out with a new record. I know there's pressure, but I want to grow this. I'm not going to be a rapper, but at the same time I'm not going to be stuck in a box as "he sings standards''. Do you feel you've earned the right to push it forward? I have a real strong feeling that if you keep giving people the same thing they'll go "Honey, I've got four Buble albums, we don't need another''. They wanted me to put out a whole bunch of DVDs. I don't want to do that. That's not my thing.
I understand the record company needs product and that it's a business, but I'm here for a career. When something comes out I want it to last. I want my record to be on the chart for a year or two. I don't want to come out with something every few months -- to me that reeks of insecurity, from the artist and the company. I'm not in the record business. This is not about CDs, this is about creating a brand name, putting on a great show so that when the next album comes out, people will be excited to hear what I've done next. You did a few more obscure covers on Call Me Irresponsible, including a Leonard Cohen song. Is that part of the plan for next time? Maybe. That's more exciting to me. I'm stockpiling songs. I'll do whatever works. I was listening to Kenny Rogers the other day. I love Kenny. The duet he does with Sheena Easton, We've Got Tonight, is a really great song. I think Bob Seger wrote it. I listened to that and went "Here's a really pretty song''. Maybe I could do something that's a bit country.
Maybe turn it into a beautiful, sexy duet that takes things on a different angle. I know people think it's cheesy, but I don't have that problem with Kenny Rogers. His version is friggin' beautiful. I was born in 1975. It's not in my memory, I have no connection to it emotionally, so when I hear it it's just raw. Speaking of country, Blake Shelton has recorded a Nashville version of your original song Home. They're expecting it to go No.1 on the country charts. Westlife recorded it, too. Blake's version is so country but, guess what, he's had a bigger hit with it than I ever did. So the covers guy is now being covered. It's kinda weird, yeah? You're doing Dean Martin's You're Nobody 'til Somebody Loves You on this tour. That'll be on the next record, I'll produce that myself. I'm doing that in New York in September. I'm doing Stardust with Naturally 7. I used to listen to this a capella version of Stardust that Frank Sinatra did when I was a kid. It's so simple but dreamy. At your first Melbourne show last week you spoke to a 10-year-old girl in the audience and said having kids at your show gives you a sense of responsibility that stops you turning into Amy Winehouse. That's a joke, I'm just taking the mickey. That's the show -- I'm cheeky, I'm irreverent, I'm having fun. I know there are points in the show when I'm so dorky it's unbelievable. And see, I met the 10-year-old girl and four seconds later a woman grabbed my ass, so it's all kinda strange. In a weird and probably egotistical way I feel that little kid will never forget that. My dad took me to the Harlem Globetrotters when I was a kid and they picked me to throw this bucket of water. It was a big deal to me. I still tell that story. Is it true on this arena tour of Australia you insisted on $65 and $99 ticket prices? Yes. I had a promoter overseas tell me every ticket would be $99. I said "That's not fair, you can't charge $99 if they're in an arena 70 metres away from you''. I told (Australian promoter) Paul Dainty I wanted the ticket prices brought down. My dad called me and said, "Mike, your gross is going to be lower''. I'm not saying I don't like making money out of making music, but it's not about the gross of a tour, it's about showing appreciation to an audience.
It's about letting the guy making 30 grand a year come with his family. It's not going to kill him to bring his family. He bought my record, too, so why should he pay $150 for a ticket? If I play theatres, yeah, I get it, it's intimate. But not if I'm an arena act, no way. I'm not so out of touch with reality to not know it's a big deal to come out to a show. If a family comes there's parking, restaurant, babysitters -- that all adds up to a lot of money. Have you had much feedback from fans about the prices? I think it's beautiful if someone pays $60 and they think the show is awesome, they love the support act. And we sold enough tickets that nobody's hurting. As much as everyone says there will always be money for entertainment, there's only a certain amount of money. People are struggling. Look at the price of petrol. I've made more money than I ever thought I would, I've sold more albums than I ever thought I would, I want people to know I'm not ripping them off. Some bands charge $500 a ticket. Who can come to that show? I don't care if Sinatra comes back from the dead, I ain't paying $500 a ticket. It's nice to build an audience slowly. I still feel like the underdog. Even though maybe I'm not, but I still feel like the underdog. How low could you feasibly go when it comes to ticket prices? I'd love at some point in my career do a tour for $20 a ticket. "Thank you for supporting me. Thank you for everything.'' I'll do that one day.  Michael Buble, Rod Laver Arena, Wed and June 19, $65/$99, Ticketek.