A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame was unveiled Friday honoring four-time Grammy-winning singer Michael Buble, coinciding with the release of his first album since 2016.
“On the flight over here, I sort of had an epiphany and I realized that out of all the wonderful celebrations or honors that could be bestowed upon any entertainer, this may be the greatest opportunity to truly know it’s not about you,” Buble said in the late-morning ceremony in front of the W Hollywood hotel on Hollywood Boulevard.
“It is truly about all of you beautiful people because I’d never be standing here without everyone.”
The star was the 2,650th since the completion of the Walk of Fame in 1961 with the first 1,558 stars.
“Michael Buble’s velvety smooth renditions of the timeless classics from the Great American Songbook continue to shower us with love and lead us down memory lane,” said Hollywood Walk of Fame producer Ana Martinez. “He effortlessly merges the music of the past with the present.”
Buble was born on Sept. 9, 1975, in Burnaby, British Columbia, a suburb of Vancouver. He began singing in nightclubs when he was 16. His self-titled debut studio album was released in 2003, leading to him receiving the best new artist Juno Award, which honor Canadian recording artists and acts.
Buble has sold more than 60 million records. He received the first of his 10 Grammy nominations in 2005 for best traditional pop vocal album for “It’s Time,” which lost out to Tony Bennett’s “The Art of Romance.”
Buble was nominated in the category again the following year for “Caught in the Act,” again losing to Bennett, that time of “Duets: An American Classic.”
It took two more nominations for Buble to receive his first Grammy, for “Call Me Irresponsible,” which won in 2008 for best traditional pop vocal album. He also won in the category in 2010 for “Michael Buble Meets Madison Square Garden.”
Buble’s other Grammys came for best traditional pop vocal album — in 2011 for “Crazy Love” and 2014 for “To Be Loved.”
Buble took a hiatus from performing after his oldest son Noah was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2016.
In 2017, Buble said “the doctors are very optimistic about the future for our little boy,” who was then about 4 years old.
“I didn’t anticipate returning to recording or performing and I was fine with that,” Buble said. “My entire world view has changed completely these last few years. I wanted to spend all my time with my wife and kids. That was my focus.
“During that time, I also learned how much love and humanity is out in the world from the prayers and good wishes we received. But slowly, along with understanding what my priorities in life are, I began to feel a new commitment to express the emotions and lessons I’ve embraced.”