Canadian singer Michael Bublé, famous for his smooth voice and magnetic stage presence, has shifted his focus from music to family in recent years.
In 2016, the Bublé family was hit hard when their young son Noah was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma, a rare and serious liver cancer. Noah was just 3 years old when the shocking news came.
With their world turned upside down, Bublé and his wife, Argentinean actress Luisana Lopilato, immediately put their careers on hold. “Everyone understood in my world what my priority was,” Bublé told People. “We all go through things. You just hope you learn something about yourself and you learn something about the people with you.”
During this challenging time, Bublé took a break from his music career, feeling ‘so unstable and vulnerable.’ His wife also paused her acting career to support their son.
Fortunately, by February 2018, there was good news. After months of chemotherapy, Noah was “on the mend.” At 5 years old, he went into remission following surgery and more treatment.
Reflecting on this ordeal, Bublé shared, “I’ve been through a lot, obviously. When I made the last record [in 2018], my son had just been in remission and I wasn’t ready to come back.” His son’s battle with cancer has had a profound impact on him.
“You don’t go through big things in your life, dramatic things like I’ve gone through or my wife has gone through without it having an effect on you,” Bublé explained.
Bublé has kept details of Noah’s treatment private, but he spoke candidly about it on “The Late Late Show with James Corden” in 2018. With tears in his eyes, he admitted that Noah’s story was “too hard to talk about” and thanked Jesus Christ for his son’s remission.
“We all moved and we lived at [Children’s Hospital Los Angeles] and we just had the best doctors and, God, thank you, Jesus Christ,” Bublé said.
He continued, “I’m not OK. My wife and I, when this all started, I became the strength to somehow pull us and lift us and to be positive. And when they got [the cancer] out, and the chemo was done, and they said, ‘We did it, it’s good, he’s OK,’ I fell. I just fell.”
“My wife picks me up now,” he added, revealing how the experience affected him deeply.
Bublé also spoke emotionally about Noah’s love for superheroes. “They’re fake,” he said of characters like Superman and Spiderman. “They’re not real. You’re a superhero. You’re MY hero. A real superhero,” he told his son.
Michael and Luisana married in 2011 and have four children: two sons, born in 2013 and 2016, and two daughters, born in 2018 and 2022. Bublé, who adores being a dad, says that “family is everything.”
He has one piece of advice for all parents with young children: “Soak up every single minute. Look at the world through their eyes, because they have this sense of wonderment,” Bublé told TODAY. “If you miss it, you’ll be searching for [that] feeling for the rest of your life.”
Today, Bublé is back to focusing on his music. Earlier this year, he released “Higher,” his eleventh studio album, and he’s gearing up for a tour in Great Britain in 2023. “I can’t wait to be back in arenas across the UK – it’s going to be true arena spectacle! I’m so excited for people to experience it!” he says.
It’s inspiring to see how faith and family have helped Bublé through such a tough time. I’m so relieved that Noah is doing well and that their family is on the mend!
