The promise Michael Bublé made amid son’s life-changing cancer battle

NZ Herald

21 Dec, 2023 09:31 PM3 mins to read

Michael Bublé performs at Spark Arena in Auckland in June. Photo / WireImage

Michael Bublé has shared that his son’s cancer diagnosis left him facing a significant turning point.

The singer, 48, who has won five Grammy Awards and 15 Juno Awards over his decades-long career, contemplated how his eldest son Noah’s hepatoblastoma diagnosis in 2016 at the age of 3 led him to revise every aspect of his life as Noah underwent an emotional battle with the condition.

Speaking on The Diary of a CEO podcast on December 21, Bublé revealed: “It pulled the curtain from over my eyes. That was a sledgehammer to my reality.”

Despite Noah, 10 - who is the eldest child to Bublé and his wife Luisana Lopilato - now being in remission, the Hold On singer had to reassess his priorities following his son’s struggle with the disease during his early years.

“When it actually happened, I was going through a crisis. I don’t think I was a terrible guy. But it was the blinders - career, ambition, ‘how do I become the baddest, biggest, best?’ More ego, more power, more money,” he shared.

And when Noah’s diagnosis was finally discovered, the gravity of the situation quickly became apparent.

“I went ‘okay, this is it. This is life. This is what’s important. It’s not like I thought about it. There was no time to process it,’” Bublé remembered.

It was at this point that the singer made a commitment to himself.

“I remember closing my eyes and saying to myself, ‘If we get out of this, I’m living a different life, a better life. I want to be kinder, I want to be more empathetic, I don’t want that ego and that false self to take over, I want to know how lucky I am,’” he said.

Bublé - who has three other kids, Elias, 7, Vida, 5, and Cielo, 1, with Luisana - added: “I’m a lucky man. Look at my wife, how did that happen? How did I get this incredible human being, who is the best of all of us, to lead me through and carry me through these things?”

The singer has demonstrated his commitment to his family by offering a look into his life on social media, emphasising his dedication through a heartfelt birthday post addressed to Noah.

In the video uploaded to Instagram on August 27, Michael expressed his love, writing: “You don’t even know how much we love you. Thank you for teaching us how to be parents and for all the memories we have and will make together!!!”