Canadian crooner Michael Buble certainly made an entrance on his ‘To Be Loved’ tour.
With the dramatic opening bars of ‘Fever‘, the ‘MB’-emblazoned curtain slowly lifted to reveal Michael and his band as flames shot into the air along the front of the stage.
Launching straight in the upbeat 2009 single ‘Haven’t Met You Yet‘, Michael quickly got everyone on their feet, while covers of Van Morrison’s ‘Moondance‘ and Frank Sinatra‘s ‘You Make Me Feel So Young‘ gave the audience a lovely throwback to the crooners Buble loves.
The back-to-back placing of ‘Crazy Love‘ and ‘Home‘ was a great moment in the set. There were plenty of arms waving in the air and several thousand voices joined in with the choruses.
A cover of Daft Punk‘s ‘Get Lucky‘ was certainly a change in the night’s musical direction, but the audience lapped it up and Michael made his way to the b-stage in the middle of the arena, stopping here and there for selfies with eager fans.
Once on the second stage, Michael was joined by his support act Naturally 7, a seven-strong Acappella group from New York. The group provided backing vocals for funky covers of the Jackson 5‘s ‘Who’s Loving You‘ and ‘I Want You Back‘ while Michael made his way around the stage shaking as many hands as he could reach.
The brilliant ‘It’s a Beautiful Day‘ ended the main set on a high as an eye-catching backdrop of colourful balloons and clouds swirled on the giant screen.
After a short interval, Michael reappeared on stage for a couple of fan favourites – covers of Julie London‘s ‘Cry Me a River‘ and ‘Save the Last Dance for Me‘ by The Drifters. He then took an audience request of Billy Paul‘s ‘Me and Mrs Jones‘, which his band, who are simply outstanding, launched into with zero preparation.
The night came to a close with the Leon Russell classic, ‘A Song for You‘. Halfway through the song a single spotlight lit Michael on the stage and the music died away. After silencing the arena, Michael finished the song Acappella and amazingly for a 12,000 capacity arena, with no microphone. Even those up in the “nosebleed seats” could hear every word.
It was an incredible moment that really showcased how great Buble’s voice is and a fantastic end to a thoroughly enjoyable evening.