Michael Buble opens up about son’s cancer diagnosis: ‘It changed what mattered’

The singer’s son was diagnosed with liver cancer in 2016

Kate Ng
Thursday 26 January 2023 06:00 GMT
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Michael Buble opens up about son Noah's cancer diagnosis

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Michael Buble has opened up about how his eldest son’s cancer diagnosis “changed what mattered to me”.

The “Sway” crooner’s son Noah received his diagnosis of liver cancer at the age of three in November 2016.

Noah, now nine, underwent treatment and was given the all-clear the following year.

In a new interview with Red magazine, Buble said: “That, of course, changed me in a big way – it changed what mattered to me, it changed how I saw life.

“For most of my life as an entertainer and, especially on stage, I’d become my alter ego.”

He added: “I’d become the superhero I always wanted to be. Then my wife and I went through this unthinkable thing, and I lost that alter ego.”

Following Noah’s recovery from cancer in 2017, the Canadian singer wrote a song called “Forever Now” about his children.

Buble previously said that he and his wife, Luisana Lopilato, quit their jobs after Noah was diagnosed and moved to Vancouver to be close to her family while Noah underwent treatment.

He added that having gone through something “so traumatic and scary” as his son’s cancer treatment, he “felt like I could do anything” in terms of making a new record.

Speaking to the magazine, Buble expressed his excitement at being back at work and preparing to embark on his upcoming UK arena tour in March.

“I think this is the best show I’ve done in my life,” he said.

Luisana Lopilato and Michael Bublé attend the 2022 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 15 2022
Luisana Lopilato and Michael Bublé attend the 2022 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 15 2022 (Getty Images for MRC)

“What I want to be, without ever preaching, is a unifier. It’s most than just singing songs or telling a joke. Especially given the times we’re living in, I’m really trying to unify people and lift them up.”

Buble and Lopilato have been married since 2011 and also share Elias, Vida and Cielo.

Of his wife, the singer said: “More than anything, my wife and I understand that each other’s fulfilment is important...

“I’m not saying we’re perfect - nobody is - but we both have that understanding.

“I won’t be touring for certain months next year because she’ll be filming a movie, and so I’ll be Daddy on set, and then she’ll do the same for me.

“We don’t care what we do - being together is the goal,” he added.

Additional reporting by PA

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