Michael Bublé on Finding a Whole New Appreciation for His ‘Christmas’ Album: ‘Can You Imagine How Lucky I Feel?’

The Billboard charts are getting ever more festive in the march to Christmas.

On the Billboard Hot 100 songs and Billboard 200 albums charts (both dated Dec. 10), the lists are looking very merry and bright. On the Hot 100, Mariah Carey’s evergreen chart-topper “All I Want for Christmas Is You” vaults to No. 2 and Michael Bublé’s former No. 1 album Christmas jingles up the Billboard 200 into the top five. Christmas was released in 2011 and spent five weeks atop the list late that year and in early 2012 and has returned to the top 10 in every subsequent holiday season.

Speaking of Bublé, earlier this year on the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast, he joined hosts Katie and Keith to discuss his then-new album Higher (a recent Grammy Award nominee for best traditional pop vocal album). Well, the latest Pop Shop Podcast (listen below) has a special unheard moment from that interview, where Bublé was asked about his Christmas album and what it means to know that the ever-popular set has become a favorite in homes around the world each year, soundtracking family gatherings.

“Well, can you imagine how lucky I feel to be invited into all of that?” Bublé tells the Pop Shop Podcast. “I mean, I knew what I was doing when I made the record. I had high hopes. I was quite ambitious. Because I really genuinely love the songs. I never had any idea that it would be like this ever, ever.”

“And it’s funny, years ago, I would complain about it [the album’s success], and I would say [exasperated] ‘Well, you know, they keep talking about the Christmas album,’” he recalled. “But it was when my son got sick, I remember sitting in the hospital, and I just remember thinking how lucky I was. I just remember thinking so clearly, you know, how wonderful this is, that this is a part of your legacy. …

“What’s interesting, too, is it’s become less about what religion you are and it’s become about just a time when us human beings might need a bit of a break. And there’s a little more empathy and kindness. And I thought, man, to be connected to something so beautiful, there are much worse things in life.”

Also on the latest Pop Shop Podcast, Katie and Keith discuss the death of singer-songwriter Christine McVie and the pop sensibility she brought to her work with Fleetwood Mac. Plus, the Pop Shop team chats about Amber Riley (spoiler alert!) winning The Masked Singer and what it could mean for her career in the future. They also talk about her Dec. 5 guest appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, where Riley and Hudson duetted on “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” from Dreamgirls.

The Billboard Pop Shop Podcast is your one-stop shop for all things pop on Billboard‘s weekly charts. You can always count on a lively discussion about the latest pop news, fun chart stats and stories, new music, and guest interviews with music stars and folks from the world of pop. Casual pop fans and chart junkies can hear Billboard‘s executive digital director, West Coast, Katie Atkinson and Billboard’s senior director of charts Keith Caulfield every week on the podcast, which can be streamed on Billboard.com or downloaded in Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast provider. (Click here to listen to the previous edition of the show on Billboard.com.)  

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