To Be Loved

To Be Loved is the eighth studio album by Canadian singer Michael Bublé. The album was released on April 15, 2013, by 143 Records and Reprise Records. The album was preceded by the release of the lead single, "It's a Beautiful Day", released on February 25, 2013. Featuring four original songs and ten cover versions,^[1] it became Bublé's fourth consecutive album to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard 200.

To Be Loved was commissioned by Michael's record label after the success of his fifth studio album, and seasonal record, Christmas. The album was entirely produced by Bob Rock, and was recorded in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and Los Angeles. The album includes ten standards and four original songs all co-written by Bublé, three with longtime collaborators Bob Rock, Alan Chang and Amy Foster-Gillies. "After All", one of the four original tracks, was written by Bryan Adams, Alan Chang, Steven Sater and Jim Vallance, and co-performed with Bryan Adams. The album also features appearances from actress Reese Witherspoon on "Somethin' Stupid", Naturally 7 and The Puppini Sisters, and includes covers of songs such as the Bee Gees' "To Love Somebody", Dean Martin's "Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)", the Miracles' "Who's Lovin' You", Jackie Wilson's "To Be Loved", and Scotty Wiseman's "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?"

In an interview posted on his official website, Bublé stated: "My new record is about love, happiness, fun and yummy things. Getting to work with my friend and longtime collaborator Bob Rock, who was also responsible for "Call Me Irresponsible", "Crazy Love" and "Christmas", and produced the entire album, was very exciting. We're a good team. I love the songs we selected this time out. It was also terrific working once again with my songwriting partners". Bublé was scheduled to perform ten dates at London's O2 Arena from June 30, 2013, in promotion of the album.^[1]

• "It's a Beautiful Day" was released as the album's lead single on February 25, 2013. Short audio clips of the track were posted to Bublé's official YouTube account, before the full track was released via iTunes. A music video for the track premiered February 28, 2013.
• "Close Your Eyes" was released as the album's second single on July 1, 2013. The music video premiered on July 8, as a tribute to Bublé's wife. The video features Bublé performing the track in the studio.
• "After All" was released as the album's third single on September 23, 2013. The single was announced on August 17, 2013, with the music video due to premier the first week in September.
• "You Make Me Feel So Young" was released as the album's fourth single on December 2, 2013. The single was only released as a promotional single for UK radio, with a music video filmed live at London's Air Studios was released on November 7, 2013. A second music video, with Bublé walking in an animated world was released on December 3, 2013.
• "To Love Somebody" was released as the album's fifth single in March 2014. The single was only released as a promotional single for UK and European radio stations. A music video was released on February 5, 2014.
• "You've Got a Friend in Me" became a U.S. Adult Contemporary chart hit, spending 14 weeks on the chart and peaking at number 10.^[2]

To Be Loved debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 197,000 copies in the first week in the United States.^[3] As of September 20, 2016, the album has sold 881,000 copies in the United States.^[4] In the United Kingdom, To Be Loved had sold 631,224 copies as of December 2013, thus becoming the third best-selling album of the year.^[5] As of October 2016, the album had sold 784,420 copies in the UK.^[6] In Canada it sold 139,000 copies in 2013.^[7]

To Be Loved recibió críticas mayoritariamente positivas de los críticos musicales. Matt Collar de AllMusic encontró que el álbum "no es solo una muestra perfecta de la voz de Bublé, sino también uno de sus álbumes más diversos y disfrutables". ^{[ 8 ]} En The Canberra Times , James Baldwin dijo que Bublé "tiene mucho que ofrecer para mantener impresionados tanto a los fans como a los críticos", y señaló que "la voz de Michael parece mejorar cada vez más con cada lanzamiento", y calificó el lanzamiento de "perfecto". ^{[ 9 ]} Colin Stutz de Idolator dijo que "su interpretación es siempre fuerte y madura" porque "Buble usa ese poder para llevar el álbum de manera conmovedora, ya sean canciones que él escribió o las de otros". ^{[ 10 ]} En The Oakland Press , Gary Graff afirmó que este esfuerzo es "de hecho un asunto animado, marcado por canciones de amor cantadas a su manera distintiva, algo completamente diferente de la grandilocuencia clásica de un Josh Groban o los estilos crooner de los predecesores de Bublé que lideraban grandes bandas". ^{[ 11 ]} The Scotsman aludió a que "la impecable voz de Buble es impecable en todo momento". ^{[ 12 ]} Elysa Gardner de USA Today evocó cómo "Bublé suena como un hombre enamorado en esta nueva colección de estándares pop y soul y canciones originales", y eso permite que "su voz clara y límpida sea tan técnicamente flexible como siempre, y hay más brío genuino (y garra) en su interpretación". ^{[ 15 ]}

Peter Goddard del Toronto Star escribió que el álbum "no se trata de hacer ningún avance musical". ^{[ 14 ]} AW para Shields Gazette dijo que la "música formulada para ofender lo mínimo, diluida con un riesgo mínimo y, como tal, incapaz de provocar ningún tipo de emoción", que es la "encarnación del color beige; dolorosamente segura, algo aburrida y aparentemente soñada como una decoración de cocina ideal". ^{[ 13 ]} En The Vancouver Sun , Francois Marchand dijo que el álbum era "exactamente lo que debería ser: un disco de crooner de jazz-pop mediocre que brilla en tus oídos como un millón de pequeñas burbujas de azúcar efervescentes y es lo suficientemente genérico como para complacer a las masas". ^{[ 16 ]} Matthew Horton de Virgin Media dijo que "la mayor parte de To Be Loved se reduce a simples reinterpretaciones de canciones indudablemente geniales", y "así son las cosas. No vienes a Bublé para experimentos de glitch post-dubstep. Vienes para todo lo contrario, presentado con estilo". ^{[ 17 ]}

La gira To Be Loved comenzó el 30 de junio de 2013 en Londres.