Life & Style | People
Michael goes Gaga
The '90s romantic crooner will release a new album featuring collaborations with such unlikely partners as Lady Gaga and Ne-Yo.
- By Kelly Crane, Staff Reporter
- Published: 21:57 July 22, 2009
- Image Credit: Supplied
The '90s romantic crooner will release a new album featuring collaborations with such unlikely partners as Lady Gaga and Ne-Yo.
Your mum loved him, your Gran adored him and in the worst cases, an ill-advised aunt handed over his latest album for Christmas, convinced it just made your year.
Watch video: When stars come together
I thought I knew Michael Bolton: the ponytail, the string of gorgeous women (including Nicolette Sheriden) parading on his arm as if showing their prize pooch at Crufts, the neediness which oozed from each slow, syrupy ballad, whose most include Said I Loved You But I Lied and When a Man Loves a Woman.
But I was also told you can't teach an old dog new tricks. Turns out I was wrong about that too.
Sitting across from a de-ponytailed Bolton on a Beirut roof terrace, I nearly choked on the lemon in my water as the king of mediocre slow dances chatted nonchalantly about his new friends: Lady Gaga and Ne-Yo.
"She comes to the studio in those outfits," he said raising his eyebrows, pleased to be able to leak a few secrets about an artist the music world is literally gaga about.
"It was like we were filming something," he added. "The first time I thought maybe she's just coming from a photo shoot, but then the second night she was dressed in some other great outfit and she's just very funny that way. She's an artist, she's a true artist."
Preconceptions of a dreary dredge down memory lane with a weathered Bolton who refused to let go of his days as a superstar were trampled instantly.
Instead I sat bolt upright and slowly warmed to a realistic man who doesn't plan on throwing in the towel any time soon - but not for an extension of fame but for a pure love of music.
"What I've achieved has worked so far but it doesn't mean it's all there is," he said after announcing his collaborations with Gaga and Ne-Yo for his new album, to be released later this year.
"You could get stuck in your ways," he said. "But we all know what happens to people who get stuck in their ways. I've learnt by being open and taking steps outside of my comfort zone that I've had awakenings which are life altering and feed me."
Bolton gives examples as if to back up his point.
"I could never think of getting stuck in one spot," he says. With an arrogant, stroppy expression and gesturing wildly to emphasise the point he continues. "I could stomp around saying 'why would I do that? And why this?' But I believe in being open to things."
Enter Lady Gaga.
"It was a surprise to me when the record label called one day and said there's an artist called Lady Gaga who wants to write with me. I had never heard of Lady Gaga - but I thought it was a funny and curious name and then I got to meet her and I just fell in love with her. She's just an amazing talent.
"For me it's more about what I think somebody else has to offer and I was also told she was a great songwriter, not just the artist who walks in and sings dressed in crazy outfits."
The 56-year-old took his comfort-zone departure in his stride.
No real surprise, considering he's toured with Ozzy Osbourne and collaborated with the likes of Laura Branigan and Cher.
"I don't think I found it intimidating - I don't intimidate easily," he said. "After singing with Pavarotti and Ray Charles, I'm kind of over being worried. But I'm still enamoured, I'm still amazingly respectful of great artists and I hope I never lose that sense of awe of someone's talent.
"They are 25-year-olds and the hottest artists around," he said brushing his thinning but still blonde hair back as if he wants me to notice he isn't a youngster any more - without having to spell it out.
"Ne-Yo has a tremendous amount of heat and success but I'm more one to understand who that person is I'm focusing on. Who's looking at me, who's speaking to me, what they're trying to communicate.
"Then when I know there's true artistry there, I want to know how we collaborate - what our connection is, what resonates between the two of us.
"Because you never know whether something amazing is going to happen."
Many would say it's amazing Bolton is still going. But alive, kicking and just hours before appearing on stage at a sell-out concert in Beirut, the American-born tenor says age, location and expectations are all overrated.
"Generally I don't like to have expectations because I don't believe it's a good idea to put anything in a box.
"I'm grateful it just goes on," he said. "I have learnt how much energy and how much focus it actually takes to maintain a career so you don't have one or two hits and then disappear.
"I was fortunate enough to have a long run from '87-'97 of many hits and travel the world at the same time - I don't know how we figured out recording in between but we did. My age doesn't matter now as long as I'm still learning."
A successful recording artist for more than 25 years, Bolton enjoyed a time at the top but by his own admission says he has found himself boxed up, labelled and put on a shelf.
"I built a core audience open to what I'm doing next - they sort of follow me in my exploration from learning to sing classical music with Pavarotti, things like opera and singing in other languages.
"Part of my requirement as an artist is trying to get people to let go."
With all the new talent and influence in his life, how does Bolton feel working so closely with the young, hip and trendy?
"The important thing was, if we were collaborating, [that] she is a good song writer and I found that out right away," he said with conviction. "She's great with lyrics, she understands keeping the theme, which is something a lot of young songwriters don't do - they don't follow the song down, they're not as committed to telling the story and Gaga wants to write real songs."
No danger of putting Gaga in a box, Bolton gushes as he speaks of his new-found idol.
"I don't know if there is any way to describe Gaga," he said. "I think the thing I really appreciate about her is she loves what she does. She is so passionate about what she's doing. She is a visionary and she's looking years down the road.
"She's looking at directing videos and I wouldn't be surprised if she wasn't directing movies in the near future.
"She doesn't see herself as an artist who's going to live off one song, she wants a career but she's also ready to do all the work that's involved.
"She's hungry to do all the work and you don't really see that any more. You see a lot of people complaining about having to travel too much, the hours, and you know - what we all know as the tough part of our careers, which most people don't know about.
"You want to do the work but your body eventually says 'not gonna happen', Gaga has this right now - an unlimited amount of energy."
And Ne-Yo?
"In Ne-Yo you have another artist who wants to be around. He doesn't want to just ride the flavour of the day," he said.
"He's so very, very gifted and really astute. A super talent and I think I got really lucky with these two collaborations.
"Ne-Yo and Gaga they are two of the most talented people I've ever worked with and it doesn't matter if they're 25 or 55 the fact would still remain."
It seems there is life in the old dog yet.
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