Michael Bublé returns to jazz roots for his second single from his upcoming album, Higher, titled ‘My Valentine’, in which he goes beyond the vocal-standard stratosphere into the realm of cinematic soundscapes.

For his second single, it’s extremely appropriate that Michael were to return to jazz roots; it’s the sound that got him to where he is today, essentially being responsible for keeping this olden genre alive and well still over a century after its rise. His first single was far more poppier, which is always a nice turn for Michael since he’s able to incorporate those jazz elements so smoothly into pop music, but ‘My Valentine’ is something special. It’s a dark ballad, meaning it’s slow, full of swing, yet carries this dark cloud overhead, mostly thanks to the chromatic descending bass note in the chorus. The chorus, however, contains an extremely optimistic and beautiful chord progression, as simple as can be, yet so powerful. If you’re wondering exactly what it sounds like, because it can definitely be a bit elusive, I’ll point you to Michael Jackson’s ‘Earth Song’, most similarly, or basically any Pink Floyd song, but the former most of all. Michael Buble’s smooth voice traversing the deeply explored chords give them further weight and power that bring tears to your eyes, if the gorgeous instrumentation won’t do that for you already. The perfect blend of powerful, overwhelming strings and melancholic brass lines marry each other in a way that is beyond words, only captured through music the way it already does. The vocals and powerful instrumental sections trade off in a way that’s masterly done, almost working as a duet in ways.

‘My Valentine’ is my personal favorite Michael Bublé song, and feels bigger in scope than any vocal jazz song I’ve ever heard. This is a full-blown cinematic orchestra, feeling like it’s being a soundtrack to an epic romance scene in a sci-fi flick, or the credit sequence of a classic movie. It’s an experience, or a journey so to say, that’ll bring you to emotions hardly explored in other 3-minute songs, like ‘My Valentine’.

Author: Nicholas Gaudet

Music producer and writer from Dieppe, Canada.