Michael Buble has been sober for four years.
The ‘Haven’t Met You Yet’ singer was diagnosed with Holiday Heart Syndrome four years ago, a condition where his heart rate would soar whenever he got drunk, and he hasn’t drank alcohol since.
He said: "Never drank again. Never again. Not a sip. [It’s been] something like four years… I loved it – I still love it."
And the Canadian singer admitted his old party lifestyle also contributed to him suffering a vocal haemorrhage, which required surgery, in June.
He said: "I thought a lot about how I would tell this story. The truth is the casual partying and sm… [Smoking?] Whatever…"
But Michael – who has sons Noah, three, and Elias, seven months, with wife Luisana Lopilato – insists his health wasn’t the reason why he gave up alcohol, but rather becoming a parent.
He said: "[I realised] the sense of wanting to be present and not lose the time. I cannot juggle my profession and partying as hard as I did."
And the 41-year-old singer would rather go sober than drink in "moderation" as he can’t see the point in only having one beer.
He told Event magazine: "There is no moderation for me. I don’t know what moderation is. In my lifetime I never had a beer. Who wants one beer? If my friends go to a restaurant and they order a beer, I’m like, ‘You’re gonna have one?’ Isn’t drinking beer so you can feel a good little buzz and feel happy? It is – or was – heaven."
Michael finds it helpful to confide in his showbiz friends Robbie Williams and comedian Peter Kay when he has a problem, and is reassured by the fact he and the ‘Angels’ singer can swap stories of being gripped by nerves and anxiety.
He said: "[Robbie] and I talk on the phone and it’s funny when you find out these things you have in common. I’m thinking, ‘Oh my God, if he’s scared and insecure, it’s OK for me to be scared and insecure.’ And to admit that when I’m backstage and about to come on that, no, I’m not so cool, my hands are sweating and I can hear my heart pounding in my ears.
"Another guy I have endless, deep, therapeutic conversations with is Peter Kay.
"He’s just always a really calming voice for me. We talk every three or four months. He’s helped me through a lot of really hard times, the surgery thing and family stuff and being afraid of not knowing how to balance it all."
Michael Buble sober for four years
