During the summer of 2006 I was lucky enough to hit it off with the producer of the David Foster Star Search Su Bailey, that came to Prince George to find some northern talent.
Su asked me to be the judge at the talent search at the Treasure Cove, then invited me to come down to the finals and be her guest at the River Rock hotel where the Star Search and fundraising gala were held on a Friday and Saturday night.
During the gala there was a live auction for the David Foster Foundation where millionaires were specially invited to vie for the baby grand piano that had been autographed by mega-watt stars.
Special guest that night was Michael Buble with David Foster's full orchestra backing him up.
It seemed like it was a particularly vulnerable mood that cast a shadow upon Buble's face as he came on stage. He invited couples only to come down and dance in front of the stage while he sang. Nobody moved. He looked up into the crowd and sat heavily on the little stool he was provided. He bent at the waist, as if in pain, and looked up from that inverted position and told the audience that he wasn't like them, that he was just a small-town boy with small-town ideas and he just wanted to sing this song. When me and my man flew down to dance at the front of the stage I wanted to see what he saw that had inspired his plea. It was a God awful wall of suits and evening gowns, mostly black. Men's arms were folded and they all had these stoic expressions on their faces. No wonder Buble had crumpled a little. Any human would have under that scrutiny. He sang Home like a man who really needed to reconnect. And all of us at the front of the stage made sure he knew he was appreciated by dancing our hearts out and reaching out our hands to high five the incredibly talented Mr. Buble. Here it is, the song that we will never forget.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lbSOLBMUvIE
