TORONTO - Michael Buble says he'll marry his actress/model girlfriend Luisana Lopilato in her native Buenos Aires next year and he's steeling himself for what's expected to be a heavily scrutinized nuptial for one of Argentina's most well-known stars.
"For that wedding, absolutely, it'll be crazy," the B.C.-born crooner said earlier this week from Buenos Aires, where Lopilato has a T.V. show.
"You can't imagine. I have to hire security. Like, not just a little bit of security -- I have to hire like an army."
Buble, who is launching the Canadian leg of his tour Thursday in Montreal, refrained from offering specifics about the wedding, noting that local paparazzi can be especially aggressive.
"When I'm in Canada, no one follows me," he says, adding that changed considerably when he began spending time with the 23-year-old actress in her home country.
"(Here) they will stand in front of the car and then they'll lay on the car so you can't go anywhere. And there's tons of them, like tons of them and they chase you on their bikes.... It's amazing. it's like a movie or something."
Buble said he just bought a house in the northern part of Buenos Aires province, and the couple expect to split their time among the several properties each owns in L.A., Vancouver and Argentina.
Buble says he's struggling to learn Spanish and would consider recording some Spanish-language duets, or even an album. Earlier this year, he recorded the charity single, "Gracias a la Vida" with Juanes, Shakira and other Latin stars to raise money for earthquake victims in Chile.
As for the woman that inspired his hit song "Haven't Met You Yet," Buble says Lopilato has her eye on an English-language career.
"We just came back from Los Angeles," says Buble, who met the beauty in 2008 at a party that followed one of his concerts in Buenos Aires.
"A lot of different producers from a lot of different T.V. shows and a lot of different agencies want to meet her because obviously she's a beautiful girl and she's a talented girl and I'm guessing they think there's money to be made. I don't think Luisana really cares where she works, I think she just loves to work. It's the same as me, I don't care what country I'm in as long as I get to do what I love."
The Canadian leg of Buble's "Crazy Love" tour follows a well-received run in the United States, where a playful setlist included covers of "Cry Me A River," "At This Moment" as well as classic favourites "Me and Mrs. Jones," and "The Best Of Me."
A Canadian-only iPhone app has been released specifically for the tour, giving fans access to Buble's music, contests, and a 30-minute documentary on the making of his chart-topping album, "Crazy Love."
The 12-date Canadian tour runs from Montreal to Vancouver before heading south again for two dates in California and one at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Afterwards, Buble takes the tour to the U.K., Europe and Australia.
While Buble has had little trouble filling arenas on his tour, he says reports of poor summer ticket sales for other shows are due to exceedingly high ticket prices and lacklustre performances.
"You know what happens, is you sign with Live Nation, they give you a gigantic deal and of course, then they have to make ticket prices higher. And the artist doesn't have a choice in those ticket prices, but the artist of course had a choice whether to sign that deal or not. They took the money and they get a gigantic advance and now the tickets are too expensive and people aren't buying them. That's just what's happening."
He said audiences will only support an artist that respects their audience and puts on a live performance to remember.
"If you're going to sit and stare at your shoes and treat the audience like you're an entitled person and that you deserve for them to be there, then they're not going to come back. I think if you appreciate them and you give them a great show, they'll come back and they'll support you," says Buble.
"There's nothing worse than people feeling like they got ripped off."
