Michael Buble, left, and Justin Bieber on A Michael Buble Christmas.
YouTube image It would not be in the spirit of the season to call this a smackdown, but both Justin Bieber and Michael Bublé have Christmas albums at the top of the charts, and the two have had parallel experiences this holiday season.
Who’s to say there’s not a spot of rivalry amid the revelry?
Michael Bublé’s Christmas is the number-one selling album this week, while Justin Bieber’s Under the Mistletoe is number three.
It’s likely Bublé’s album, with its sentimental Christmas classics such as “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” will end up the second-best-selling album of the whole year on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums chart, after Adele’s 21.
But Bieber’s tween fans, devoted to downloads, have made him master of the digital domain. Downloading of Bieber Christmas songs is three times greater than that of Bublé tunes.
What kind of song is “Mistletoe” in the Bieb’s collection? The kind with immortal lyrics such as: “I should be chillin’ with my folks, I know. . . ”
Bieber, in Toronto for the taping of his Christmas show at Massey Hall, skated with the Maple Leafs this week. (And the 17-year-old donated $500,000 to the Children’s Wish Foundation, Sunnybrook Hospital and Project Medishare. Score one for Bieber!)
Meanwhile, Bublé, 36, was on the ice with his beloved Vancouver Canucks. He went one on one against star goalie Roberto Luongo and, sadly, missed, and even more sadly, tripped.
Last week, Bublé was also on Saturday Night Live, which included a skit parodying Bieber.
Bublé’s Christmas television special included the guest Oscar the Grouch from Sesame Street, but the biggest star by far was Bieber. The banter between the two was treacly bromantic. Bublé, “God, I love you dude.” Bieber, “You’re like my brother from another mother.”
Their chit-chat reminded music journalist Larry LeBlanc of the Rat Pack, “that old-school, ring-a-ding-ding” in which Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. teased each another affectionately while still looking out for number one.
Bieber had a high-profile performance in a Washington, D.C. Christmas concert in which U.S. President Barack Obama and his family sat in the front row.
But Bublé, or rather his avatar, has just shown up in a Christmas segment of the social network game CityVille, in which he sings at a bonfire and searches for Christmas presents.
Elsewhere in the digital world, Bieber’s Christmas video has had 78 million views, while Bublé’s had some 1.5 million.
To some observers the battle, if there is one, is really no contest — at least, not in record sales. Toronto’s Sunrise Records is selling three times more Bublé Christmas albums than Bieber.
Bieber appeals to a smaller demographic, girls up to about 14, says Tim Baker, head buyer for Sunrise. “And they are not as many as you think.” They are also less likely to buy albums.
By contrast, Bublé, with his sense of humour, slick suits and a grown-up demeanour, appeals to people in their 20s and older.
“Bublé’s run over him with a train,” says Larry LeBlanc, senior editor at Celebrity Access, an online music site.
The older singer’s album, which has sold some 6.5 million copies around the world, appeals because of its old-style Christmas classics. They are comforting.
“It’s been such a difficult year for a great part of the population,” says LeBlanc, “Michael’s become almost an oasis.”
Internationally, he adds, Bieber isn’t doing as well as Bublé. In England, Bieber’s album is only 27.
Both singers started young. Bieber was busking on Stratford streets when he was 12. Bublé was performing at 16 in shopping malls and birthday parties. Both had family support. Bieber’s mother was posting his performances on YouTube, where he was discovered by music executive Scooter Braun.
Bublé’s grandfather, who introduced him to the music of his generation, encouraged him and drove him to auditions. A plumber, he offered to fix a broken water heater in a nightclub if the owner would give his grandson, whom he called Sunshine, a break. Bublé has said he struggled in the music business until he was 26.
His break came when he sang at the wedding of Brian Mulroney’s daughter, Caroline. Composer and music producer David Foster was one of the guests and eventually introduced him to Warner Records.
Bublé may be big in sales, Bieber may be big online, and their Christmas albums may be topping the charts. But their songs can’t compare to “White Christmas,” the sweetly nostalgic song written by Irving Berlin and sung most famously by the pipe-smoking, sweater-clad crooner Bing Crosby. It’s not only the best selling Christmas record, but the best-selling record of all time — some 100 million copies.
After all, who wouldn’t wish that your days be merry and bright?
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