Look up its, it's, or ITS in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

its, it's or ITS can mean:

• it's, a contraction of it is or it has
• its, the possessive adjective and possessive pronoun form of the personal pronoun it

Computing[link]

• Incompatible Timesharing System, a computer operating system
• Intelligent tutoring system, an artificial intelligence system used for tutoring
• Internationalization Tag Set, a W3C recommendation for internationalizing XML
• Issue tracking system, computer software that manages product issues

Organizations[link]

• Identity, Tradition, Sovereignty, a former political grouping in the European Parliament
• Islamic Thinkers Society
• International Thespian Society, an honorary organization for high school and middle school theatre students
• International Tracing Service
• Indian Telecommunication Service, an organised civil service of Government of India
• Irish Texts Society, promoting the study of literature

Education[link]

• Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds, often abbreviated to ITS Leeds
• Institute of Technology, Sligo, Ireland
• Tenth of November Institute of Technology (Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember), a public university in Surabaya, Indonesia
• Institute of Technological Studies, in Sri Lanka
• Instituto Tecnológico de Saltillo, in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico

Science and engineering[link]

• Integrated Truss Structure, a component of the International Space Station
• Intelligent transportation system, add information technology to the transportation infrastructure
• Internal transcribed spacer, a section of DNA located within a set of ribosomal genes
• International Temperature Scale of 1990 (ITS-90), a temperature calibration standard for measurements in units of kelvins and degrees Celsius
• Intelligent tutoring system, a computer system which automatically provides customized instruction in some topic, usually related to the field of AI

Business[link]

• International Transportation Service (ITS), an American container terminal company

Other[link]

• The "It's" man, a man with torn clothes and unkempt beard who appeared at the beginning of episodes of Monty Python's Flying Circus
• Improv Tribal Style Belly Dance, a sub-genre of Tribal Style Belly Dance

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Michael Bublé
Bublé in February 2011
Background information
Birth name	Michael Steven Bublé
Born	(1975-09-09) 9 September 1975 (age 36) Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada[1]
Genres	Big band, traditional pop, jazz
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, actor
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1996–present
Labels	143/Reprise
Associated acts	Naturally 7, Jann Arden, Laura Pausini, Boyz II Men, Chris Botti, Leon Jackson, Nelly Furtado
Website	michaelbuble.com

Michael Steven Bublé ( /ˈbuːbleɪ/; born 9 September 1975) is an Italian Canadian singer and actor. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards^[2][3] and multiple Juno Awards.^[4] His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found a worldwide audience with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible which reached number one on the Canadian Albums Chart, the U.K. Albums Chart, the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart, the Australian ARIA Albums Chart and several European charts. Bublé has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide.^[5]

Early life[link]

Michael Bublé was born in the City of Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada to Lewis Bublé, a salmon fisherman,^[6] and Amber (née Santagà).^[7][8] He has two younger sisters,^[9] Crystal (an actress) and Brandee.^[10] He attended Seaforth Elementary School and Cariboo Hill Secondary School.^[11] According to an Oprah interview on 9 October 2009, Bublé dreamed of becoming a famous singer since age two. When he was a teenager, he slept with his Bible and prayed to become a singer.^[12][13] Bublé's interest in jazz music began around age five^[14] when his family played Bing Crosby's White Christmas album at Christmas time.^[14][15][16] The first time that his family noticed his singing talent was at Christmas time when Bublé was 13 years old, and they heard him powerfully sing the phrase "May your days be merry and bright" when the family was singing to the song "White Christmas" in a car ride.^[12][17]

Bublé had a strong passion for ice hockey and wanted to become a professional ice hockey player for the Vancouver Canucks growing up, but believed he was not good at it,^[18] stating: "I wanted so bad to be a hockey player... If I was any good at hockey, I probably wouldn't be singing right now."^[19] Bublé often played hockey in his youth,^[20][21] watched Vancouver Canucks games with his father,^[22] and said that he "went to every single home game as a kid. . . I remember I wanted to be Gary Lupul, I wanted to be Patrik Sundstrom and Ivan Hlinka. I used to think that being named Michael Bublé was pretty cool because I was close to being called Jiri Bubla."^[20] Bublé also shared his hockey interest with his grandfather.^[23]

From age 14, Bublé spent six years working during the summer as a commercial fisherman with his father and crewmates.^[6][24] Bublé described his work experience as "The most deadly physical work I’ll ever know in my lifetime. We’d be gone for two, sometimes three months at a time and the experience of living and working among guys over twice my age taught me a lot about responsibility and what it means to be a man."^[9]

His first singing engagements were in nightclubs at the age of 16 and were facilitated by his Italian grandfather Demetrio Santagà,^[7] a plumber originally from the small town of Preganziol,^[25] in the district of Treviso, who offered his plumbing services in exchange for stage time for his grandson.^[9] Bublé's grandfather also paid for his singing lessons. One of his vocal instructors was Joseph Shore, the opera baritone.^[17] Bublé grew up listening to his grandfather's collection of jazz records and credits his grandfather in encouraging his love for jazz music. "My grandfather was really my best friend growing up. He was the one who opened me up to a whole world of music that seemed to have been passed over by my generation. Although I like rock 'n' roll and modern music, the first time my granddad played me the Mills Brothers, something magical happened. The lyrics were so romantic, so real, the way a song should be for me. It was like seeing my future flash before me. I wanted to be a singer and I knew that this was the music that I wanted to sing."^[26] Bublé never stopped believing that he would become a star but admitted he was probably the only one who believed in his dream, stating that even his maternal grandfather thought Bublé was going to be "an opening act for somebody in Las Vegas".^[27] Bublé's maternal grandmother Iolanda Moscone^[28][29] was also Italian, from Carrufo,^[28] Villa Santa Lucia degli Abruzzi, Italy.^[30] Bublé has stated he never learned to read and write music, using only emotion to drive his songwriting ability.^[18][31][32]

At the age of 18, Bublé entered a local talent contest and won. But after winning, he was disqualified by organizer Bev Delich because he was underage. After that, Delich entered Bublé in the Canadian Youth Talent Search, which he won. Following that win, Bublé asked Delich to be his manager. Delich signed on and represented Bublé for the next seven not-so-fruitful years. According to Delich, Bublé would do every gig imaginable, including talent shows, conventions, cruise ships, malls, hotel lounges, bars, clubs, corporate gigs, musical revues, singing telegrams, and even the occasional singing Santa Claus gig.^{[17][24][33][34]}

In 1996, Bublé appeared in TV's "Death Game" (aka Mortal Challenge) as a Drome Groupie. Also in 1996, he appeared (uncredited) in 2 episodes of The X-Files as a Submarine Sailor.^[35]

Bublé's first national TV performance was on a 1997 award-winning Bravo! documentary titled Big Band Boom!, directed by Mark Glover Masterson.

Beginning in 1997, Bublé also became a frequent guest on Vicki Gabereau's national talk show on the CTV network. During its first season the Vancouver-based program aired live, which ultimately worked in Bublé's favour. When a scheduled guest was forced to cancel, the show's music producer (Mark Fuller) often asked Bublé to fill in at the last minute. On one occasion, Bublé shared guest duties with fellow British Columbian Diana Krall, who was already a Grammy-nominated jazz musician. According to Fuller, Krall was suitably impressed with Bublé's performance. The Gabereau appearances provided Bublé with great exposure, but they also helped the singer hone his television skills as a performer and as an interview guest. In a mutual show of gratitude, Bublé appeared on the final Gabereau show in 2005, along with Jann Arden and Elvis Costello.

Bublé received two Genie Award-nominations in 2000 for two songs he wrote for the film Here's to Life! ("I've Never Been in Love Before", "Dumb ol' Heart").^[36] He recorded three independent albums (First Dance, 1996; Babalu, 2001; Dream, 2002).^[37] But by 25 years of age, Bublé moved from British Columbia to Toronto, Ontario and was ready to give up the dream of professional musicianship to move back to Vancouver, British Columbia to pursue a career in journalism, when his lucky break came in 2000.^[17][38]

Music career[link]

2000–02: Musical beginnings[link]

In 2000, Bublé's career breakthrough came from a surprising chain of events. An aide to former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, Michael McSweeney, saw Bublé's performance at a business party^[17] and received a copy of Bublé’s self-financed independent album. McSweeney showed the album to Mulroney and his wife and Bublé was subsequently invited to sing at the wedding of Mulroney's daughter Caroline, where he sang Kurt Weill's "Mack the Knife".^[17] At the wedding, Bublé was introduced to David Foster, a multi-Grammy Award-winning producer and record executive who had worked previously with artists such as Madonna, Brandy Norwood, Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, Céline Dion, Barbra Streisand, Kenny G., Cher, Josh Groban, and Andrea Bocelli.^[17][39]

Initially, Foster was reluctant to sign Bublé to his 143 Records label because he "didn’t know how to market this kind of music." Bublé moved to Los Angeles for a brief period, with his agent, to convince Foster to sign him. Eventually, Foster agreed to produce an album for him if he raised $500,000 to cover the costs of the production, which Bublé did. Foster ended up covering the costs of production in the end under his label, with no assurances of support from Warner Brothers, and after Bublé received the personal stamp of approval and support of Foster's friend Paul Anka. After David Foster agreed to produce Bublé’s debut album, Bruce Allen, whom Bublé had pursued for years to be his manager, also signed Bublé.^[40][41]

Bublé did some acting in this period; in 2000, as a karaoke singer in Duets opposite Gwyneth Paltrow and Huey Lewis, and in 2001, as Van Martin (a club owner), in Totally Blonde, produced by Andrew Van Slee.^[35]

[edit] 2003–04: Michael Bublé

Michael Bublé's debut album, was released 11 February 2003 by 143 Records/Reprise Records. The album features a range of standards from various eras including "Fever", "The Way You Look Tonight", "For Once in My Life", "Moondance" and "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine". Also on the album is "How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?", with Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees singing back up vocals. The album went to the top 10 in Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa and reached #1 in Australia. It was #33 on the ARIA Top 100 Albums of 2003.^[42] It achieved marginal success in the United States reaching the top 50 on the Billboard 200.^[43] Three tracks from the album (Kissing a Fool, How Can You Mend a Broken Heart?, Sway) reached the top 30 on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.

Bublé appeared nationally on NBC television in the United States on the Today program on 14 February 2003.^[44] A campaign featuring "Fever" was launched before Valentine's Day with a quirky marketing campaign that simply stated "You pronounce it Boo-blay." The album went Gold there. Then he began to travel all over the world to promote the album. The tour included Singapore, South Africa, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, Canada, South America, and eventually the United States.

In November 2003, Bublé released a Christmas EP Let It Snow, containing 5 previously unreleased tracks, that peaked at 56 on the Billboard 200.^[45] The title track reached the top 40 of the Australia singles chart. A live DVD/CD called Come Fly with Me was released in early 2004. The Come Fly with Me CD was #99 on the Aria Top 100 Albums of 2004.^[42] The DVD included live footage and behind the scenes footage of Bublé's first world tour. The CD included 3 new studio tracks, 2 live recordings of new songs, and 3 live recordings of songs from the album Michael Bublé. The album peaked at 55 on the Billboard 200.^[46] In November 2004 the Christmas edition of his debut album was released as a 2-disc set that included both the Michael Bublé and the Let It Snow EP.^[47]

Bublé won the "New Artist of the Year" award at the 2004 Juno Awards and his album was nominated for "Album of the Year", but lost out to Sam Roberts.

Bublé appeared in the 2003 movie The Snow Walker. Also in 2003 he portrayed a lounge performer on an episode of Days of Our Lives.^[44] In 2004 he appeared as himself in Las Vegas.^[35]

Songs from Bublé's debut album ("For Once in My Life", "Kissing a Fool") were released on the soundtrack for the movie Down with Love (2003).^[48] The soundtrack also included a previously unreleased duet with Holly Palmer of the movie's title theme. The Junkie XL remix of the theme for the 60s TV cartoon version of Spider-Man from Bublé's Babalu album was played during the closing credits of Spider-Man 2 (2004), and this version was also released as a single. A CD was released in 2003 of the 7 songs that Bublé sang for Totally Blonde, calling it Totally Bublé.^[49] After the success of Michael Bublé's self-titled debut, DRG Records belatedly released the jazzy soundtrack from the 2001 film Totally Blonde in which Bublé had a co-starring role as a nightclub singer/club owner. Capitalizing on Bublé's newfound stardom, DRG Records basically ignored the music's connection to the film by altering the title and putting a shot of Bublé on the cover making it appear as if this was a proper Michael Bublé release. The slight misrepresentation was not lost on Bublé who has stated on his website that he did not want these songs released, but that it was out of his control.^[50] His version of "Come Fly with Me" is used in Looney Tunes: Back in Action.

[edit] 2005–06: It's Time

	"Feeling Good" noicon A sample of the song "Feeling Good".
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Bublé's second studio album, It's Time, was released 15 February 2005, again by 143/Reprise Records. The album included standards from a variety of eras including "You Don't Know Me", "Feeling Good", "Can't Buy Me Love", "Save the Last Dance for Me", "Song for You", and "Quando, Quando, Quando" (a duet with Canadian pop singer Nelly Furtado). It also included an original track, "Home", co-written by Bublé, his musical director Alan Chang, and Amy Foster-Gilles (David Foster’s daughter).

The album reached #1 in Canada, Italy, Japan, and on the Billboard Top Jazz chart, #2 in Australia, and #7 on the Billboard 200. Additionally it reached the top 10 in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Austria, and Sweden. The album spent 104 weeks on the Billboard Top Jazz chart, including a record-breaking 78 weeks in the #1 spot.^[51] It’s Time was Billboard's Top Jazz Album in both 2005^[52] and 2006^[53] The first single, "Feeling Good", was met with little commercial success. However, the second single from the album, "Home" reached #1 on Billboard Adult Contemporary Tracks chart and #72 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[54] The third single "Save the Last Dance for Me" reached #5 on the Billboard AC Track Chart and #99 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[54]

In 2005, he also appeared in a commercial for Starbucks Frappucino line, singing his single "Come Fly with Me". The single appeared as a bonus track for a Starbucks edition release of It's Time.^[55]

Bublé won four Juno Awards in 2006 for Pop Album of the Year – It's Time, Single of the Year – "Home", Album of the Year – It's Time, Artist of the Year, and was additionally nominated for the Juno Fan Choice Award, but lost out to the Canadian pop band Simple Plan.^[4] Bublé was nominated twice for a Grammy in the category Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in 2006 (It's Time) and 2007 (Caught in the Act) but lost, in both cases, to Tony Bennett. In 2007, Bublé received one Juno nomination, for Fan Choice, but lost to Nelly Furtado.^[56]

[edit] 2007–08: Call Me Irresponsible

Bublé's third studio album, Call Me Irresponsible, was released 1 May 2007 by 143/Reprise Records. His third effort included songs from different eras such as "Always on My Mind", "Dream", "I've Got the World on a String", and "Comin' Home Baby" (a duet with Boyz II Men). In the U.S., the album debuted at number two on the Billboard 200 and rose to number one in its second week. Only a few artists have been able to accomplish this, like Michael Jackson and Sugarland.^[57] The album has sold nearly 2 million copies in the US alone. Internationally, the album also fared well. In Australia, the album debuted in the top position, and was the best-selling album of the year 2007. In the UK, both the standard version and the special edition were best-selling albums, with the latter outselling the former (standard: 300,000; special edition: 462,000). Additionally, the album was certified 2× Platinum in Europe with over 2 million copies sold. Call Me Irresponsible has sold over 5 million copies worldwide.^{[citation needed]}

The first single off the album was "Everything". It carried a more adult-contemporary sound than his usual big band style and was released in May 2007. The song became one of Bublé's biggest hits ever, reaching #46 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart,^[58] and #10 in Canada. "Me and Mrs. Jones" was set to be released as the second single off the album but was cancelled despite a music video being made. The next single, released in November 2007, was "Lost", a #97 hit on the Hot 100 and #19 in the UK. "It Had Better Be Tonight (Meglio Stasera)" was released mainly as a remix single, with many mixes by Eddie Amador. The song reached position #89 in Canada. The final single from the album, "Comin' Home Baby", was released in April 2008.^[59]

[edit] 2009–2011: Crazy Love

Bublé in Vancouver (March 2009)

Michael Bublé's third DVD (after Caught in the Act and Come Fly with Me) titled Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden was released on 16 June 2009.^[60] An exclusive trailer premiered online at his website. The DVD is a recollection of events building up to Bublé's most important live performance yet.

The standard CD contains 10 live tracks and has an orange cover. The online edition contains two additional tracks ("Sway" and "That's Life") and has a blue-coloured alternate cover. In America, the blue edition can only be purchased through his online store—however, everywhere else the special edition is available for purchase anywhere.

In 2009, Bublé was featured in the CTV television film My Musical Brain with neuroscientist and writer Daniel Levitin, based on Levitin's bestselling book This Is Your Brain On Music.

Bublé's fourth studio album, Crazy Love, was due for release by 143/Reprise Records on 13 October 2009.^[61] However, an early release in the United States occurred on 9 October 2009,^[62] in which Bublé appeared on Oprah that same day and performed the album's first single "Haven't Met You Yet".^[63] The album was also promoted in an interview with George Stroumboulopoulos on The Hour on 17 October 2009,^[64] and on the 22 December episode of The Glenn Beck Program.^[65]

The album contains 12 tracks (and one bonus track), including two original songs co-written by Bublé, "Haven't Met You Yet" and "Hold On".^[66] Its first single, "Haven't Met You Yet" was released 31 August 2009,^[67] and reached #1 on Billboard's Canadian Adult Contemporary chart.^[68] Most of the tracks off the album were recorded live because Bublé did not want his album to sound overproduced and slick.^[69] Bublé also wrote the opening part for his cover on the single "Cry Me a River" in Bond-like theme because he wanted the song to sound very cinematic and bombastic.^[70]

Crazy Love debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart,^[71] becoming Bublé's fourth No. 1 album on Billboard's Top Jazz Albums chart. It also debuted at No. 1 in Australia and Canada, where it became his fastest-selling album.^[63] The album was supported by the (ongoing) Crazy Love Tour. During the tour, Michael performed two nights at the new Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, which were the first concerts to take place at the venue. The stadium holds 51,700 (which is excluding taped off areas) and all tickets sold out in one day. The first night of the tour was Bublé's largest ever audience.

In 2009, Bublé took part in series 6 of The X Factor in the UK on the ITV network. He was the celebrity mentor for the finalists in week 3 and also appeared on the finale, duetting with Stacey Solomon.^[72]

Bublé was the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on 30 January 2010. He sang "Haven't Met You Yet", "Baby (You've Got What It Takes)" with Sharon Jones, and did a sketch with Jon Hamm for "Hamm & Bublé Restaurant".

Bublé with Meredith Vieira on the Today Show.

External videos
	Video of Michael Bublé singing "Maple Leaf Forever" at the 2010 Winter Olympics closing ceremony.[73]

Bublé also took part in 2010 Winter Olympics torch relay in Vancouver before the opening ceremony.^[74]

He performed on NBC's Today on 12 February, the day of the opening ceremony and during the broadcast on Grouse Mountain. His opening to "Cry Me a River" was selected as the theme tune for the BBC's coverage of the games.^[75]

Bublé appeared in a TV special Michael Bublé's Canada which aired on Australian cable television in January, ahead of the 2010 Winter Games, with co-host Sophie Faulkiner.^[76]

Bublé performed alongside other Canadian celebrities (including Michael J. Fox) at the closing ceremony singing a version of the song "Maple Leaf Forever", originally appearing as a 'Mountie', but subsequently having the uniform torn off to reveal a white tuxedo underneath.^[77]

He also appeared on the American comedy news show Colbert Report for Colbert's 2010 Vancouver Winter Games coverage.^[78]

On 18 April 2010, Bublé won four Juno Awards for Juno Fan Choice Award, Single of the Year ("Haven't Met You Yet"), Album of the Year (Crazy Love) and Pop Album of the Year (Crazy Love),^[4] plus two Juno nominations for Artist of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. Crazy Love producers David Foster and Bob Rock both received two separate nominations of their own for the Jack Richardson Producer of the Year Award, with Bob Rock winning the award.^[4][79]

Bublé re-released Crazy Love on 25 October 2010 in the U.S., with an earlier release date of 15 October 2010 for Europe. The special edition is called "Crazy Love: Hollywood Edition",^[80] and contains several bonus tracks including Bublé's newest single, titled "Hollywood", co-written with Toronto songwriter/pianist Robert G. Scott.^[81] On 7 September 2010 "Hollywood" was released worldwide on radio and as a digital single on iTunes. He recently played to 100,000 people at the Aviva stadium Dublin his biggest concert to date and rumours sparked that there will be a DVD release of the concert.^[80]

Bublé was featured in an ITV special called This Is Michael Bublé. The special featured concert footage from his gigs at Aviva Stadium. On 23 February 2011, Bublé featured as the narrator of BBC Radio 2's Song Stories: My Way.^[82]

In October 2011, Buble released his fifth studio album, Christmas, which rose to the top of the US and UK charts.^[83][84]

Personal life[link]

Bublé performing in February 2011

Michael Bublé was engaged to long-time girlfriend Debbie Timuss, a stage actress, dancer, and singer. Both were in the musicals Red Rock Diner in 1996^[85] and Dean Regan's Forever Swing in 1998.^[86][87] Timuss was listed as one of the dedicatees in Bublé's self-titled album Michael Bublé and It's Time, and as background vocalist on It's Time. While away in Italy, Bublé co-wrote the hit single "Home" for Timuss.^[88][89] Timuss was also featured in the music video for "Home".^[88][90] Their engagement ended in November 2005. Their breakup inspired Bublé to co-write the hit original song "Lost".^[91]

During an appearance at Australian television's Logie Awards in 2005, he met British actress Emily Blunt and again a few months later at his concert backstage in Los Angeles. Eventually they began a relationship. He thought she was a BBC television producer.^[9][92] She also provided background vocals on the cover of "Me and Mrs. Jones" on the album Call Me Irresponsible. The hit original song "Everything" was penned by Bublé for Blunt.^[90][93] Bublé's publicist confirmed on 11 July 2008 that he had broken up with Blunt.^[94]

Bublé became engaged in Argentina^[95] to girlfriend Luisana Lopilato in November 2009. She is an Argentine actress and model.^[95][96] Bublé co-wrote the hit single "Haven't Met You Yet" for Lopilato,^[97] and she appeared in the song's music video.^[95] They reportedly met in November 2008 at a party thrown by Bublé's record company after one of his concerts in Buenos Aires.^[95] The couple wed on 31 March 2011 in Buenos Aires.^[98]

Since 2005, Bublé has had dual Italian-Canadian citizenship.^[7][25][99]

A big hockey fan since childhood, Bublé requires "one local team hockey puck" in his dressing room as part of his rider contract to concert promoters in every city.^{[18][100][101]} He is one of the Vancouver Canucks' most prominent celebrity supporters and since December 2008, he has been co-owner of the Vancouver Giants^[102]

On 12 February 2009 Bublé pledged a donation of A$50,000 to the victims of the Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria, Australia.^[103]

Discography[link]

Studio albums

• Michael Bublé (2003)
• It's Time (2005)
• Call Me Irresponsible (2007)
• Crazy Love (2009)
• Christmas (2011)

Independent albums

• First Dance (1996)
• Babalu (2001)
• Dream (2002)

Live albums

• Come Fly with Me (2004)
• Caught in the Act (2005)
• Michael Bublé Meets Madison Square Garden (2009)

Tours[link]

• Michael Bublé: Live in Concert (2004)
• It's Time Tour (2005–06)
• Irresponsible Tour (2007–08)
• Crazy Love Tour (2010–12)

Filmography[link]

• 2000: Duets
• 2001: Totally Blonde
• 2003: The Snow Walker
• 2004: Las Vegas – Catch of the Day

Awards and nominations[link]

See also[link]

• List of Canadian musicians

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Michael Buble

• Official website
• Biography Discography
• Michael Bublé at the Internet Movie Database

Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle, 2007
Birth name	David Khari Webber Chappelle
Born	(1973-08-24) August 24, 1973 (age 38) Washington, D.C., U.S.[1]
Medium	Stand-up, television, film
Nationality	American
Years active	1987–present
Genres	Satire/political satire, improvisational comedy, observational comedy, surreal humor, sketch comedy, black comedy, blue comedy
Subject(s)	Racism, race relations, American politics, African American culture, pop culture, recreational drug use, human sexuality, morality
Influences	Richard Pryor,[2] Eddie Murphy,[2] Mel Blanc,[2] Chris Rock[3]
Spouse	Elaine Chappelle (2001–present) 3 children
Notable works and roles	Himself and Various in Chappelle's Show Himself in Dave Chappelle's Block Party Achoo in Robin Hood: Men in Tights Thurgood Jenkins in Half Baked
Signature

David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle^[4] (/ʃəˈpɛl/; born August 24, 1973)^[1] is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, actor, and artist. Chappelle began his film career in the film Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993 and continued to star in minor roles in the films The Nutty Professor, Con Air, and Blue Streak. His first lead role in a film was in Half Baked in 1998. In 2003, he became widely known for his popular sketch comedy television series, Chappelle's Show, which ran until his abrupt retirement from the show in 2005. Chappelle is ranked forty-third in Comedy Central Presents: 100 Greatest Stand-Ups of All Time.^[5]

Early life[link]

Chappelle was born David Khari Webber Chappelle in Washington, D.C. on August 24, 1973.^[1][2] His father, William David Chappelle III, was a professor at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio.^[2] His mother, Yvonne (née Reed), was a professor at Howard University, Prince George's Community College, and the University of Maryland and is also a Unitarian Universalist minister.^[6][7][8] Chappelle grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and attended Woodlin Elementary School.^[2] During young Chappelle's formative years, his comic inspiration came from various comedians, particularly Eddie Murphy and Richard Pryor.^[2]

After his parents separated, Chappelle stayed in Washington with his mother while spending summers with his father in Ohio. In 1991, he graduated from Washington's Duke Ellington School of the Arts where he studied theatre arts.^[2]

Chappelle moved to New York City to pursue a career as a comedian. He gathered the courage to perform at Harlem's famed Apollo Theater in front of the infamous "Amateur Night" audience. The performance resulted in him being booed off the stage. Chappelle has described the experience as the moment that gave him the courage to continue his show business aspirations.^[2] He quickly made a name for himself in the New York comedy circuit, even performing in the city's parks. At the age of 19, Chappelle made his film debut as "Ahchoo" in Mel Brooks' Robin Hood: Men in Tights. In the same year, Chappelle was offered the role of Benjamin Buford "Bubba" Blue in Forrest Gump. Concerned about what seemed to be a racially demeaning character, he turned down the part; the film would go on to win Academy Award for Best Picture that year. He has since admitted to regretting the decision.^[9] Chappelle played another supporting movie role in 1994's little-seen Getting In.

He attracted the attention of TV network executives and developed numerous pilots but none of them were picked up for series.^[2][10] In 1995, he made a guest appearance in an episode of ABC's highly rated sitcom Home Improvement. The storyline had Chappelle and real-life friend comedian Jim Breuer ask Tim Taylor for advice on their girlfriends. The characters' single outing in the episode proved so popular that ABC decided to give them their own spin-off sitcom titled Buddies. However, after taping a pilot episode, Jim Breuer was fired and replaced with actor Christopher Gartin. Buddies premiered in March 1996 to disappointing ratings. The show was cancelled after only four episodes out of thirteen that were produced. Nine years later, in May 2005, ten of the episodes were released on a single-disc DVD to capitalize on Chappelle's new-found fame.

After the failure of Buddies, Chappelle starred in another pilot. According to Chappelle, the network was uncomfortable with the African-American cast and wanted white actors added. Chappelle resisted and subsequently accused the network of racism. Shortly after this incident, Chappelle's father died. Chappelle returned to Ohio and considered leaving the entertainment business.^[2][10]

He later appeared as a nightclub comedian in the 1996 comedy The Nutty Professor starring Eddie Murphy, one of his major comedic influences. He also had a minor role in 1997's Con Air. He and Neal Brennan co-wrote the 1998 cult stoner film Half Baked, Chappelle's first starring role, about a group of marijuana-smoking friends trying to get their friend out of jail. That same year, he appeared in "Pilots and Pens Lost", a 1998 episode of The Larry Sanders Show's sixth season, in which he and the executives of the show's nameless television network satirized the treatment to which scriptwriters and show creators were subjected, as well as the executives' knee-jerk tendencies toward racial stereotypes. In December of that year Chappelle appeared as Tom Hanks' friend and confidant in You've Got Mail. In 1999, he appeared in the Martin Lawrence film Blue Streak.

In 2000, Chappelle recorded his first HBO special, Dave Chappelle: Killin' Them Softly, in Washington, DC.^[11] He followed this up with an appearance as "Conspiracy Brother" in the 2002 racial satire Undercover Brother.

[edit] 2003–2006: Standup and Chappelle's Show

In 2003, Chappelle debuted his own weekly sketch comedy show on Comedy Central called Chappelle's Show. The show parodied many aspects of American culture including racial stereotypes, politics and pop culture. Along with comedy skits, the show also featured musical performances by mostly hip-hop and soul artists.

Chappelle's pointed social and political commentary quickly helped the show garner critical and commercial success as well as controversy.^[10][12] Richard Pryor, one of Chappelle's comedic influences, was a fan of the show and stated that he had "passed the torch" to Chappelle.^[10] Chappelle received two Emmy nominations for the show.^[13] Additionally, the DVD set became the best-selling DVD of a television show to date, overtaking the previous best-selling, The Simpsons first season DVD. It had sold over 3 million copies.^[14] Due to the show's popularity, Comedy Central's parent company Viacom reportedly offered Chappelle a $55 million contract (giving Chappelle a share of DVD sales) to continue production of Chappelle's Show for two more years while allowing him to do side projects. Chappelle had stated that sketches are not his favorite form of comedy, and that the characteristics of the show's format were somewhat like short films.

In June 2004, based on the popularity of the "Rick James" sketch, it was announced that Chappelle was in talks to portray Rick James in a biopic from Paramount Pictures (also owned by Viacom).^[15] James's estate disagreed with the proposed comical tone of the film and put a halt to the talks.^[16]

In 2004, Chappelle recorded his second comedy special, this time airing on Showtime - Dave Chappelle: For What It's Worth, at San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium.^[17]

Season three turbulence[link]

In a June 2004 stand-up performance in Sacramento, California, Chappelle walked off the stage after berating his audience for constantly shouting "I'm Rick James, bitch!," which became a catchphrase from the popular "Rick James" sketch. After a few minutes, Chappelle returned and continued by saying, "The show is ruining my life." He stated that he disliked working "20 hours a day" and that the popularity of the show was making it difficult for him to continue his stand-up career, which was "the most important thing" to him. He also told the audience:

You know why my show is good? Because the network officials say you're not smart enough to get what I'm doing, and every day I fight for you. I tell them how smart you are. Turns out, I was wrong. You people are stupid.^[18]

Season 3 was scheduled to air on May 31, 2005, but in that month, Chappelle stunned fans and the entertainment industry when he abruptly left during production of the third season of Chappelle's Show and took a trip to South Africa. Chappelle has since stated that he was unhappy with the direction the show had taken.