When iconic singer/songwriter Michael Bolton began writing songs for Spark of Light during the COVID-19 pandemic, he considered it his mission to create something beautiful to put out into the world.
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“I felt a responsibility to help people feel a spark in their lives. Music is very powerful that way,” he says. “We’re all so humanly connected; we’re so in need of some light,” he says. “That became the working theme every day: ‘How do we make [the music] make other people feel better?’”
From the bouncy title track to current single, the inspirational “Beautiful World” (feat. Justin Jesso), finger snapping “Just the Beginning” and wistful “We Could Be Something,” the album, out today (July 14) contains some of Bolton’s most uplifting tunes with the tenor’s instantly recognizable muscular vocals juxtaposed against contemporary production.
Celebrating his 50th year of making music, Bolton found himself completely revitalized while making his first album of original material in 14 years, his first since 2009’s One World One Love. Not that Bolton has been dormant: he’s released five sets in between, including a tribute to the songs of Motown, a collection of duets and a reinvention of his biggest hits with a symphony orchestra.
Part of the positive energy on Spark of Light, released on Bolton’s own Montaigne Records, comes from the double Grammy-winner working with a new set of collaborators whom he found deeply inspiring. He turned to the next generation of creatives, including American Authors’ lead singer Zachary Barnett, Walk the Moon’s Nicholas Petricca, Tushar Apte (BTS, Blackpink), Jesso (Kygo) and top Nashville songwriters Anderson East and Aaron Raitiere, among others, ultimately working with more writers than he ever had on a project.
His manager, Christina Kline, served as the facilitator. “Christina would come to me and say, ‘I have four or five people you could have sessions with next week. This one writes this kind of music, he’s a great musician, this one’s a great singer,’” Bolton recalls. “And it became an exciting way to pollinate this talented group of people.” Writing sessions began over Zoom, but as the world opened back up, sessions were in person.
Remarkably, for an artist who started as a songwriter and is known for co-writing tunes that became huge hits for others — including Laura Branigan (“How Am I Supposed to Live Without You”) Cher (“I Found Someone”) and Kiss (“Forever”) — this is Bolton’s first album in his six-decade career in which he had a hand in writing every song.
He stresses that wasn’t an intentional move. “We didn’t have that concept from the beginning,” he says. “That was not a goal for me. Maybe that’s because I’ve learned, whether it’s Diane [Warren] or someone unknown who brings a great concept to the table and vocally it’s something really comfortable for me, it’s more important to go with that song than to secure the album of 100% original material.”
Bolton, who turned 70 in March, says he feels as reinvigorated when he steps up to the microphone. “It’s kind of new waters,” he says. “I found myself looking back at pivotal moments, powerful moments, informative moments.” Part of that reflection came from an old friend: During the pandemic and as he was writing for this album, he watched a documentary on Luciano Pavarotti and was transported back to when he first performed “Nessun Dorma” with the opera legend in 1995 and had embarked on a study of all the great tenors. “This documentary brought me to the pure love of music, and I was just felt filled with what felt like fresh hunger, deep hunger, creatively,” he says.
With eight No. 1s on Billboard’s Adult Contemporary charts, including “Time, Love and Tenderness,” “When I’m Back on My Feet Again” and “Said I Loved You…But I Lied,” Bolton has an enviable songwriting catalog, and though many of his contemporaries have sold their works for huge sums, Bolton has been a hold out. “There are a few people who have approached me,” he says. “It’s something that I never thought I would consider and I’m thinking if the right offer came along would I consider it? I don’t even know what the ballpark is.”
Bolton’s career reached a new plateau more than a decade ago, when he joined forces with comedy trio The Lonely Island for a Saturday Night Live digital short on 2011’s “Jack Sparrow.” It showed Bolton in a different, humorous light. “I think I shocked a bunch of people who thought I would never do something like that. It’s too irreverent,” he says. “I love the Lonely Island guys and what they were doing with Saturday Night Live. They worked with me: They were patient to create something that has their brand all over it but wouldn’t be insulting to my audience. It was a little scary, because I was definitely crossing some lines — but as long as it’s funny and musical, I’m up for taking a close look at it.” The video has since earned nearly 250 million views on YouTube.
Once he saw his fans were eager to see that side of Bolton, he embraced it and jumped into projects including 2017’s Netflix special, Michael Bolton’s Big, Sexy Valentine’s Day Special; co-hosting The Celebrity Dating Game in 2021 and appearing on The Masked Singer, most recently earlier this year as The Wolf. Despite a “little technical problem” with the wolf outfit, he says “I loved being on the show. The masks and costumes are just otherworldly.”
Next for Bolton is a holiday album, as well as a scripted podcast (Michael Bolton’s Big Sexy Podcast) which reunites him with The Lonely Island’s Akiva Schaffer. The launch date is pending because of the writers and SAG-AFTRA strike.
Through the rest of the year, Bolton has a number of live dates, but he’s selective about where he and his bandmates, many of whom have been with him for 20 years or more, play. “I just try to make sure that I’m not running myself down with travel because it does sneak up on you,” he says.
And for the immediate future, he’ll be promoting Spark of Light. “I’m excited to dig into [the songs] live and introduce them. They’re getting a lot of traction in Europe,” he says. “The good news is I’m so happy with so much of the album that when doing the promotion — which really can get very taxing — it’s great to love the body of work. You’re going to spend four months of your time promoting it around the world, you better love it.”
