“I DON’T HAVE TO TAKE MYSELF SO SERIOUSLY. THAT’S HEALTHY.”

M ichael Bolton’s just been posting on Twitter about working with a new generation of young, hungry songwriters on his first album of original songs in more than a decade – aspiring tunesmiths are desperate to work with the singer – and it’s seemingly all thanks to Pirates Of The Caribbean.

You may well have seen Jack Sparrow, Michael’s duet with comedy trio The Lonely Island – it’s had more than 200 million views on YouTube since the song was part of an episode of Saturday Night Live in 2011.

Aspiring lothario rappers The Lonely Island (who include Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andy Samberg) rope in Michael for his trademark vocal gravitas, only to discover he’s strangely obsessed by the pirate saga. It’s hilariously odd, as that voice belts out “Keeira Kniiightley!” before Michael proves his love of cinema by dressing up as Erin Brockovich as well as

Scarface’s Tony Montana, complete with “mountains of cocaaaiine!”

Michael teamed up with The Lonely Island again for his own Netflix comedy show, Michael Bolton’s Big, Sexy Valentine Special. It’s a long way from How Can We Be Lovers?. Michael Bolton is now hip.

“After The Lonely Island, something shifted in the universe, including my position in it,” notes Michael. “Jack Sparrow gave me permission to have fun, which I’d never had as an artist. People didn’t expect me to be funny, but they were fans of that. I now have new fans of 13 and 14 – and 40-year-old guys who would never have bought one of my CDs now high-five me at the airport. It’s quite funny – both ha-ha funny and funny peculiar – and it’s very welcome.”

AN AMAZING HALF-CENTURY 

Talking to Classic Pop at his hotel before a show in Texas, Michael speaks with a calmness and dry wit of someone who’s seen it all in the entertainment industry. His first hit That’s What Love Is All About was in 1987, but Michael had been a struggling singer and writer-for-hire for 18 years beforehand. “I can never wrap my head around the fact I’ve been doing this for 50 years,” he admits. “That’s at least partially because, psychologically, I’m probably a child. Fifty years? It seems impossible.”

Before the hits arrived, Michael, his then-wife Maureen and three daughters faced homelessness. That was before he went on to sell more than 75 million albums. Despite the success, though, the critics’ mockery eventually beat him. Having worked so hard to find fame, Michael was insecure when the haters went for him.

“I didn’t have a thick enough skin,” he confesses. “I was being invited to sing with Presidents and perform with royalty. All the doors were open to me – and that meant reviewers gave me the hardest time pretty much any chance they could. Critics don’t generally like mainstream music, and I had to learn that. Unfortunately, at the beginning, my competitive sports attitude came along with me.