Michael Bolton Wants to ‘Make Other People Feel Better’ with New Album
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The Masked Singer Season 9 contestant Michael Bolton recently released his first album of original songs in 14 years. The singer said he was inspired to “help people feel a spark in their lives” during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Michael Bolton Releases New Album Spark of Light
Bolton’s new album, Spark of Light, is the singer’s first original project since 2009’s One World One Love. In the intervening years, he’s released cover albums such as Songs of Cinema in 2017. He also reinvented some of his most popular songs with a symphony orchestra on Symphony of Hits in 2019.
The new album features uplifting and inspiring songs, which Bolton was inspired to write during the Covid-19 pandemic. It’s also the first album of his career on which he was involved in writing every song.
“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,” Bolton told Billboard. “That became the working theme every day: ‘How do we make [the music] make other people feel better?’”
Spark of Light features 10 new songs including the title track, as well as “Just the Beginning” and “Beautiful World” featuring Justin Jesso.
SEE ALSO: WHY ON EARTH ARE SUPERSTARS LIKE JEWEL, MICHAEL BOLTON COMPETING ON ‘AMERICAN SONG CONTEST’
Bolton Is Excited to Perform the Songs Live
Bolton currently has several live performances lined up into next year. The singer told Billboard that he’s selective about where he performs, explaining, “I just try to make sure that I’m not running myself down with travel because it does sneak up on you.”
However, he added that he’s “excited to dig into [the songs] live and introduce them,” saying they’re “getting a lot of traction in Europe.” Bolton is also planning a holiday album and a scripted podcast with Akiva Schaffer of The Lonely Island.
“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,” Bolton shared. “You’re going to spend four months of your time promoting it around the world, you better love it.”
