A self-confessed "hopeless romantic", American pop singer Michael Bolton tells The Times that the romance is not merely confined to his music. In the real world, when it comes to being lucky in love, "let's just say, I feel extremely blessed".
Michael Bolton has also been blessed in his singing career, selling 53 million albums, with about half of his 17 releases reaching the top 10. The man best known for his soft rock ballads and tenor vocals, who is being brought over by NnG Promotions to perform in Malta on Saturday, needs no introduction.
It is not surprising, given his real-life romantic streak, that a song like How Am I Supposed To Live Without You? continues to enjoy such appeal and withstand the test of time. The passion is heartfelt.
"Well, the power of the song comes from the fact that it was written from a true place, and at some point in everyone's life, they are going to experience something similar, even if it doesn't apply to their primary relationship; we all have to cope with our losses in life. And that's what makes us human beings.
"So the common denominator in the song between my audience and me is the emotional resonance."
Twice a hit - by Laura Branigan in 1983 and Michael Bolton in 1989 - "to this day, I point the microphone out into the audience in Thailand, Argentina, China, South Africa, Iceland, Poland, Italy and they sing me the words... and I mean all the words - verses and choruses. How Am I is one they still embrace because everyone's been there, on one side or another of the song, if they've lived at all!
"Something in it resonates melodically and thematically in such a way that it just gets under your skin and stays there. We have fun with it live because we encourage the audience to sing it to me and then we all join in.
"It is still such a powerful, moving experience, when I think back to the beginning, when, as a pre-teenager, I only had one dream - to make music and sing."
The audience next Saturday should be party to that experience. Offering some insight into his repertoire for the Malta concert, for which ticket sales did well from the start, Michael Bolton says his show is "an entire journey through not only the hits everyone knows from my career but the songs that inspired me as a developing artiste.
"We get the amazing opportunity of a lifetime to perform R & B, pop, classical, blues and rock 'n' roll in the course of an evening. Did I mention big band standards from the Bolton Swings Sinatra CD - because we do that too!"
As to what he is expecting from Malta, the artiste talks from experience: "We're blessed with a great audience, who tends to appreciate the range of music influenced by artistes of my younger days - from Ray Charles and Otis Redding to Luciano Pavarotti, as well as Bob Dylan and B.B. King".
Michael Bolton admits to appealing, "fundamentally", to the romantic at heart - "generally, those who are emotionally accessible and have not shut down their interest, or ability for romantic subject matter".
Despite his immense popularity, he may be aware that certain sections of the public would not dream of attending his concert. Who are these people and why is that?
"What I've learned is that many people will go to a Bruce Springsteen concert but not to Celine Dion; others will go to a Stevie Wonder concert but never to Sting. I would eagerly attend any of these artistes' shows. And, occasionally, I will go to the Met to see a great tenor, or soprano."
Bottom line: "You can't please everyone..."
Michael Bolton has been around for decades... and he, therefore, holds the key to the secret of long-term success. "It's like what they say about the most important thing in real estate: location, location, location. For me, it's songs, songs, songs.
"Every great artiste I studied, or simply admired, has been completely focused on the songs that would inspire them and their audience. In film, it's the scripts; in novels, the stories; for a singer, it's great songs.
"I've written lots of music for other artistes, yet I've never hesitated to record a song that was already a classic, or a great song a writer sent me. I think I learned from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, who all wrote great music, but would still reach into the catalogue of American R & B and cut songs written by American icons. They weren't too proud. Even as great a team as Lennon and McCartney cut American classics by other writers. It kept their range of music and appeal wide."
Another secret has to be "my love and continuing passion for what I loved since I was 10, which feeds and fuels my touring and, believe it or not, my growth and evolution as a singer, writer, producer and recording artiste".
One more element is working with the best producers in the world, from Mutt Lange to David Foster. Michael Bolton plans to continue collaborating with new, young, hot guns and this is, in fact, the latest direction of his new CD.
The singer has had several fruitful collaborations with other successful musicians, including the likes of Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras. As yet, he cannot say there is one person he's always wanted to work with and hasn't. "All things happen in their time...
"Singing with Luciano in Modena inspired me to the point that I studied Italian, trained my voice, recorded an aria CD that remained on the classical chart for weeks, shot a TV special in an opera house in Catania, a Christmas special with Placido and recently performed again with José. And I still sing an aria or two in my shows."
But as regards whether he ever wished he took his voice down another road, Michael Bolton feels he has been blessed in his own career too and thinks everyone is where they are supposed to be.
As to where he is, the artiste has been said to have achieved his greatest success in the late 1980s and early 1990s as a singer in the "adult contemporary/easy listening" genre. Is it a label he appreciates, or is it a restrictive pigeon hole?
"Everything that succeeds in the pop category, crossing over into the R & B world and even rock stations, one day becomes 'adult contemporary'. The CD I'm about to release will re-establish my place as an artiste in contemporary music."
That's in the near future. And in 10 years' time, what does he see himself doing?
"Within the next decade, I plan to release five to seven CDs, ranging from fresh, new contemporary to R&B and pop, which is what I am currently working on, two more big band/jazz standards, a blues album and a few other secret projects."
Until they materialise, his own favourite track/s remain "a tie between Said I Loved You, But I Lied and the theme song to the Disney movie Hercules, for which he requested a 50-piece orchestra and is "the best orchestrated record I've ever done".
Michael Bolton doesn't know what he would have become if he were not a famous singer, although he had different interests, including sports. "My first record deal came to me when I was 16. I then spent 18 years struggling for success before I had my first hit. There was no time during that long walk into what seemed like a desert that I ever considered quitting or opting for another career."
But he has delved into other areas with time, setting up the Michael Bolton Charities to assist women and children at risk from the effects of poverty and emotional, physical and sexual abuse.
They say charity begins at home... Michael Bolton has three daughters, "they are grown up and difficult to advise but you cannot tell your children you love them often enough".
Given his 'track record', the singer is hardly going to run out of effective ways of saying that.