Michael Buble was stumped. He could not name the last Canada-based male singer to land at No. 1 on the U.S. album chart before he accomplished it last month.

Bryan Adams with "Reckless" in 1984.

"You're (bleeping) me," blurted Buble. "I'll be bragging to my family in about three hours."

Buble, 32, croons like Sinatra, curses like Eddie Murphy and charms like Bill Clinton. Those traits may help explain why he has joined Nickelback, the Vancouver rock band, and Celine Dion, the Montreal pop diva, at the top of the U.S. charts.

He plays Radio City Music Hall Tuesday, Wednesday and next Thursday.

But why is it hard out there for a Canadian-based vocalist trying to score in the States?

Buble (boo-BLAY, it's Italian, not French) will tell you his album opened at No. 1 because of career mometum. Music marketing experts will tell you it's because of a one-two punch: appearing on "American Idol" and "Oprah."

"I was so (bleep-y) on 'Idol' that I think it would be the opposite," Buble said with a laugh. "There were probably 80,000 people about to buy the record who went 'Oh, he's really not that good.' I don't know how much that helped. Maybe it put you in the consciousness of some of the American public."

"Oprah," however, was another story. "They say she's good for 35,000 or 40,000 records for that week and the next couple of weeks," he said. "That kind of power is pretty amazing. People believe Oprah as a tastemaker. They trust her. It was quite shocking to me to see that kind of impact."

The "Oprah" appearance effectively captured this modern-day lounge singer, who is one of those artists who must be seen live to be fully appreciated. Plus, he's a charming talker.

Onstage, he's ham and cheese, slathered with lots of romantic dressing on two slices of dark and handsome. He sings and swings. He does shtick and turns on the charisma.

While his salmon-fishing parents were out to sea, young Michael, the oldest of three children, got hooked on the standards in Grandpa's record collection. When the family realized the youngster could sing, Grandpa, a plumber, would go to bars and offer to fix toilets in exchange for letting the kid sing on the bandstand.

With heavy touring, the Canadian built his career to the point where his second CD, 2005's "It's Time," stayed at No. 1 on Billboard's traditional jazz chart for a record 80 weeks.

For his new project, the retro popster co-wrote two songs in a more contemporary vein. "Everything," his current single, is the bubbliest thing Buble has recorded.

"I love pop music, and I was hoping I could do what I do and delve a little closer to acoustic pop without being called schizophrenic," he said. "I wrote a melody with a nice '70s summer feel, and I sat with a lyricist to write about being newly in love."

Then to add a pop-rock edge, he enThe album also includes a cover of "I'm Your Man" by Leonard Cohen, who rivals Joni Mitchell as the greatest Canadian songwriter to not hit No. 1 in the States.

Buble had a conversation about the song with its composer.

"I said: 'OK, Leonard. I'm a bit afraid of how this is going to come off live.' He said: 'Why?' I said: 'Because I'm afraid it's just too sexy. I don't know what's going to happen when men start throwing their underwear at me."