As predictable as the first snowfall, the holiday season brings the unmistakable sound of Michael Bublé’s voice. His 2011 album, Christmas, has become a global staple, but its immense success has fueled a cynical annual debate: Is Bublé the king of Christmas cheer, or is he simply “over-commercializing Christmas”?
Critics argue the latter, pointing to the album’s staggering sales and inescapable presence as proof that the holiday has been “turned into a business.” One recent article went so far as to call the beloved record “just a money-making trick.”
But now, the man who first inspired Bublé’s career has spoken out, defending his grandson’s intentions as a matter of family legacy, not commerce.
A 90-Year Family Tradition
Demetrio Santagà, Bublé’s 90-year-old grandfather, is famously the person who introduced the young singer to the jazz standards of the Great American Songbook. In response to the criticism, Mr. Santagà (who, according to family lore, taught his grandson to play the trumpet as a child) provided a deeply personal story to a local newspaper.
He dismissed the “money-making” claims by revealing the music’s origin.
“He sang ‘White Christmas’ when he was 7 to make his grandmother happy,” Santagà stated. “Now he makes the whole world happy – that’s a legacy, not a business.”
The Data vs. The Legacy
The criticism stems from data that is, frankly, undeniable. The Christmas album is one of the most successful records of the 21st century.
- Global Sales: It has sold over 18 million copies worldwide since its 2011 release.
- Chart Dominance: It is a perennial phenomenon, reliably re-entering the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart every December.
- Streaming Power: Songs from the album, such as “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” and “Holly Jolly Christmas,” rack up hundreds of millions of streams each holiday season.
For critics, these numbers represent a calculated commercial strategy. For Demetrio Santagà, they represent the exact opposite: the global amplification of a simple, heartfelt family moment.
His statement reframes the entire debate. The song “White Christmas,” a massive hit for Bublé, isn’t just a track on a multi-platinum album; it’s a direct continuation of a performance a 7-year-old boy gave for his grandmother.
In his grandfather’s eyes, Bublé isn’t “selling Christmas”—he’s sharing a 90-year family tradition with the world. The fact that 18 million people wanted to join in, he implies, doesn’t corrupt the “legacy”; it confirms it.
