'I truly thought I'd never come back to music,' the singer says, adding that it's because he wants to devote his time for his family.

• Jul 9, 2018

AceShowbiz - Canadian crooner Michael Buble came close to quitting his music career to devote his time to his family after going through "hell" with his son's cancer battle.

The singer and his wife, model/actress Luisana Lopilato, both put their jobs on hold in 2016 after their eldest child, Noah, was diagnosed with the disease.

Michael cancelled all performances and awards show hosting gigs to remain by his boy's side as his kid underwent surgery and months of gruelling treatments, and last year, they were finally able to breathe a sigh of relief as Noah was declared to be firmly on the road to recovery.

Buble subsequently returned to the stage, and has since been back in the studio, working on the follow-up to 2016's "Nobody But Me", but the musician admits he came close to walking away from the industry altogether after Noah's health crisis.

"I've been to hell," Michael told Australia's Herald Sun in an emotional new interview. "I don't talk about the whole story, not even to my friends because it hurts too much. It's my boy. He's a superhero, he doesn't need to relive it over and again. But I've been to hell..."

"I truly thought I'd never come back to music," he continued. "Family is what matters. The health of my children is (priority) number one. The relationship with my family, my wife, my faith - all of it is easily number one."

Although Noah is now doing well as he approaches his fifth birthday next month, the couple will always be keeping a close eye on his health.

"It's cancer so obviously we have to monitor it but I wouldn't be doing this (working in music again) if he wasn't OK," he added.

Despite the heartache of the last couple of years, Michael admits he has learned to approach life with "no fear", a feeling he embraced as he worked on new material.

"Perspective has allowed me to rekindle my love of music," he explained. "When I went through Noah's cancer from the first moment there was a snap. I remember sitting in the hospital room thinking, 'I was worried about any of that s**t? I was worried about record sales or a meme or what some a-hole said about me?' In a second it had gotten so clear."

"That clarity gave me the opportunity to find love for music again," Michael smiled. "I'm going to go back to what I was made to do. I'm going to come back to a world that needs love and romance and laughter more than it has in a long time. I'm going to be a conduit to that. This is the greatest record I've ever made."

Michael and Luisana have since been given another reason to be grateful as they are expecting their third child, a daughter, who is due later this month. The couple, which wed in 2011, also has a two-year-old son named Elias.