Michael Bublé missed us. It’s obvious in the way the Canadian crooner speaks to the sold-out crowd at Resorts World Theatre. 

“I don't know if you need me, but I need you,” he tells them. “I missed you. We’re not meant to be apart like that.” 

Opening night of Bublé’s six-show limited engagement feels like reuniting with an old flame. The international superstar last performed here in September, and from the looks of it, he’s determined to make Las Vegas want him more. 

Bublé's first grand gesture happens at the top of the show. A gauzy curtain lifts, revealing his orchestra and choir. The conductor flicks his wrist and the heavenly intro to “Smile” billows out. It’s overwhelming in all the right ways. The choir swells and refrains like a breathing organ, and the band crescendos just as Bublé descends a flight of stairs. The moment feels big and alive, exactly what you’d expect from a star of this stature. 

What I don’t expect is how easily Bublé switches from showman to comedian. In between songs, he disarms the crowd with his humor. In one instance, the singer thanks his fans for coming, even though they could be seeing any other show in Vegas tonight. “Puppetry of the Penis is just down the street,” he jests. 

On either side of Bublé, fans sit and imbibe mere feet away from him onstage—a unique perk of Resorts World’s VIP concert experience offerings. It reminds me of the bygone supper club days, when entertainers quipped over the sounds of clinking glasses and quiet murmurs of conversation in the corner. 

Bublé's big band jazzes it up with Nina Simone's "Feeling Good," a song Bublé just seems made for. His timbre dips and climbs around complex notes. All the while, he's backed by three vocalists from the choir, bathed in a red hue. Bublé himself is all unwavering sex appeal, confirmed by the many shouts from fans who attempt to touch him. 

He’s a master of his own universe onstage. During "Sway," he incites everyone in the theater to dance and the room becomes a big salsa club. He makes his way over to a side of the stage where a group of women hop out of their seats to greet him. And in a reversal of roles, Bublé takes his phone out to film them. It's clear yet again, he missed us. 

During covers like "You're My First, the Last, My Everything" and "Fever," the star literally works the room, walking through the audience, touching hands, signing autographs and offering the mic to singing fans—one being a young boy with coiffed hair and a suit in the front row. The miniature Bublé knows every line. 

Bublé leaves a little something for everyone to bring on home. A memory. A laugh. An unforgettable acapella closer. Because “When you come to a Bublé show," he says, "you get your cake and eat it too.” 

MICHAEL BUBLÉ May 4, 6 & 7, 8 p.m., $69-$740. Resorts World Theatre, axs.com.