Vancouver singer Michael Buble, 25, in Toronto recently following the much-hyped release of his self-titled major label debut of pop standards. (SUN/Mark O'Neill)

You can't blame superstar crooner Michael Buble for saying, "I'm very afraid of you" at the start of his interview.

After a whirlwind of success and press following the recent release of his sophomore album, It's Time (currently the No. 1 record in Canada and the U.S., having already sold 2.4 million records worldwide since its February release), the 29-year-old singer found himself the subject of a biting expose in Britain's Q Magazine.

It depicts the clean-cut Canadian as a boozing mouthpiece with an affection for strippers.

"The British press are so classy, aren't they?" says Buble, who performs tomorrow through Thursday at The Hummingbird Centre. "I learned my lesson. I learned that the writers are not your friends."

According to Buble, he was "set up" after inviting the writer out for off-the-record "drinks with the boys."

"He wrote about what we talked about on a drinking night with the guys. And some things I didn't even say or do, he just wrote," Buble says. "I read the story and I was devastated and embarassed. My poor grandmother vomited. He could have chosen to make me look like a young lad who's just a little bit wild, but a really nice kid who's just living his fantasy and loving it."

Despite all this, Buble is surprisingly candid and down-to-earth -- not at all the slickster his high-cheese-factor music and promo would make you believe. Buble is quick to admit this wasn't always the case.

"After struggling 10 years in obscurity, all of a sudden fame and fortune came and I got a little bit ahead of myself," Buble says. "I was rude and reckless with girls, and I just thought, 'f--- it, this is my time.'

"I used to see all these pompous celebrities acting like divas and I thought I had to be more like that."

Buble says being such an "a--hole" led to the breakup with his longtime girlfriend, for whom he later wrote his recent hit single, Home. The singer proposed to her a few months ago and credits his new fiance and his family for keeping him away from any diva-like behaviour.

"When I got to be a bit of a prick-head, my mom called me one day and said, 'Did you get better-looking or more charming this year?' And I said, 'I don't know,' and she said, 'No, a--hole, you didn't.' "

Laughing, Buble then says of his parents: "They definitely keep me grounded."

In return, the Vancouver native got an extra tour bus so that he could bring his entire family -- mom, dad, sisters, nieces and nephews, grandparents and his fiance -- on tour with him.

"I have the best of everything because I get to do what I love and have everyone with me," Buble says. "It's great. I don't know how else to say it. Being famous is fun, and anyone who tells you different is a dork."

Buble has had huge international success (even his debut self-titled album went multi-platinum around the world). He has travelled the globe an astounding eight times, already has one Juno award under his belt (2004's best new artist) and is prepped for even more success with It's Time. Still, he says he doesn't let himself get too excited about it all.

"Too many goals have been scored on guys who raise their hands too early," Buble says. "I'm not raising my hands yet. I've still got a long way to go."