Michael Bublé on Referencing Taylor Swift in New Music Video: 'Once a Swiftie, Always a Swiftie'

Michael Bublé is back and better than ever.

On Friday, the Canadian crooner will release his new album Higher, which he kicked off promoting with his single "I'll Never Not Love You."

The music video for "I'll Never Not Love You" served as a sequel to his 2009 hit "Haven't Met You Yet," and both were inspired by — and star — his actress wife Luisana Lopilato. For "I'll Never Not Love You," Bublé, 46, and Lopilato, 34, recreated famous scenes from classic romance movies, from Love, Actually to Titanic. But the clip also featured a nod to a recent piece of work: Taylor Swift's "All Too Well (10 Minute Version)" short film.

"She's an incredible artist and one of our greatest writers. I loved that I got to hit something that for me was so modern and contemporary," Bublé says of his decision to reference Swift's video. "And, yes: Once a Swiftie, always a Swiftie!"

Higher — a collection of original tracks and covers — was inspired by Bublé's muses: Lopilato and their children: Noah, 8, Elias, 6, and Vida, 3. (The pair are also expecting a fourth child, he revealed in the "I'll Never Not Love You" video.)

"I was inspired by my wife and my kids and what we'd been through," says Bublé, whose son Noah was diagnosed with liver cancer six years ago (he's been cancer-free since 2017). "It's just based on being in love with my life. I truly came at it with an attitude of gratitude. And I was really ready to leave my comfort zone and make an album that was fresh for my audience. I've been waiting for people to hear it. I'd meet people on the street or I'd be at Costco, and someone would come up and say, 'Oh, what are you working on?' I would say, 'Oh my God, I just can't wait for you to hear this.'"

Filming the "I'll Never Not Love You" video with his wife was a full-circle moment for Bublé.

"I got to make a video for and with my very best friend," he says of Lopilato, whom he wed in 2011. "I'm so sentimental. Fourteen years ago I was just dating her. I had written that song for her at the time. I loved that I could ask her to do this with me, and I love more that it ended up becoming a part of the cinematic universe of our life. At the end of the video, there's a little Easter egg: We are expecting our fourth [child]. It's just pretty cool for me to be able to celebrate the journey that we've been on."

Bublé calls Higher his best LP yet, and it honors his family's resilience.

"This album is a celebration of what it took to just survive," he says. "It's been a beautiful, scary, wonderful journey."

For more on Michael Bublé, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands everywhere Friday.