I don’t understand your bland quality reference at all, I find immense emotion in his voice. How you described his singing is exactly as I would describe Sinatra’s, and I do like him (Sinatra) and have CD’s of his, but where I find his music and voice to have a beautiful tonality, I find it almost completely devoid of emotion with very few exceptions. He doesn’t bring me to that place. In other words, it doesn’t move me.
The emotion in Frank’s voice is subtle and masculine; Buble’s, otoh, is overly sentimental and feminine.
But as I mentioned, for me it’s mostly about phrasing and swinging, and Buble can’t hold a candle to Sinatra on that score. He’s just not a jazzman.
I far prefer Harry Connick Jr. to Buble as far as the younger generation goes. Harry’s a true throwback.