Michael Bolotin (born February 26, 1953), known professionally as
Michael Bolton, is an
American singer and songwriter. Bolton originally performed in the
hard rock and
heavy metal genres from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s, both on his early solo albums and those he recorded as the frontman of the band
Blackjack. He became better known for his series of
pop rock ballads, recorded after a stylistic change in the late 1980s.