Crooner Michael Bolton charms McAllen crowd

Michael Bolton could have had his pick of the litter when he performed Monday night at the McAllen Civic Center.

Though the singer-songwriter's trademark long locks are gone and he hasn't ruled the Top 40 charts in years, Bolton fired up the packed venue with his hits from nearly 20 years ago and a few new tracks from his latest album "One World One Love."

Bolton wasted no time and dove directly into his catalogue of Billboard chart-toppers like, "Soul Provider," "To Love Somebody" and "Said I Loved You."

Time seems to have affected Bolton slightly, but he adjusted the songs to suit his lower register and still belted out the ballads.

Much to the dismay of Lady Gaga fans, Bolton didn't sing "Murder My Heart," but instead performed "Hope It's Too Late," an uptempo tune that was co-written by Bolton.

Then the singer made the ladies swoon more when he announced that he will be competing in the next season of ABC's "Dancing With the Stars." He encouraged all of his fans to text and Tweet to get the word out and vote for him. The season premiere is Monday, Sept. 20.

He followed up the good news for DWTS fans with the song "You Don't Know Me." Then Bolton fired up the musical time machine and took us back to the days of swing, big band and jazz with "Summertime." Saxophonist Michael Lington played some very impressive solos on both tunes.

The classics continued with the band performing an instrumental version of George and Ira Gershwin's "They Can't Take That Away From Me." Then Bolton joined the band for "For Once In My Life," "Fly Me To The Moon," "That's Life" and "New York, New York."

Bolton kept things light throughout the concert with a few jokes here and there, and indulged fans screaming "I love you," and running to the stage with a bouquet of flowers for him.

Though Bolton hasn't mastered the Italian language, his rendition of "Nessun Dorma," an aria from Giacomo Pucchini's opera "Turandot," was well executed. And although it's a passionate and serious piece, he maintained a sense of humor by turning the mike to the crowd to have them sing along. Ha, ha.

Sax player Lington took over the stage then and performed his contemporary jazz hit "You and I." While all eyes were on the stage, Bolton was being sneaky and climbed onto a small platform in one of the aisles. Suddenly the spotlight shifted and the fans bolted for the singer.

As he moved toward the stage, a mob of women practically crushed him, but he managed to continue singing "When a Man Loves a Woman." He kept the crowd riled by jumping into another smash hit, "How Can We Be Lovers." He finished off his set with "Steel Bars" and "TIme, Love and Tenderness."

Bolton left the stage to cheers all around, and then returned to play the encore song "How Am I Supposed To Live Without You." Fans sang along during the chorus, and then Bolton and his band members bid another farewell with a group bow.