Last night, everyone in the Sheraton Wall Centre ballroom was expecting Calgary's Jann Arden to take the stage at a gala fundraiser for Honour House.

It's a Lower Mainland charity that provides a home away from home in New West to the families of soldiers and emergency responders needing medical treatment.

There was noticeable disappointment in the room when the host, Global BC news anchor Chris Gailus, informed the audience that Arden couldn't make it through no fault of her own.

But then, the Global TV anchor said that they found a replacement: a guy who was on the SkyTrain.

Lo and behold, it was Michael Bublé, the Burnaby-raised crooner who has sold over 35 million records.

"I drove 11 minutes to get here," Bublé quipped.

As the crowd of 600 went wild, he started cracking some bawdy jokes.

“Obviously Jann couldn’t be here tonight," he said. "She’s on a Chippendale’s cruise hanging out with naked men just rubbing their winkies off 'em. And you think I’m kidding but it’s true.”

That wasn't the end of the naughty talk.

"I toured with Jann and I swear that there were always strippers everywhere," he added. "She used to call me Magic Mikey. She said I reminded her of that fat Channing Tatum, the little potato.”

On a more serious note, Bublé said, “I want to thank you guys for having me here, truly, and Jann wishes she could be here. I’m thrilled I could take her place because what you do is you do great work. I’m so happy you’re here tonight.”

Arden let her Twitter followers know how grateful she was for Bublé's kind gesture.

He performed "Mack the Knife", the James Taylor classic "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", and a very abbreviated version of Jann Arden's "Insensitive".

He also sang the old Elvis Presley song "I Can't Help Falling In Love With You".

Bublé mentioned that his manager, Bruce Allen, is a huge Elvis Presley fan and celebrated his 70th birthday the other night.

"We went last night, [he] turned the big 7-0, so I thought I would do this as a tribute to Bruce,” he said.

Of course, the night wouldn't have been complete without one of his own monster hits. On this evening, it was "Everything".

Honour House was founded by former Vancouver park commissioner Al De Genova, who remains president of the board of directors. His daughter Melissa, a Vancouver city councillor, is the organization's fundraising chair.