International singer/songwriter Michael Bolton met some of his western Kentucky fans Friday night.

Hosted by the Warren County Public Library, Bolton spoke and held a book signing at the Sloan Convention Center.

Bolton, through the help of a ghostwriter he referred to as “Ghostie,” recently wrote and released a memoir entitled “The Soul Of It All: My Music, My Life.” A few hundred fans filled the open conference room with books in hand, waiting for Bolton to make his opening remarks, open a Question and Answer session and begin signing their books.

Lisa Rice, director of the Warren County Public Library, introduced Bolton to the crowd, talking about his achievements in his singing career.

“We are thrilled to be hosting international superstar, Michael Bolton,” Rice said.

Bolton, greeted by roaring applause, spoke of his struggles to success in the beginning of his career. Though he had been in the music industry since he was 16, Bolton did not achieve huge success until age 34. The struggles then, as well as the struggles once he became a larger star, are all chronicled in his memoir.

“A lot of people asked why did I keep going, why didn’t I quit, and well, I’m stubborn,” Bolton said.

Raleigh, N.C., junior Monte Hampton knew of Bolton through “The Lonely Island.” Bolton’s digital short collaboration with the group, “Captain Jack Sparrow,” is close to hitting 100,000,000 hits on YouTube.

“I really want a photo with him,” Hampton said.

Bolton addressed this video during the Question and Answer session, singing a few bars from the chorus as well.

“When I met with ‘The Lonely Island’ group, I mentioned that my daughters were really excited about us meeting, and Andy (Samberg) responded that his mother was really excited about us meeting as well,” Bolton said. “It became this viral, enormous thing. I even had Justin Bieber tweeting ‘Bolton is a Beast’ and linking the video.”

According to him, the video helped introduce him to younger generations who weren’t familiar with his earlier work. Questions continued, keeping Bolton and the audience entertained and laughing.

One question in particular caused the most audience uproar. A nameless fan asked if Bolton would be coming near the area on tour anytime soon.

“I think this kind of event, and all of you being here, will show promoters that it would be a good idea to have a concert here,” he said.

Audience members were then lined up based on a number given at the door. Bolton signed copies of his book, but did not have time to stop and pose for photos because of crowd size and time constraints.