Editor’s Comment: The truly reflective and inspirational music of Josh Groban touches the hearts of old and young alike. I remember his Christmas performance not long ago that really struck a chord with me and bolstered my Christmas spirit.
Author: Heidi Grumm
Josh Groban is a 25-year-old baritone who has tremendous contributions in revolutionizing the music world. He was born in Los Angeles, California. With a classical voice combined with the young energy and appeal of a rock star, Josh Groban offers a refreshing alternative to the standard Top 40 fare. Crossing the boundaries that define radio’s musical genres–pop, classical, rock–his music combines elements of romantic classical pieces with the beats and the synthesized sounds of world music. In addition to English, Josh sings in Italian, French, and Spanish, but doesn’t speak those languages fluently.
Josh is also a talented instrumentalist and composer besides being a great vocalist. He plays both piano and drums, and he co wrote three of the songs on Closer, his second album which ultimately encouraged him to write his own songs for his future albums.
Pop and classical (http://events.ixs.net/Classical.aspx ) singer Josh Groban made his debut in the seventh grade, but then put music aside for a few years until he enrolled at the Interlochen Arts Program. In late 1998, he hooked up with a friend of his vocal coach, producer/writer/arranger David Foster. Groban worked for Foster as a rehearsal singer on a series of high-profile events, including the inauguration of Grey Davis as governor of California and the Grammy Awards (at which he rehearsed Foster’s “The Prayer” with Celine Dion in place of Andrea Bocelli).
He successfully got admission into the theater department of Carnegie Mellon College. However, He was lucky enough to get a recording contract at Warner Bros which temporarily halted his education.He made his recording debut singing “For Always” with Lara Fabian on the soundtrack to A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, and appeared in the 2001 season finale of the television series Ally McBeal.
His first wonderful achievement was his debut album, Josh Groban, that was released in November 2001 and Luckily, it proved to be big hit. Within a Year, Groban was a rising star. His album went double platinum, and he had his own PBS special in November 2002. A month later, he performed “To Where You Are” and “The Prayer” at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, and joined the Corrs, Ronan Keating, Sting, Lionel Richie, and others for a holiday performance at the Vatican in Rome. His second album was released in November 2003. Two months later, he earned his first number one record when Closer skyrocketed from number 11 to the top spot on the Billboard album charts. In 2006, Groban released his third studio album, Awake, featuring guest appearances by the vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
He was a very successful and a very popular musician. He’s sold over 14 million albums worldwide, had a #1 album and four #1 singles, and been nominated for a Grammy, American Music Award, World Music Award, and People’s Choice Award.
Groban’s ‘hands on’ approach in the creative process of “Awake” is reflected in several Groban penned and produced songs along with musical contributions from Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Dave Matthews, Glen Ballard, Eric Mouquet, John Ondrasik (Five for Fighting) Marius DeVries, David Foster, Imogen Heap and Herbie Hancock.
“Awake’s” 13 new songs including the just released first single, “You Are Loved (Don’t Give Up)” show the Grammy nominated Groban’s tremendous growth as a vocalist, producer and songwriter since he first appeared on the musical landscape.
With a lineup of stellar producers including Marius DeVries, Guy Sigsworth, Glen Ballard and David Foster, the album contains songs in Italian, Spanish and of course English. An early stand-out, “February Song” with Josh on keyboards came to the 25-year-old Los Angeles native on a sleepless night. ”
Additionally, Groban recorded a suite of two stunningly haunting songs where he harmonizes with longtime idols Ladysmith Black Mambazo. The first song, the Groban/Dave Mattthews penned “Lullaby” is sung a cappella and the follow up, the South African song, “Weeping” which Josh first heard on a trip to South Africa. “The musical tapestry of the country and their heated history, the honor of meeting Nelson Mandela and visiting schools in Soweto was totally inspiring. And, it was a dream of a lifetime for me to sing with Ladysmith in the studio. I’ve loved them from the moment I heard Paul Simon’s Graceland.”
Josh Groban dominated the international music scene in 2001 with the release of his self-titled debut album featuring the hit single, “To Where You Are.” His follow up CD “Closer” with the smash hit “You Raise Me Up” brought enormous success to the young singing sensation. He has made scores of television appearances beginning with Ally McBeal and continuing with countless performances on Oprah Winfrey, Good Morning America, The Today Show, two PBS specials, the Superbowl, the Oscars and the closing ceremonies of the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics with an audience of over 2 billion people.
His first PBS Special went on to become the No. 1 selling DVD of 2002. On the touring front, Groban started out his now legendary 40-city concert tour (which sold out in a record breaking 20 minutes) and then went straight forward to a two year arena tour across the US.A Josh Groban tour for 2007 is expected to be announced shortly.
Josh has admitted to being a romantic person, using music to express the emotions that he normally wouldn’t feel comfortable saying otherwise.
Josh is a performer with a meticulous eye to detail. He spends hours learning the meaning of every song he records, perfecting the pronunciation of his foreign language songs, and working with the producer to ensure that the finished product is impeccable. He takes a very “hands-on” approach to all aspects of his music and his tour production.
A typical, perfecting the pronunciation of his foreign language songs, and working with the producer to ensure that the finished product is impeccable. He takes a very “hands-on” approach to all aspects of his music and his tour production.
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About the Author
Heidi Grumm hosts http://events.ixs.net and expresses her passion for events through writing and discussion. She works for Less Corporation at http://www.hrlady.com Copyright Heidi Grumm