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Josh Groban

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Josh Groban

Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, pianist, percussionist, actor, comedian, and producer who has sold close to 20 million albums in the United States. He is known for his unique vocal quality and pop style with classical and world music influences. Each of his four solo albums has been certified at least multi-platinum, and, in 2007, was charted as the number one best selling artist in the United States.[1]

He was born on February 27, 1981, in Los Angeles, California, the elder of two sons that share the same birth date. He was originally studying acting but as his voice changed, it developed into a significant instrument. The event that changed probably Groban's life was when his vocal coach, Seth Riggs, submitted a tape of Josh singing, "All I Ask of You", from Phantom of the Opera, to Riggs friend, renowned producer, composer and arranger David Foster.[2])[3] Foster called him to stand in for an ailing Andrea Bocelli to rehearse a duet, "The Prayer," with Celine Dion at the rehearsal for the Grammy Awards in 1998.[4] Innately shy, Groban very reluctantly acquiesced. Rosie O'Donnell was so impressed that she immediately invited him to appear on her daytime talk show.[5] He got another big break when Foster asked him to sing at the California Governor's Gray Davis' 1999 inauguration.[2][6] His name and career soared with the public recognition he received, after being cast on Ally McBeal by the show's creator David E. Kelley, who asked him to perform "You're Still You" for the show's 2001 season finale.[7]

Early life and education

Groban was born in Los Angeles to Lindy, a school teacher and full time mother,[8] and Jack Groban, his businessman father.[9] His father is Russian Jewish, a descendant of Polish and Russian immigrants.[10] His Norwegian American mother's grandparents were from the eastern Norwegian district of Toten.[11][12][13] His parents joined the Episcopalian Church after his father's conversion from Judaism.[5] Chris, his younger brother, shares the same birth date, four years later.[14]

Groban debuted as a singer in seventh grade. His music teacher chose the curly-headed, skinny kid, for a solo of "S'wonderful" at the school's Cabaret Night, and Josh sang alone on stage for the very first time. When mother, Lindy, heard his voice from outside the auditorium, she didn't even recognize the voice, . . and when she realized it was her son singing, it brought her to tears...[8] But, at that time, he was more focused on theatrical arts.[5] He said he transferred from a traditional school to Bridges Academy, because, he said, "I didn't feel that I was getting enough creative input. So I went to Bridges Academy to get my grades up to straight A's." There he was permitted to take regular classes from 9 AM to 1 PM, and attend theater classes in the afternoon.[citation needed] In the summers of 1997 and 1998, he also attended the Interlochen Center for the Arts Camp in Michigan,[10] majoring in music theatre, and began taking vocal lessons. Groban went on to attend the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts as a theatre major, and graduated in 1999.[10] He was admitted to the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University, intending to study drama, but he left after four months into his first semester. Offered a recording contract, he decided to pursue his promising singing career.[10]

Career

Early career

In late 1998, the 17-year-old Groban was introduced by his vocal coach to Grammy-winning producer/arranger David Foster. Groban worked for David Foster as a rehearsal singer on a series of high-profile events, including the 1999 Grammy Awards where — as a stand-in for Andrea Bocelli — he rehearsed Foster's "The Prayer" with Céline Dion, and the January 1999 inauguration of Gray Davis as Governor of California.

Groban was offered a recording contract at Warner Bros. Records through Foster's 143 Records imprint. Foster said: "I love his natural ability in the pop and rock arena, but I love his sense of classics even more. He's a true musical force to be reckoned with."[15] Under Foster's influence, Groban's first album focused more on classics such as "Gira Con Me Questa Notte" and "Alla Luce Del Sole."

Groban performed "There For Me" with Sarah Brightman on her 2000–01 La Luna World Tour, and was featured on her "La Luna" concert DVD. He recorded "For Always" with Lara Fabian on the movie soundtrack to A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001). Groban performed in many benefit shows, including: "The Andre Agassi Grand Slam Event For Children," singing alongside Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Don Henley, and Robin Williams; "Muhammad Ali's Fight Night Foundation" which honored Michael J. Fox and others; "The Family Celebration" (2001), which was co-hosted by President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and David E. Kelley and his wife, Michelle Pfeiffer; and Michael Milken's CapCure event, which raises funds for cancer research.

David E. Kelley, creator of the television series Ally McBeal, created a character, Malcolm Wyatt, for Groban in the season finale aired in May 2001. The character of Malcolm Wyatt was so popular, with 8,000 emails from fans,[15] that Groban was asked to return the next season to reprise his role and perform "To Where You Are."

The singer's self-titled debut album Josh Groban was released on November 20, 2001. Over the next year, it went from gold to double-platinum.[16]

On February 24, 2002, Groban performed "The Prayer" with Charlotte Church at the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and by November, he had his own PBS special, "Josh Groban In Concert" (2002). In December 2002, he performed "To Where You Are" and sang "The Prayer" in a duet with Sissel Kyrkjebø at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway. He joined The Corrs, Ronan Keating, Sting, Lionel Richie, and others for a Christmas performance at the Vatican in Rome, Italy. In 2003, Groban performed at the David Foster concert for World Children's Day, singing "The Prayer" with Celine Dion and the finale song, "Aren't They All Our Children?" with artists including Yolanda Adams, Nick Carter, Enrique Iglesias, and Celine Dion.

Recent years

Groban in concert at the Verizon Wireless Arena in Manchester, NH

Groban's second album Closer, produced and written by Foster, was released on November 11, 2003. Groban said that he believed that this second album was a better reflection of him, and that his audience would be able to get a better idea of his personality from listening to it. "What most people know about me, they know through my music. This time, I've tried to open that door as wide as possible. These songs are a giant step closer to who I really am and what my music is all about. Hence the title."[15]

Two months after Closer was released, it rose on the Billboard charts from number 11 to number one.[3] His cover of Brian Kennedy's "You Raise Me Up" became very popular on the adult contemporary charts. Groban also performed the song "Remember" (with Tanja Tzarovska) on the Troy soundtrack, "Believe" on the soundtrack to the 2004 animated film The Polar Express, and a cover of Linkin Park's "My December".

In the summer of 2004, Groban returned to Interlochen, performing and discussing his earlier experiences with local residents and campers. On November 30, 2004, his second live DVD, Live At The Greek, was released; it was also shown as a Great Performances special on PBS. Also in 2004 , Groban performed "Remember When It Rained," backed by a full orchestra, at the American Music Awards, where he was nominated for Favorite Male Artist in the pop category. Groban and his recordings were nominated for more than a dozen awards in 2004, including the American Music Award, a World Music Award, an Academy Award, and a Grammy.

Groban has appeared on the The Oprah Winfrey Show six times,[7] as well as on The Ellen Degeneres Show, Larry King Live, The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Jay Leno Show [17] 20/20, The Today Show, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Super Bowl XXXVIII, the Walt Disney World Christmas Day Parade, and the Rockefeller Tree Lighting.

During the first week of September 2006, Groban's single entitled "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" was released exclusively on AOL's First Listen. His third studio album Awake was officially released on November 7, 2006. Groban performed "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" as well as two other tracks from Awake at his recording session for Live from Abbey Road at Abbey Road Studios on 26 October 2006. On that album, Groban also collaborated with British musician and songwriter Imogen Heap, on the single "Now or Never". He performed two tracks with the South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, "Lullaby" and "Weeping." Groban's "Awake" world tour visited 71 cities between February and August 2007, and travelled further to Australia and the Philippines with Lani Misalucha as his special guest in October 2007. He performed a duet with Barbra Streisand ("All I Know of Love") and with Mireille Mathieu ("Over the Rainbow"). As to his future, Groban is open to a plethora of possibilities. He said, "I am fortunate enough to have had many really big moments in my career. I think the mistake a lot of people in my position make is to always search for the next big thing. I am looking forward to playing some small theaters. I'm looking forward to writing more. I want to delve further into my acting career and explore some of the film and TV opportunities that I haven't had time for. My outlook is to expect the unexpected. And when the next step comes, I'm prepared to take it."[7] Groban has also expressed an interest in performing on Broadway. [citation needed]

Notable Performances

On April 14, 2007, Groban joined Idina Menzel for a PBS Soundstage taping. The next day, he held his own taping for the same PBS TV series at Lincoln Center's Rose Hall at Jazz in New York City.

In June 2007, Groban recorded a Christmas album in London with the London Symphony Orchestra and the Magdalen College Choir, which he discussed on the DVD from "The Making of Noël". It was released on October 9, 2007 and is titled Noël.[18] The album has been highly successful in the US breaking numerous records for a Christmas album, as well as becoming the best selling album of 2007 in only its tenth week of release, at sales of 3.6 million.[19]

On July 1, 2007, Groban performed with Sarah Brightman for the Concert for Diana at Wembley Stadium; it was broadcast to over 500 million homes in 140 countries.

On August 23, 2007, Groban performed "You Raise Me Up" on Episode 14 of the talent show Last Choir Standing.

Groban was nominated for the 2008 Juno Award for International Album of the Year for Noël. In collaboration with French chanson legend Charles Aznavour, the two of them recorded Aznavour's signature song La Bohème as a duet in English and French. It is due to be released on Aznavour's next album, titled Duets.

On February 10, 2008, Groban performed at the 2008 Grammy Awards with Andrea Bocelli in a tribute to Luciano Pavarotti.

On May 12 and 13, 2008, Groban performed as Anatoly Sergievsky in "Chess in Concert" at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

On July 15, 2008, Groban performed "God Bless America" during the 7th inning stretch at the 79th All-Star Game in New York City at Yankee Stadium.

On August 29, 2008, Groban appeared on the final episode of The Charlotte Church Show for a brief interview. The show ended as Groban performed "The Prayer" with host Charlotte Church.

On September 21, 2008, Groban performed a comical medley of well-known TV theme songs at the 60th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

In December 2008, Groban appeared on Never Mind the Buzzcocks. He performed a duet with Only Men Aloud! at the Royal Variety Show at the London Palladium for the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.[20]

On January 18, 2009, Groban performed as part of the Presidential Inauguration ceremonies, performing "My Country 'Tis of Thee" in duet with Heather Headley.[21]

On January 20, 2009, Groban performed at the Warner Theatre- Heroes Red, White & Blue Inaugural Ball, Washington, DC[22]

On March 28, 2009, Groban performed a duet of "Bridge over Troubled Water" with Jordin Sparks for the charity event Celebrity Fight Night.

In March 2009, Groban covered the hits of the late Casey Tatum and his brother on Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!. On September 14, 2009, Groban appeared on the Oprah Winfrey Show and surprised an audience member. Two days later he made a cameo appearance on Glee.

Groban was also featured in Nelly Furtado's song "Silencio", which was released on September 1, 2009. This song is from Nelly's first full length Spanish album Mi Plan.

At the 2010 BCS National Championship Game, he performed the Star Spangled Banner on Jan. 7, 2010 with Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, at the historic Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California.

Classifying Groban's voice

Various music critics have described Groban's voice in different ways, with some referring to him as a tenor[23][24] and others as a baritone.[25][26] In performance, Groban's music goes as low as B♭2 (as in the song "To Where You Are") and extends up to at least B♭4[27] (as heard in "You Raise Me Up").[28] This places his voice lower than the tenor range on the low end, and just short of Tenor C, and therefore above the baritone range, on the high end.[29][30] There is currently no authoritative system of voice classification in non-classical music. The problem lies in the fact that classical terms are used to describe not merely various vocal ranges, but specific vocal timbres each unique to those respective ranges, and produced by the classical training techniques with which most popular singers are not intimately familiar and which even those that are do not universally employ. In a 2002 New York Times article, Groban described himself as a "tenor in training".[31]

Charity

Josh Groban in concert at Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall

Under the guidance of his mentor David Foster, Groban performed for many charity events that included VH1 Save the Music (2005), Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope (2005), Fifth Adopt-A-Annual Minefield concert (2005), 2nd Annual Grammy Jam (2005), Live 8 (2005), The Heart Foundation Gala (2005), and David Foster and Friends Charity Gala (2006). He also sang a solo on the recording of We Are The World 25 for Haiti (2010). Inspired by a visit with Nelson Mandela during a 2004 trip to South Africa, he established the Josh Groban Foundation to help children in need through education, healthcare and the arts. Mandela appointed Groban as an Official Ambassador for Mandela's Project 46664, a campaign to help raise Global awareness of HIV/AIDS in Africa. On April 25, 2007, Josh Groban performed with the African Children's Choir on American Idol's "Idol Gives Back" episode. Also on September 2, 2007, Groban donated $150,000 to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to fund music education.[32] On February 28, 2008, he appeared in One Night Live at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada with Bryan Adams, Sarah McLachlan, Jann Arden and RyanDan in aid of the Sunnybrook Hospital Women and Babies Program. In honor of his 27th birthday, his fans set out to raise $27,000 in a project called "Raise 27". They ended up raising a total of $44,227 for the Josh Groban Foundation, to benefit the Noah's Ark children's orphanage called Siyawela in South Africa. Groban has since referred to this donation as "the best birthday present ever".[33]

Influences and personal details

Some of Groban's musical influences have been Radiohead, Steve Perry, Paul Simon, Sting, Peter Gabriel, Freddie Mercury[34] and Björk. He cites as vocal influences "anyone who told a story with their songs," including Mandy Patinkin, Klaus Nomi, George Hearn, and Luciano Pavarotti.[35]

He was named the #1 Best Selling Artist All Time on Barnes & Noble in 2007

Groban dated January Jones from 2003–06.[36] He continues to reside in his hometown of Los Angeles, California.

In 2002, Groban was listed as "100 Sexiest Newcomer" and in 2008, he became one of People's "100 Most Beautiful People".

Discography

Albums

Year Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
US US Class US
Heat 		CAN AUS FRA IRL NLD POL SWE
2001 Josh Groban 8 — 1 6 28 50 — 8 — 7
2003 Closer
  • Released: November 11, 2003
  • Label: Warner Bros. Records
  • Format: CD, digital download
 1 1 — 2 25 47 — 38 — 21
  • US: 5× Platinum
  • CAN: 4× Platinum
2006 Awake 2 1 — 1 5 5 — 25 — 7
  • US: 2× Platinum
  • CAN: 2× Platinum
2007 Noël
  • Released: October 9, 2007
  • Label: Reprise Records
  • Format: CD, digital download
 1 1 — 1 33 24 26 26 1 4
  • US: 5× Platinum
  • CAN: 3× Platinum
  • POL: Gold
  • SWE: Gold
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

Compilations

Year Album details Peak
AUS NLD SWE
2008 A Collection (not released in the USA)
  • Released: December 1, 2008
  • Label: Warner Bros. Records
  • Format: CD, digital download
 23 11 10

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Album
US US
AC 		US
Christ 		US
Digital 		CAN FRA UK
2001 "You're Still You" — 10 — — — 55 — Josh Groban
"To Where You Are" 116 1 — — — 24[38] 94
2003 "You Raise Me Up" 73 1 26 57 — — — Closer
"Remember When It Rained" — 15 — — — — —
2006 "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" — 9 — — — — — Awake
"February Song" — 13 — — — — —
"Awake" — 13 — — — — —
2007 "I'll Be Home for Christmas" — 1 — — — — — Noël
2008 "Little Drummer Boy" — 18 — — — — —
"Silent Night" — 19 — — — — —
"The First Noël" — 20 — — 20 — —
"Angels We Have Heard on High" — 29 — — — — —
"Ave Maria" — — — — 54 56 —
"—" denotes a title that did not chart, or was not released in that territory.

CD/DVDs

  • Josh Groban In Concert - 2002
  • Live at the Greek - 2004
  • Up Close with Josh Groban (Mother's Day release) - 2008
  • Awake Live - 2008
  • Soundstage Presents: Josh Groban - An Evening in New York City - 2009

DVD releases with other artists

Songs featured on CD releases by or with other artists

Notable performances

Soundtracks

Acting

  • Ally McBeal Season 4 Box Set 2 (DVD) - 2002 - In episode "The Wedding" Josh plays Malcolm Wyatt and performs "You're Still You"
  • Ally McBeal Season 5 Box Set 1 (DVD) - 2003 - In episode "Nine One One" Josh plays Malcolm Wyatt and performs "To Where You Are"
  • Glee - 2009-2010 - Himself in "Acafellas" and the season one finale, "Journey".
  • Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job! Performed the original works of Tim Heidecker and Eric Werheim as part of the Uncle Muscles sketch.

Frequent collaborators

Certain performers have appeared with frequency as part of Groban's band. These include:

References

  1. ^ http://www.thatjoshgrobanguy.com/
  2. ^ a b Gurewitsch, Matthew (July 28, 2002). "MUSIC; The New Boy Wonder of the Voice". The New York Times.
  3. ^ a b Ruhlmann, William "Josh Groban > Biography". allmusic. Rovi Corporation.
  4. ^ "Josh Groban: Biography from Answers.com". answers.com. Answers Corporation.
  5. ^ a b c "Bio". April 12, 2008. joshgrobanlive.com. AJT Enterprises.
  6. ^ http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/josh-groban/bio/196649
  7. ^ a b c "Josh Groban Biography". Josh Groban.
  8. ^ a b http://www.thatjoshgrobanguy.com/bio.php
  9. ^ Thrills, Adrian (January 5, 2007). "The popera boy struts his stuff". Daily Mail. London.
  10. ^ a b c d http://www.biggeststars.com/j/josh-groban-biography.html
  11. ^ Groban Archives: Dave 'Til Dawn
  12. ^ "Josh Groban to sing at Sundance festival". USA Today. January 21, 2008. Retrieved May 7, 2010.
  13. ^ Josh Groban article
  14. ^ Groban Archives: Dave 'Til Dawn
  15. ^ a b c Official Josh Groban site
  16. ^ New Sets By Industry Vets Post Strong Sales[dead link] RIAA newsletter December 4, 2002
  17. ^ http://www.tv.com/the-tonight-show-with-jay-leno/simon-cowell-rob-schneider-josh-groban/episode/1203109/summary.html
  18. ^ Josh Groban- Noël
  19. ^ Geoff Mayfield, "Groban's 'Noel' Makes Chart History", Billboard.biz, December 18, 2007.
  20. ^ "Royal Variety Performance 2008: all-star line-up unveiled for 80th anniversary show on BBC One". BBC Press Office. BBC. 2008-11-17. Retrieved 06-01-2009. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  21. ^ Daunt, Tina (2009-01-17). Inauguration revelers have plenty of events to choose from., Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 2009-01-17.
  22. ^ http://www.joshgroban.com/show/2009-01-20
  23. ^ "Josh Groban Fan Site". joshgrobanlive.com. AJT Enterprises. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  24. ^ "Groban leads U.S. pop charts in slow sales week". December 5, 2007. reuters.com. Thomson Reuters. Retrieved June 9, 2008.
  25. ^ Davis, Rene' That Josh Groban Guy. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  26. ^ CBS Interactive Inc., Josh Groban's "Full-Circle Moment", CBS early show. Retrieved June 9, 2008.
  27. ^ "FAQs and Facts". joshgrobanlive.com. AJT Enterprises. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
  28. ^ musicnotes.com sheet music. Retrieved June 5, 2008.
  29. ^ Suverkrop, Bard IPA Source, www.ipasource.com. Retrieved June 2, 2008.
  30. ^ McKinney, James (1994). The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults. Genovex Music Group. ISBN 978-1565939400.
  31. ^ Gurewitsch, Matthew "MUSIC; The New Boy Wonder of the Voice", The New York Times, July 9, 2008.
  32. ^ Singer Josh Groban donates $150,000 to CMS
  33. ^ Josh Groban Says Thank You to Fans
  34. ^ Fox News: Josh Groban Raw and Uncut Fox News.com Video interview[dead link]
  35. ^ On the Brink of Stardom: Josh Groban live Internet chat on ABCNEWS.com
  36. ^ "Josh Groban, January Jones Take a Breather". People. 2006-06-26. Retrieved 2008-01-29.
  37. ^ "Gold & Platinum Certification – March 2003". Canadian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 2010-08-20.
  38. ^ To Where You Are by Josh Groban - Song Analysis | ITunes Music Chart Archive
  39. ^ Amore Infinito details
  40. ^ YouTube - Broadcast Yourself

External links

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