Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow Groban is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, with over 22.3 million records., he had sold over 25 million records worldwide.
Groban originally studied acting, but switched to singing as his voice developed. He attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, a free public school on the campus of California State University, Los Angeles, where students receive a conservatory-style education. David Foster called him to stand in for Andrea Bocelli to rehearse a duet, "The Prayer", with Celine Dion at the rehearsal for the 1999 Grammy Awards. Rosie O'Donnell immediately invited him to appear on her talk show. Foster asked him to sing at California Governor Gray Davis' 1999 inauguration. He was cast on Ally McBeal by the show's creator, David E. Kelley, performing "You're Still You", later released on his debut album, for the 2001 season four finale.
After his appearance in two professional productions of Chess, Groban made his Broadway debut in 2016 as Pierre Bezukhov in the musical Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, to critical acclaim and a Tony Award nomination. In 2018, he received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his performance at the 72nd Tony Awards, and starred in the limited series The Good Cop. He also appeared in television series and films, such as Crazy, Stupid, Love and Muppets Most Wanted.
In 2022, Groban portrayed the Beast in the television special Beauty and the Beast: A 30th Celebration. He returned to Broadway in 2023 playing the title character in a revival of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, for which he earned his second Tony Award nomination.
Early life and education
Groban was born in Los Angeles to Jack Groban, a businessman, and Melinda "Lindy" Groban, a school teacher. His father is a descendant of Jewish immigrants from Poland and Ukraine, but converted to Christianity from Judaism upon marrying Melinda. His mother's ancestry is English, German, Norwegian, and one quarter Ashkenazi Jewish. His parents are Episcopalians.Josh Groban first sang in public when he was in the seventh grade. His music teacher chose him to sing a solo of "'S Wonderful" at the school's cabaret night, where he sang alone on stage for the first time. At this time, he was more focused on acting, playing Tevye in his high school's production of Fiddler on the Roof. In the summers of 1997 and 1998, he went to the Interlochen Center for the Arts Camp in Michigan, majoring in musical theater, and began taking vocal lessons. He attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts as a theater major and graduated in 1999. He was admitted to and briefly attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, intent on studying musical theater. Four months into his first semester, Groban was offered a recording contract and left college to pursue a singing career.
Career
1997–2001: Debut
In late 1997, the 16-year-old Groban was introduced by his vocal coach, Seth Riggs, to producer and arranger David Foster and future manager Brian Avnet. At the time, Groban had no recording experience and was preparing for his studies at Carnegie Mellon. Groban worked for David Foster as a rehearsal singer on a series of high-profile events, including the January 1999 California gubernatorial inauguration of Gray Davis and the 1999 Grammy Awards where—as a stand-in for Andrea Bocelli—he rehearsed Foster's "The Prayer" with Céline Dion. According to Avnet, Groban was very nervous about standing in for Bocelli and had to be talked into it; his performance prompted the show hostess, Rosie O'Donnell, to ask him to appear on her show the following week, which in turn led to an appearance on Ally McBeal. Creator David E. Kelley wrote the character Malcolm Wyatt for Groban in the season finale, aired in May 2001. His performance, including the song "You're Still You", was so popular that the show received upwards of 8,000 emails from viewers. The song was included on his eponymous debut album, released in November 2001. Groban was asked to return the next season to reprise his role as Wyatt, performing "To Where You Are", airing just two weeks after his debut album was released. Avnet claims this sequence of events effectively got Groban's career off the ground.Groban was offered a recording contract at Warner Bros. Records through Foster's 143 Records imprint. Avnet told HitQuarters that Warner Bros. initially proved resistant to the deal because "They were afraid they wouldn't be able to get a voice like that on radio." Explaining his reasons for signing the artist, 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." 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 for the movie soundtrack of A.I. Artificial Intelligence. He performed in many benefit shows, including "The Andre Agassi Grand Slam Event For Children," 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", which was co-hosted by President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton, and David E. Kelley and Michelle Pfeiffer; and Michael Milken's CapCure event, which raised funds for cancer research.
His self-titled debut album Josh Groban was released on November 20, 2001. Over the next year it went from gold status to double-platinum.
2002–2005: ''Closer''
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 titled "Josh Groban In Concert". 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 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.Groban's second album Closer, produced and written by Foster, was released on November 11, 2003. Groban said he believed that this album was a better reflection of him, and his audience would be able to get a better idea of his personality from listening to it.
Two months after Closer was released, it rose on the Billboard charts from number 11 to number one. Groban's cover of "You Raise Me Up" became his third most popular song on the adult contemporary charts as of March 2004. Later that year, he also performed the song "Remember" 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. In the same year, 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; he was also nominated for a People's Choice Award. His recording of "Believe" secured an Academy Award nomination in 2005 for the songwriters Glen Ballard and Alan Silvestri, earning a Grammy in the category Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media at the Grammy Awards in February 2006.
2005–2010: ''Awake''
Groban earned his first Grammy nomination in 2005 for his single "You Raise Me Up" in the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance category. During the first week of September 2006, Groban's single entitled "You Are Loved " 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 " as well as two other tracks from Awake at his recording session for Live from Abbey Road at Abbey Road Studios on October 26, 2006. On that album, Groban also collaborated on the single "Now or Never" with British musician and songwriter Imogen Heap. 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 toured Australia and the Philippines with Lani Misalucha as his special guest in October 2007. He performed a duet with Barbra Streisand and with Mireille Mathieu. As to his future, Groban was 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... when the next step comes, I'm prepared to take it."2010–2015: ''Illuminations''; ''All That Echoes''
Groban finished his fifth studio album, entitled Illuminations, and the album was released on November 15, 2010. Most of the songs on the album are about "specific situations that I've had where love has existed and ultimately failed," Groban told The New York Times, adding: "And other songs are about the quest, and it just not working out." Groban wrote 11 of the 13 songs on the album. The first single from the album, "Hidden Away", was made available for free download via Facebook on September 8. "For me to sit in a room with a piano in one take with some of Johnny Cash's musicians—that was totally new for me." Josh added. "and I think that excitement is on the record." On October 12, a second single from the upcoming album, "Você Existe Em Mim", was made available on iTunes. The song is sung in Portuguese and was written by Brazilian artist Carlinhos Brown. The Washington Post said: "Illuminations" is not a revelation, but it offers a perfectly fine, and often quite lovely, glimpse at a pop-classical crossover artist in the middle of crossing over". Groban plans on making one more record with Rick Rubin. Beginning May 12, 2011, and continuing through December of that year, Groban undertook the 81-city Straight to You Tour to promote Illuminations, encompassing appearances in North America, Europe, and South Africa.Groban's sixth studio album, All That Echoes, was released on February 5, 2013, debuting at number one by selling 141,000 copies. He promoted the album with the All That Echoes World Tour in 2013. A year later, he embarked on his Summer Symphony Tour.