Josh Groban - The Singer

Josh Groban is the singer who sang "You Raise Me Up". His big career break came in 1998 when he sang "The Prayer" with Celine Dion at the Grammy rehearsals. After a string of television appearances and a recording contract, in 2001, he released his self titled debut album consisting of songs in English and Italian. He also appeared in a small role on the tv series Ally Mcbeal starring Calista Flockhart that same year. He released "Josh Groban in concert" in 2002 and his 2003 appearance on the PBS program "Great Performances" was a great hit, especially among fervent fans known as Grobanities. In Nov 2003, he released his second album "Closer" which skyrocketed from number 11 to the top spot on the billboard charts. He has also recorded "The prayer" with singer Charlotte Church. In 2006, he released his third studio album "Awake", featuring guest appearances by the vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo and jazz pianist Herbie Hancock.

EARLY LIFE

Josh Groban was born in Los Angeles, California, to a Jewish American father and a Norwegian American mother. Groban debuted as a singer in seventh grade, but soon put it on hold for a few years saying that he wanted to get his grades up. While at Bridges Academy, Groban took normal classes from 9:00 am until 1:00 PM, and then afterwards attended theatre classes.

In 1997 and 1998, Groban attended the Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan, majoring in musical theater, which is also when he began taking voice lessons outside of school. In late 1998, the 17-year-old Groban was introduced by his vocal coach to Grammy-winning producer/arranger David Foster. Groban worked for 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 attended the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts as a theater major and graduated in 1999 and then attended Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, studying drama.

CHARITY

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). 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 25th, 2007, Josh Groban performed with the African Children's Choir on American Idol, Idol Gives Back episode.

INFLUENCES AND PERSONAL DETAILS

Some of Groban's musical influences have been Radiohead, Paul Simon, Sting, Peter Gabriel, and Björk. He says he is able to look up to anyone, musically, who has pushed the boundaries and stepped outside of the box. Groban has never been married and does not have any children. He currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

CONTROVERSIES

Groban has not been the subject of much tabloid fodder, but an image of the perfect, angelic classical artist painted by a sect of fans known as Grobanites recently took a hit when Groban was interviewed and photographed by Blender Magazine. Groban candidly admitted to having tried pot once, using the 'F' word, and a taste for casual sex in the form of "booty" calls. In another recent article in the Los Angeles Daily News, Groban made no apologies for the shocked reactions from Grobanites: "My press has not emphasized a lot of personality stuff," he was quoted as saying. "It's been a lot more about the seriousness of the music, or whether or not people like the music."

He also makes no apologies for trying new sounds in his music saying that there will be a specific time and place if and when he decided to tackle something different. But in the meantime, he has just been experimenting and trying things that work for his voice.