Awaken Your Senses FACES (Malaysia)
December 1, 2006
Everything about Josh Groban is real. Or should we say, surreal. Most of you would remember him as the young baritone-voiced singing sensation who took the world by storm back in 2001. His singles To Where You Are and You Raise Me Up became huge hits overnight and many wondered who the voice behind the tunes was.
Today, Groban has just released his latest album, Awake, that opened at No. 2 on the U.S. pop charts. FACES takes you into his life, his love for classical music.... and everything in between!
A Childhood Of Music And Love
While many singing stars his age would be making headlines with their involvement in the world of glitz and glamour, Groban had always stayed out of the limelight. Perhaps his mature ways has much to do with his upbringing. Joshua Winslow Groban was born on February 27, 1981 in Los Angeles, California, to a Jewish father of Russian and Polish origins, and a Norwegian-American mother. When his parents married, Groban's father switched to Christianity and Groban was raised in an Episcopalian community.
Music was evident in his blood from young. When he was just nine years old, Groban formed his own comedy troupe and entertained his family, friends and neighbours who needed a laugh! His first attempt with music was learning to play drums. From there, he moved on to other instruments such as the keyboard and trumpet! In seventh grade, Groban made his debut performance, but put his talents on hold until a few years later. "I enjoyed the arts, no doubt, but my grades were slipping. I feel I wasn't getting enough creative input, so I went to Bridges Academy to get my grades to straight As," he said.
Growing Up To Music
Groban and his brother Chris were very lucky to have parents who supported their early choices. Both were interested in music and theatre, so his parents thought it was best for Groban to attend the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts to let him be more focused. Majoring in theatre, Groban graduated in 1999. In summer of 1997 and '98, he attended the Interlochen Arts Camp in Interlochen, Michigan, a period that he not only enjoyed due to the many friends that he made, but because he discovered that he loved the thrill of being on stage. "I was very much into musical theatre," he said. "I had a pretty good baritone voice, so I began acting and singing in school productions."
As Groban ventured deeper into the world of music and theatre, his brother moved into video games and film-making. As long as both of them were happy, their parents supported them every step of the way! Lucky stars must be spinning around Groban when his vocal coach introduced him to Grammy-winning producer/arranger David Foster in late 1998. Foster was stunned by the quality of Groban's voice that he invited him to sing at an important ceremony. What Groban didn't know was that he'd be singing to a live audience of over 20,000.... yet he did it with flying colours!
Swimming In Musical Notes
Soon, Groban got involved in a string of high-profile events including the 1999 Grammy Awards, where he was picked as the stand-in for Andrea Bocelli to rehearse Foster's The Prayer with Celine Dion, when Bocelli couldn't make it in time for the rehearsals. With big names all around him, Groban was intimidated and stood on stage shaking, but his singing partner did her best to calm him down. When they finished the song, Rosie O. Donell who was in the crowd, invited Groban to be a guest on her show, with the belief that his talent would take him places. Not long after, Groban was invited to guest star in Ally McBeal. He said, "[The producer] wanted to put one of my songs on the show, so I thought, great! Then I got a script, and I thought, wow! And then, I realised there were a lot of lines! But I thought, I've done some acting in high school, so it's fun to try that out and work with the talented cast and crew!"
Armed with the new-found confidence, Groban believed that he was serious about music and entered Carnegie Mellon University, majoring in music. But he only spent a year there before Warner Bros snapped him up! With thorough guidance from Foster, Groban's first album stayed true to his roots and portrayed him as a classical singer. "Leaving college to make this album was a big sacrifice for me. As much as I stand by the decision I made, I'd love to go back and take more classes," he shared. As he began reaching out to the masses, many were wondering as to who this new boy wonder was!
Lights... Camera... Microphone!
The following year, Groban was invited to star in Ally McBeal.... again! He wasted no time in promoting his new single, To Where You Are--which received a huge response, with radio stations playing the tune over and over again, and the media asking for interviews! Even before his debut album was released on November 20, 2001, Groban was receiving bags after bags of fan-mail. It was only a matter of time before his official website was officially created. More than that, his diehard fans coined a term called The Grobanites! The humble singer said, "I'm very glad that all these people want to know more about me." And within a year, his album went from gold to double-platinum!
All of 21 years old, Groban was enjoying his career as well as the fruits of his labour. However, he was struck by bouts of tonsillitis and throat infections--a singer's worst nightmare, prior to participating in huge musical events. Tired of always being on medication, Groban thought it's best to have his tonsils removed, for the sake of his singing. "Having them out helps me to breathe and sing much easier. Now that they're gone, a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I don't fear that I'm going to get a sore throat anymore," he said to his supportive fans.
Getting Closer To Groban
In early 2002, Groban performed The Prayer with Charlotte Church at the closing of the Winter Olympics and the following November, released Josh Groban in Concert, a special performance where he belted out all the songs from his first album. At Christmas, he flew to Rome, Italy to join other big names including Sting, Lionel Richie and The Corrs for a special holiday performance with the Pope at the Vatican. Barely a year after his debut went triple platinum in the States and four times platinum in Canada, his follow-up album, Closer, was released.
The album sold over 600,000 copies within its first week and went double platinum after only a month! His new single Closer also topped many charts. Groban believed that the album was a better reflection of him, his music, and how much he has grown from his first. "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 about," he shared. Two months after its release, the album shot to No. 1 on the Billboard charts and gave us the haunting hit, You Raise Me Up. His next projects included his voice being featured in the movie Troy and Christmas animation Polar Express. The next summer, Groban returned to Interlochen, performed a show for the residents of Michigan and the local campers, and gave young wannabes tips on performing for huge crowds!
Awake To A Bright Future
On November 30, 2004, the curly-haired singer recorded his second live DVD, Live at the Greek. In the same year, Groban performed Remember When It Rained at the American Music Awards backed by a full orchestra, when he was nominated for Favourite Male Artist in the Pop Category. That year, he was nominated for more than a dozen awards including in the World Music Award, Academy Award and the Grammy. More than that, he made appearances in The Oprah Winfrey Show, Jay Leno, Larry King Live and even the Superbowl! With so much happening in such little time, it's no wonder Groban felt the world was demanding more and more of him. "Of course I was pressured to repeat the success of the first album. The challenge here was not so much about reaching the bar I had already set.... but setting it higher," the wise man said.
His much-anticipated third album Awake was released last month, a collection of songs that further reflected his deep love for music, and included contributions from many of the industry's respected personalities. The first single You Are Loved (Don't Give Up) shows us how much he's grown in terms of vocals, producing and songwriting since his first days as a performer.
Groban is currently busy prepping himself up for his upcoming American tour that will kick off in New York on February 17, 2007 and last all the way till April 7, where his final performance will be at the MGM Grand Arena in Las Vegas. With everything planned ahead of time, he is left with ample time to practice and enjoy the company of his loving family and two dogs, Barnaby and Max!
READ ON FOR AN INTERVIEW WITH GROBAN COURTESY OF WARNER MUSIC MALAYSIA
First of all, what took you so long (after 2003's Closer) to come out with a new album?
My last tour an was eye opening for me and I hope to be touring my whole life. With the tour it has been hard to record new music so unfortunately because we expanded the tour for you guys the start of the album was a little later than I wanted but we're doing great and I'm hoping to have it out at the beginning of summer 06. Again, that didn't work, so we finally got in nailed early this year, and Awake is ready for release.
What inspires you to come up with the new sophisticated concept of this new album?
I learned from touring that my fans are really open-minded, musical, intelligent people and I feel like they want to come on this new journey with me. The music still sounds like it's coming from my heart and my soul and my voice. That is always the most important thing to me. My goal on Awake was to create the music and find the best people to help me create it.
Who are your collaborators this time around?
This time, I work along with Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Dave Matthews, Glen Ballard, Eric Mouquet, John Ondrasik Vandrasak (Five for Fighting) Marius DeVries, David Foster, Imogen Heap and Herbie Hancock.
And you wrote a handful of songs for this one.
I'm writing a ton and see what makes it on the album but it's such a wonderful experience and so important to do to become more connected to yourself even if you sing other peoples songs. Awake is a very hands-on approach for me.
Why did you choose You Are Loved (Don't Give Up) as the debut from this new one?
The song shows my tremendous growth as a vocalist, producer and songwriter since I first appeared on the musical landscape. Deep, huh? It's certainly a lot of fun to perform stuff that you feel that close to from the beginning.
How about your other baby, February Song. We heard that you worked on that one in just one lonely night.
You've been stalking me? Actually, it was on a sleepless night. I wanted to write a song that melodically and lyrically represented the craziness I felt in that moment in the dark, dark, dark space. I walked over to the piano and it just came to me in a half hour in the most magical way. Sure you aren't one of those psychopath stalkers?
And your trip to South Africa last year influenced you in a way you can't even imagine. That's why you collaborated with both Dave Matthews and Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
South Africa was life changing for me on many levels. I wish we could have stayed for another month. Of course we did some of the tourist stuff and went on an incredible safari and got a sense for the land and wildlife which was beyond beautiful. But 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.
Those songs appear in the form of suite. Care to explain?
The first song, the one I've penned with Dave (Matthews) is called Lullaby, sung a cappella and the follow up, the South African song, Weeping, I harmonised with longtime idols Ladysmith Black Mambazo. I love the experience. I have always been fascinated with the music in Africa.
This album contains songs in Italian, Spanish and of course English. Do you speak all the languages you sing in? If you don't, you sound like you do!
Well thanks very much! I love singing in other languages and I love the process of learning exactly what I'm singing and translating that to the audience. I don't speak the languages fluently (yet!) but I'm taking lessons all the time and I hope to expand upon the choice of languages as I make more albums.
Awake, the new CD by Josh Groban available worldwide via Reprise/Warner Bros. and distributed by Warner Music Malaysia.
