Josh Groban 'Awake' and On His Way to Stockton Modesto Bee
August 24, 2007
By Marijke Rowland
Categorizing Josh Groban isn't a task for the faint of imagination.
He looks like a choir boy.
He sings like a classical baritone.
He sells records like a rock star.
He makes his fans scream like teenagers.
In short, the 26-year-old is nothing short of a phenomenon. Even the singer himself has a hard time knowing exactly where to find his music, as he told CBS Sunday Morning earlier this year.
"When I go into music stores, I find it, you know, all over the place. I like to think of what I do as pop music," he said. "I think of -- I think of my voice as a pop voice. But it's not without its classical training and classical influences and world music influences, and that kind of thing."
The Grammy-nominated vocalist brings his classical/pop sound to the Stockton Arena today as part of his Awake Tour.
The Los Angeles native became interested in music at a young age. While still a teenager, Groban made several high-profile appearances, including singing at then Gov. Grey Davis' inauguration and filling in for Andrea Bocelli to duet with Celine Dion for Grammy Awards rehearsals.
After high school, Groban studied in the theater department of Carnegie Mellon University for less than a year before he signed a deal with Warner Bros. Records.
In 2001, he released his self-titled debut. Then a slew of even higher-profile appearances helped boost Groban to the next level. In February 2002, he performed "The Prayer" with Charlotte Church at the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. By November of that year, his special, "Josh Groban in Concert," aired on PBS.
He followed it up in 2003 with his sophomore release, "Closer." The record hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album charts. His first two albums sold more than 16 million copies worldwide.
In November, Groban released his third album, "Awake," which climbed to No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album charts and No. 1 on the classical crossover album charts. The 13-track CD includes songs sung in Italian, Spanish and English and two songs sung with the famed Ladysmith Black Mambazo.
"(The group's music) is something I've always enjoyed and been inspired by since I was a kid. ... Just the pathos they had in their voices was unreal," he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel earlier this month. "It just felt with the third project and having more creative control, I wanted to explore some of those influences. So it was nice to find that I could go there and work with some of my heroes, do a little experiment with it. And it actually worked."
As Groban tours the world, scores of his fans -- dubbed Grobanites -- flock to his shows. Admittedly, a big chunk of his fan base consists of women, from teenagers to grandmothers. But he said he hopes the men who tag along will find something to appreciate as well.
"I'm a guy. I'd like to think there are other guys who would like to listen to this," he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "It's nice to see, sometimes, the girlfriends and the wives pull the guys along, and by the end of the shows, they're on their feet, too. Yeah, it's some romantic music, but the guys do it because they love their girls. It's a nice present for them to bring their girlfriends or wives to the show."
AT A GLANCE
WHAT: Josh Groban
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. today
WHERE: Stockton Arena, 248 W. Fremont St.
