Closer to Josh
Calgary Sun
September 2, 2004
By Anika Van Wyk
STAR ... Josh Groban plays for a sold-out Saddledome Sept. 4.
Josh Groban performs at the Saddledome Sept. 4
Everything Josh Groban needs to know, he learned from divas. The 23-year-old — labelled by the New York Times as The New Boy Wonder of the Voice — has sung with Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Charlotte Church and was invited to sing for Oprah Winfrey at her 50th birthday bash.
“There’s been so many wonderful, wonderful divas in the last couple of years, and they’ve been so supportive,” says Groban, who plays the Saddledome Sept. 4, in support of his No. 1 album Closer.
“For the most part I’ve been so extremely surprised because … they’ve been so down-to-earth.
“They are such great people and passionate about what they do. That’s what I walk away with — after a 10-year, or 20-year career, it doesn’t end. They still take the work as seriously as they did when they first started. Even though there is so much fame and fortune and adulation in their lives, they enjoy it, but they don’t let it interfere with the work.”
So has the baritone picked up any diva-like behaviours? After all, he is a 23-year-old world-recognized, multi-platinum selling artist with a swanky Beverly Hills home and a Porsche.
Groban laughs and explains his parents would never allow him to pull an attitude.
He also admits to still being in the “why me” phase of fame and is far too grateful for his situation to allow his ego to overtake him.
“I’m the hardest person on myself. No critic could possibly touch how hard I am on myself.
“I have a constant sense of raising the bar. The goals I’ve been able to achieve now are great … and I’m proud of myself, but there’s always that new light at the end of the tunnel,” says the self-professed workaholic.
“If you stop having new goals — then you could probably sit back and say ‘Wow I’m amazing and wow, look I just did what I wanted to do and it’s incredible.’ ”
Groban, whose past visit to Calgary was during the winter when it was “very, very cold,” is looking forward to exploring the city.
“I try to get out as much as I can even though my instinct, because I’m so tired from performing so much, is to just go to bed and not leave the room. But when you put out energy — you get more energy, so it’s fun for me to make the extra effort.”
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