Boy-Next-Door Charm, Conviction Are Hallmarks of Groban's Appeal
Union-Tribune
April 6, 2007
By Valerie Scher, Classical Music Critic
Six years ago, a little-known performer had a small role in the season finale of TV's “Ally McBeal,” singing a ballad titled “You're Still You.” Combining youthful sincerity with a strong voice, he was an immediate hit with viewers, prompting 8,000 e-mails and an invitation to return the next season.
“I still get stopped on the street by people saying, 'Are you the Ally McBeal guy?' ” said Josh Groban, now a 26-year-old pop superstar. “Being on that show was one of the important steppingstones in my career. The power of TV plucked me out of obscurity.”
With millions of fans – including Oprah Winfrey, who has had him on her show – Groban is America's answer to Andrea Bocelli, a master of love songs who has made crossover a calling.
He's a favorite on adult-contemporary radio. And though his critics dismiss much of his music as kitsch, the lanky Los Angeles native is a multiplatinum recording artist whose most recent album, “Awake,” has sold almost 2 million copies.
He's promoting the album during his second arena tour in less than three years, which includes tonight's concert at the ipayOne Center at the Sports Arena.
“I like touring. I really do,” said Groban, who last appeared there in 2004. “As long as I get enough sleep, it's the most fun I have. I meet so many cool people.”
His traveling extravaganza – designed by Roy Bennett, who has worked with Paul McCartney and Prince, among others – has elaborate lights and video as well as musical forces that include a band, an orchestra, a chorus and guest artist Angelique Kidjo, the Beninese singer-songwriter with whom Groban and Carlos Santana performed on her new album, due in May.
“She's a huge pop star in Africa and around the world,” Groban said. “I've been a fan of her music since I can remember, and collaborating with her has been tremendous fun.”
It's hard to imagine him saying anything bad about anyone. During a recent conversation, he was so genial and unpretentious that it's no wonder he has been called the “boy singer next door.” In tune with his wholesome image, he even has a dog, a 1˝-year-old wheaten terrier.
Yet only someone with a love of theater and a sly sense of humor would have named the dog Sweeney after the homicidal title character in Stephen Sondheim's celebrated musical “Sweeney Todd.”
“I'd love to do Broadway someday,” said the musician, who was part of the star-studded lineup at Sondheim's 75th birthday concert two years ago at the Hollywood Bowl.
The Bowl was one of Groban's favorite venues when he was growing up in the affluent Los Angeles neighborhood of Hancock Park as the eldest of two sons of arts-loving parents.
“They took me to concerts and theater. They encouraged me but weren't pushy,” he recalled. “I got the musical bug early on, when I was about 9. I thought, 'This is what I want to do. This is my happiness.' ”
Though Groban wasn't sure which direction he would take – singing, acting songwriting or, as it turned out, all three – he pursued music with a passion. As a teenager he took voice lessons (“I had a very mature timbre”) and attended the prestigious summer training program at Michigan's Interlochen Arts Camp.
After graduating from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, he became a musical theater major at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Mellon University, where he took classes in drama, music theory and dance.
By then, he had already met Grammy-winning producer-arranger David Foster and had worked for him at such events as the 1999 Grammys, where he stood in for Bocelli and rehearsed with Celine Dion. Midway through his freshman year, Groban left school after being offered a recording contract.
“I took a leave of absence and I haven't looked back,” said the singer, whose debut album, “Josh Groban,” was released in 2001, only months after his “Ally McBeal” appearance.
Though his voice is warm and supple – a recent New York Times review called it “indisputably beautiful” – he never considered opera an option.
“I was so locked into the American theater world that I admired opera from afar,” he explained. “I have tremendous respect for those singers. But I think there's a little too much pop in my voice and experimentation in my soul.”
His new album incorporates African influences, as in the two tracks made with the South African chorus Ladysmith Black Mambazo, which gained international attention by singing on Paul Simon's 1986 album, “Graceland.”
Despite the challenges facing the recording industry, ranging from iTunes to illegal downloads, Groban isn't fearful about the future.
“I've been fairly lucky. People are still buying my albums. My fans want to hear them all the way through,” said Groban.
His first Christmas album will arrive in time for the holidays, which should please his legions of admirers, known as Grobanites.
Even so, he believes that nothing can replace a live performance.
“When you put your emotions and honesty on the line, and let audiences see that part of you, there's the potential for an amazing connection,” Groban said with the earnest conviction that is one of his hallmarks. “By the end of a concert, I feel as if I've made friends with everyone from the back of the arena to the front row.”
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