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JOSH GROBAN INVITES YOU TO COME CLOSER
A classical act on all fronts
Published in PRESS Magazine November/December 2003
Since the release of his extraordinarily successful 2001 self-titled debut album featuring the International hit "To Where You Are," twenty-two-year-old singer Josh Groban has become a musical phenomenon and continues to break new ground for his ability to meld classical music with pop. A protégé of multi-Grammy-winning powerhouse producer/writer/arranger David Foster who flips from teen pop to classical-lite with the same enthusiasm for formula, Josh Groban became an international sensation in no time, fully crossing over from the opera/classical markets to the pop market as only Charlotte Church, Andrea Bocelli, and Sarah Brightman had successfully accomplished in the past. First bursting onto the music scene while still a teenager, the young opera baritone has sold well over five million copies of his self-titled debut release worldwide, making scores of televised appearances, most notable his wildly popular 2003 PBS Great Performances special, which itself became a number one selling DVD and the best selling long form music video of 2002. Now, just a little over two years since the release of his self-titled debut, the talented Josh Groban is once again set to conquer the world with his new album release, Closer, where he opens himself up a little more through his revelatory music and honest lyricism. A Born Performer
Born Joshua Winslow Groban on 27 February 1981 in Los Angeles, California, USA to Lindy and Jack Groban, Josh Groban, as he would later be known to the world, was exposed to the arts at an early age. Lindy was an art teacher and a homemaker, and Jack was an Executive Recruiter for Jack Groban and Associates. Coincidentally, on February 27th 1985, the Grobans welcomed a new member to the family, Christopher Winston Groban. Josh showed immense interest for performing even as a child. At the tender age of nine, he started his very own comedy troop where he and a friend would put on shows for their family, friends and local neighbors. Eventually, he also showed an interest in music, first learning how to play the drums, eventually learning how to play the keyboard and soon thereafter, the trumpet. As Josh grew older, his parents surrounded him with various types of music and art as well as different cultures. Both of the boys were also taken to see different plays in and around the LA area, as their parents chose to expose them to many things. These plays eventually influenced Josh and were one of many factors that served to interest him in music and theater.
Josh began singing with his school's vocal group in his early teens which he ironically, fell into almost by accident as he signed up for his school vocal group in the seventh grade simply because his friends had joined. However, despite possessing enormous potential, he was forced to put it on hold two or three years after his seventh grade debut because he had to change schools in order to further hone his skills and his explore his craft. Recognizing Josh's love for theater and music, his parents decided later on to send him off to Interlochen Camp for the Arts in Traverse city, Michigan. After he was accepted into the prestigious Interlochen Arts Program, the budding vocalist began to take his talent more seriously. He took music lessons, became interested in musical theater, and began acting and singing in his school's theatrical productions. During his summer there, he got to participate in one of his favorite musicals, 'Sweeny Todd'. However, it was his first year and was only given a small roll playing 'Broom Sweep #3'. Even so, this was enough to give Josh the real feeling of being on stage and make him fall in love with it. Eventually, he transferred once again and graduated from the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, a school where music and theater were focused on.
On one occasion during his sophomore year in high school, at Josh’s acceptance of his music teacher’s request for him to sing a solo in the school choir, he amazed everyone with his remarkable voice. Now aware of the potential his voice held, thanks to his teacher mentioning it to him and his parents, Josh was, almost immediately enrolled in voice lessons with a local vocal coach, Seth Riggs. For a while, Josh lived his life normally day to day, at a regular pace, going to voice lessons once a week.
Then one day, everything changed.
Josh Groban’s vocal coach, Seth Riggs, who knew David Foster, received a call from the acclaimed producer/composer who's been writing and producing megahits since the 1970s with artists ranging from Earth, Wind & Fire and Chicago, to Celine Dion. He was asking Riggs if he could recommend a young man with a good voice to sing at an event that he was arranging for the January 1999 inauguration ceremony of the Governor of California, Grey Davis. Riggs sent in a demo tape of Josh, and David was absolutely floored. The next thing they knew, he was called to rehearse for the event; Josh intense vocal discipline was about to pay off – he got the gig. The song was "All I Ask Of You," and Josh nailed it. The Inauguration event was a huge success and Josh Groban, only 16 at that time had just received his first big break as he sang up on stage to over 20,000 people. Fostering Growth
Much to Josh's surprise, a week following the Inauguration, he got another phone call from David Foster. Foster was helping out at the 1999 Grammy Rehearsals and had a huge favour to ask. Pop diva Celine Dion's singing partner, Andrea Bocelli was stuck in Germany due to poor weather conditions. She had no one to do rehearsal with, but practice was crucial and Foster thought the only voice he knew that was good enough to fill Andrea Bocelli's was that of Josh Groban. The song was “The Prayer”, written by David Foster, and would be performed in a duet. Initially, Josh refused, feeling the vocal range was too high for his baritone voice. Foster’s persistence, however, won out and in the end, the then-17-year-old Josh Groban found himself at the Shrine auditorium where he sang Andrea Bocelli's part of the Oscar-nominated song in front of several Grammy nominated artists and, to his own amazement, with Celine Dion herself. Although it was Bocelli who appeared live on camera, Groban caught the attention of that year’s Grammy host Rosie O'Donnell, who, after noticing him in the audience at the dress rehearsal, invited him backstage and booked the teenager to appear on her syndicated TV talk show, on the spot. A few weeks later Josh appeared on The Rosie O'Donnell show where he was interviewed by the comedian who playfully dubbed him "opera boy." Things had began to come together from that time on. In the summer of 2001, Josh Groban's first recorded release, "For Always," a duet with Lara Fabian appeared on the soundtrack of the Steven Speilberg film, AI (Artificial Intelligence). While Josh continued to perform at events for Foster, he also began to concentrate on attaining a college education and was thrilled after he was accepted into Carnegie Mellon University's prestigious musical theater department. For one semester, Josh attempted to juggle his college education and his budding musical career, but he knew something would have to change. In the end, Josh made the difficult decision to drop out of college and put it on hold in order to pursue his singing career after a group of executives from Warner Bros. Records offered him an exclusive recording contract – an offer he couldn't refuse. Within a few weeks, work for Josh Groban’s debut album was underway and marked it as the beginning of his and David Foster’s amazing musical partnership. Recording some songs produced by Foster, and the others that would appear on his debut album, initial attempts at fashioning the young singer into a more traditional pop vocalist didn't last long, as Foster realized that his vocal range was better suited to operatic and classical styles. On the 20th of November 2001, Josh released his self-titled debut album. Produced and arranged by Foster, the 13-track collection is an archetypal Foster crossover mix of dramatic opera and adult contemporary pop sung in both English and Italian though Josh stays away from the heavy and purely operatic repertoire. Offering material that is both challenging and beautiful, it displays Josh's rich but supple tenor that sounds right at home over sequenced drum tracks and strings and featured appearances by Charlotte Church, the Corrs, Delirium’s Rhys Fulber, and Lili Haydn as well as songwriting credits by Richard Marx, Albert Hammond, Carole Bayer Sager, and Mariah Carey's former songsmith Walter Afanasieff. It initially sold well, but was far from the smash hit it would eventually become. The album peaked at No. 8 on Billboard's Top 200 chart back in 2001, and reached triple platinum status in the United States by January 2003.
The Italian "Alla Luce Del Sole" (The Light of the Sun), was a wonderful introduction to his voice. With a powerful crescendo in the chorus that shows his power and control, and his strength that builds to the end, the opening track clearly showcased that Josh's strong voice and emotion defy the language barrier. The earnest and romantic song "You're Still You" is a wonderful, heartfelt song with a "pop" feel where Josh Groban's emotional voice soars with a passionately powerful tone that is amazing for such a young singer. "Canto Alla Vita" ("Song to Life"), the first of three duets on the CD is an upbeat collaboration with popular Irish group The Corrs where Josh's voice blends perfectly with that of Andrea Corrs’, The Corrs' lead singer. Josh also did what has been described as a "neo prog-rock-opera" take on Bach's original, "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring", as he collaborates with Lili Haydn, who not only sings but also plays the violin on this classic. It also encompasses the Richard Marx balladry, "To Where You Are", and a demographic-conscious cover of Don McLean's "Vincent". The album closes with the quasi-operatic “The Prayer” where Josh duets with Welsh classical-pop singer Charlotte Church. It was the same song the duo performed at the magical 2002 Winter Olympics closing ceremony, alternating between Italian and English.
All in all, the combination of contemporary and classical pieces sung in English, Italian and Spanish, coupled with Rhys Fulber of Delirium enlivening a couple of cuts with refreshingly incongruous beats and synths that resulted in a couple of ambient pop ballads, Foster's arrangements wonderfully complemented Josh’s amazing voice, resulting in a warm and intimate album.
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