Josh Groban Artistfacts

February 27, 1981
Josh Groban rose to prominence in the early 2000s and became the top-selling male pop artist of the decade, with album sales of over 20 million (rappers Eminem and Jay-Z sold more). He is known for his rich, classically trained tenor voice and his wide range of music, which includes Classical, Pop, and Adult Contemporary.
Groban grew up in Los Angeles and showed a talent for the performing arts from a very early age. Initially drawn to acting, he turned his attention to singing with the encouragement of his vocal coach. He was introduced to Grammy-winning producer David Foster who helped launch Groban's career. He chose to pursue music as a career rather than complete his degree at Carnegie Mellon University, which he attended for a short time.
His self-titled debut album Josh Groban, released in November 2001, went double Platinum. The album featured songs in the classical tradition, many sung in Italian. His follow-up album, Closer, featured the single "You Raise Me Up," which was nominated for a Grammy Award. He received another Grammy nomination in 2009, this one for his holiday music album, Noel.
Groban's legion of fans calls themselves Grobanites. They buy his albums and scream his name in concert, and they often join together to raise money for Josh Groban's Foundation. They were instrumental in getting Groban to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show. With Oprah behind him, Groban's popularity and sales increased greatly. After going on Oprah to promote Noel, sales of the album shot up by 81%.
Groban did not give up on his dreams of being an actor; he has taken roles in Ally McBeal, Glee, The Office, and the film Crazy Stupid Love.
He sang at the closing ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, reaching a worldwide audience of close to a billion.
Michael Bublé is often pegged as the Groban's great rival. However, Josh disclosed to The Daily Telegraph that they're great pals, partly because they share a similarly irreverent approach to their job. "He's got this killer voice and he's just a complete goofball," Groban said. "It's why we became friends. I love that. There's more room for that."
He dated Katy Perry in the late '00s. Her song "The One That Got Away" is about him.
It seems Josh Groban can't stop crooning; he even sings while he's sleeping. Groban explained during a guest hosting gig on Live with Kelly and Ryan that he uses an app to record himself. "I have a sleep talk app, and it clicks on when it hears you talking in your sleep and it will record you and then it's like a little surprise in the morning."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

More Songfacts:

Fortunate SonCreedence Clearwater Revival

The Creedence Clearwater Revival song "Fortunate Son" is about how the Vietnam war was being fought by soldiers without the privilege or connections to get out of it. "It's the old saying about rich men making war and poor men having to fight them," John Fogerty said.

Tomorrow PeopleZiggy Marley & the Melody Makers

"Tomorrow People" by Ziggy Marley is the first song by a Marley to crack the US Top 40; the highest Bob got was #51 with "Roots, Rock, Reggae."

YellowColdplay

"Yellow" by Coldplay is a deep, meaningful song, but the title has a rather prosaic origin: it came from the phone directory, known as "the yellow pages."

1901Phoenix

The Phoenix song "1901" is about Paris. Their lead singer Thomas Mars said: "Paris in 1901 was better than it is now. So the song is a fantasy about Paris."