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Here is a little bit I found out about JOSH! I hope you enjoy! Oh and if you know something
about him thats not on here feel free to E-MAIL me!
Entertainment: Opera singing sensation Josh Groban bursts with pop-appeal
Rising star
With the
release of his second album, Closer, singing phenomenon Josh Groban's star is shining brighter than ever.
Link:
Poper prodigy
'Popera' star Josh Groban tries his hand at writing on new disc Closer
TORONTO (CP) - What is
it with our obsession with popera? Nearly every artist that puts a pop twist on a classical singing style can list Canada
as their best selling market, per capita.
The pop-opera classical alternative group is now commonly labelled popera,
and includes Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman. And the newest member of the club is Josh Groban, a 22-year-old baritone
with a powerful voice and boy-next-door good looks. The Los Angeles native fell into the spotlight in 2000 with the help of
several lucky charms.
Victoria-born producer David Foster caught Groban singing Andrew Lloyd Webber's All I Ask of
You at the inauguration ceremony for California governor Gray Davis in 1999. A couple of weeks later, Foster called the young
singer and asked him to fill in for an ill Bocelli at the 1999 Grammy Awards, on a duet with Celine Dion.
From there
he got a role on Ally McBeal and later a glowing endorsement from Oprah.
With those credits behind him, he released
a self-titled record in 2001, which went on to sell five million copies. The album is still in the Top 100 sellers after 99
consecutive weeks.
Given that success, he said making a second album was an intense process.
The soft-spoken
singer, hailed by the New York Times as "the new boy wonder of the voice," admits to feeling a heavy weight on his shoulders
when recording Closer, a 13-song disc which was released last week.
"Most of the pressure was what I was putting on
myself and what I knew I had accomplished and what I felt I needed to do to make the second album in a different direction,"
he said recently during a stop in Toronto that included an autograph session at Sherway Gardens, a mall in the city's west
end. Close to 3,000 people showed up to catch a glimpse of the boy wonder.
"It was a shame that I wasn't able to get
past the 'Oh, he's just a singer, put him in the other pile,' with the last album," he added.
Deciding he needed to
step it up a notch, he turned to song writing and tackled some more vocally complicated music. The album features three Groban
songwriting credits and guest appearances by violin star Joshua Bell and the French world music duo Deep Forest.
"It's
not about finding the hit song or making the hit video," he explained of his musical appeal. "It's just honest and shows a
vulnerability."
Aside from the music, he's also changed his look, opting for T-shirts and jeans instead of stuffy
suits and ties.
"On the first album I felt this pressure to dress in suits and more formal outfits because of the
music. I don't feel that anymore. Why try and act like I'm 40 years old when I'm not? I have the same fashion mindset as people
doing pop and rock."
It's a formula that seems to achieve rockstar results without the rebellious attitude or MTV
support.
Helping push the fanfare is a group who call themselves Grobanites, who have dozens of websites and even
raise money for charity in Groban's honour.
"It's fun," Groban said of his groupies. "It's harmless. I didn't know
what to think when it first started. I thought 'Is this a cult?' "
His first North American tour, which starts
in January, sold out in a couple of hours. The tour will include four Canadian stops during its first leg: London, Ont., on
Feb. 17, Toronto on Feb. 19, Montreal on Feb. 20 and Ottawa on Feb. 22.
courtesey of a FOJG post
Twenty-two-year-old singer Josh Groban has a story as compelling and real as you are likely to
hear in the world of pop or classical music. Discovered by producer/writer/arranger David Foster, Josh's journey to
his label , the Foster/Warner Bros. joint venture - 143 Records - reads like the stuff of show business legend.! WOW JOSH!!!
"I've had an interesting route getting to this place," says Josh. That 'place' he speaks of finds
him releasing a debut album featuring Charlotte Church, The Corrs, Rhys Fulber and Lili Haydn. Not bad for a guy
who had only joined the school vocal group because - in Josh's words: "everyone else was doing it."
Born in Los Angeles, Josh put singing on hold two or three years after his seventh grade debut
because he had to change schools.Awww how sad! It was only when he attended the prestigious Interlochen Arts Program
did Josh begin to take his talent seriously. "I started taking music lessons on the side," he recalls. "I was very much into
musical theater. I had a pretty good baritone voice, so I began acting and singing in school productions."
Citing Mandy Patinkin as one of his early musical theater heroes, Josh realized late in 1998 that
his intense vocal discipline was about to pay off. "I was studying with a vocal coach who knew David Foster. One day David
called him and said he needed a singer right away for an event he was putting on for the Governor of California's Inauguration."
Josh sent in a tape to Foster, and the next thing he knew he was called to rehearse for the event.
The song was "All I Ask Of You," and Josh nailed it. The Inauguration event was a huge success, and much to Josh's surprise
the Foster-Groban juggernaut was on a roll. "A month later David calls me and asks me if I know the Celine Dion/Andrea Bocelli
song 'The Prayer.' I say 'of course.'" The song, which appeared on both Bocelli's and Dion's own albums, was in fact, written
by Foster.
Incredibly, David was enlisting Groban to fill-in at the 1999 Grammy rehearsals for Bocelli, who
wasn't able to make the practice session. Josh was in shock. "You have to remember, he was asking me to come down to the Shrine
and sing with Celine Dion," he laughs. "At first I said no. I was afraid the song was too high for me, and God knows, I didn't
want to embarrass myself." But a persistent Foster prevailed, and the then 17-year-old Josh sped down to the auditorium, where
he sang the Oscar nominated song in front of several other Grammy nominated artists, and - much to his disbelief - with Celine
herself.
"The whole experience was unreal," remembers Josh. "David invited me back to the dress rehearsal,
and there I was sitting in the front row watching Aerosmith and Madonna do their thing." But the story gets even more incredible.
The Grammy host for that year, Rosie O' Donnell noticed Josh in the audience of the dress rehearsal and invited him backstage.
"You're the opera boy, huh? You were great," she told the young singer, and booked Josh for her TV show on the spot. A few
weeks later Groban appeared on The Rosie O'Donnell show and was even interviewed by the comedian.
Josh continued to perform at events for Foster, but he also began to concentrate on attaining a
college education. Soon, Josh received news that Carnegie Mellon's prestigious musical theater department accepted him. When
Foster booked Groban for yet another music industry party, "that was the beginning of the conflict," says Josh. "I was thrilled
to be singing for David, but also excited about attending classes at Carnegie Mellon." He kept the commitment, however, and
it was at the music industry event where a group of Warner Bros. executives told Foster they were interested in signing Groban
to a record deal. David responded quickly, and soon after Josh decided to put school on hold to pursue his singing career.
The two already had a selection of songs recorded for the debut album, including "Alla Luce Del
Sole," and "Gira Con Me." Foster especially admires Josh's versatility. "I love his natural ability in the pop and rock arena,
but I love his sense of classics even more. He's a true musical force to be reckoned with."
When asked what style suits the vocalist best, Groban takes his time to answer. "People might want
to classify me as operatic I suppose, but I won't even be touching Arias for a long time. I want my voice to mature. I hope
to look back on my career five or ten years from now and see that I continued to grow as a singer. I would never want to be
pigeonholed."
Josh recently completed singing "The Prayer" with Charlotte Church at the Closing Ceremony of the
2002 Winter Olympics."It's been like a dream so far," says Josh. "All I can say is stay tuned."
And I bet you know we will Josh! Why with your talent and your good looks, that's
all we can do! We are just awaiting tour dates....and he is on tour as we speak! I went to the beautiful FOX THEATRE show
on valentine's day!
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What would you tell your friends in Los Angeles about Montreal?