He has sung with some of the biggest names in the music industry, appeared on Oprah’s show six times and just released his fifth album. But there is a lot more to Josh Groban than meets the eye.
The 29-year-old Los Angeles-born singer, who got his break singing a duet of ‘The Prayer’ with Celine Dion at the Grammy Awards in 1998, admits he still gets starstruck when performing alongside his heroes, has a role in Steve Carell’s new movie and would love to spend next year on the road.
Fresh from his seven-day Australian trip, Josh is all smiles about his time in Oz and the success of his new album Illuminations.
“It has been such a great trip. I was so so excited when I found out we were coming back to Australia and everything has been what I have hoped for,” he said.
Known for his classical style of music, Josh says the thrill of putting together his new album, which he says is different to his usual material, was his collaboration with producer Rick Rubin.
“We had nothing to do with each other musically, he had just finished a Metallica record and I had just finished a Christmas record,” Josh said in an interview with Woman’s Day.
“I think we were both in the mood for a little bit of a shift and we actually just wound up really digging each other. He was a fan of my voice and I was a fan of the way he made records.”
Josh says that throughout the process the pair stuck to “some specific rules” to ensure the record stayed true to his style.
“We set out to write and create beautiful songs and we set out to record them in a very live and organic setting and also not to use instruments that we felt would date the record,” he said.
One thing which Josh ensured when penning the album was that each song was personal. So much so that he says he has received messages from people in his life about some of the songs.
“I have had a couple of text messages, but I haven’t shared with anybody who the songs are about,” he said.
“I think it is important you tap into specific moments in your life and that you tap into certain emotions that are very real and maybe use people in your life that are very specific and very real to trigger that emotion.
“In the end you are writing for yourself but you’re writing for your fans and so you know it’s nice when you can have that specificity.”
Despite his incredible rise to fame and huge album success, Josh says performing next to some of the biggest names including Placido Domingo and Aretha Franklin, still gets him starstruck.
“As a fan I am used to sitting in the audience and hearing them through the microphone, but there is nothing better as a fan than standing inches away from them and really blending your voice with theirs. It’s really just so much fun,” he said.
“When you get to meet your heroes as a musician it’s the greatest feeling because I would be the guy at the back door with the autograph book [if I wasn’t singing with them] so I try to keep my cool.”
Another big-name celebrity who has fallen in love with Josh’s voice is TV queen Oprah Winfrey. He has performed on her show six times and has been on her “Favourite Things” episode twice.
“It’s great. I never expect her to call me back I always think that after I have done an episode you know that was my Oprah time and everybody is lucky to have their time with Oprah and when you get the call you just have to do it,” he said.
So what’s up next for Josh? He will star alongside Carell and Emma Stone in their new movie Crazy, Stupid, Love.
“I auditioned fair and square for the part. My agent said this is a really amazing script and that he knew I was busy with the music thing but this might be a bit of fun,” he said.
“And I had a lot of fun with it and to be able to audition for something that was purely comedic and off the wall and different for me was great.”
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