The ANNOTICO Report
To most of you I don't have to "explain" Josh Groban.
But I was surprised
to see Josh Groban described as an "Italian singer, who
also sings in
English".
Josh does sing six (6) Italian songs in Italian in each
of his first two
Albums.
His self-titled debut album "Josh Groban" contained
Alla Luce del Sole,
Gira Con Me Questa Notte,
Cinema Paradiso, Alejate, Canto Alla
Vita, and Amore Per Sempre.
His sophomore album "Closer" contains Oceano, Mi Mancherai
(Il Postino), Si
Volvieras a Mi, Per Te,
All'improvviso Amore, and Hymne a l'Amour (If You Love
Me).
Josh Groban was born and raised in Los Angeles, CA, and
I have not yet been
able to uncover any "Italian" connection, but am at a
loss as to why he
sings SO many songs in Italian that are incomprehensible
to American fans,
but yet seem to captivate his audience.
Josh is considered a Pop and classical singer, and he
made his debut in the
seventh grade, but then put music aside for a few years
until he enrolled
at the Interlochen Arts Program. In late 1998, he hooked
up with a friend
of his vocal coach, producer/writer/arranger David Foster.
Groban worked
for Foster as a rehearsal singer on a series of high-profile
events,
including the inauguration of Grey Davis as governor
of California and the
Grammy Awards (at which he rehearsed Foster's "The Prayer"
with Celine Dion
in place of Andrea Bocelli).
He was accepted into the theater department of Carnegie
Mellon College, but
put his education on hold when he was offered a recording
contract at
Warner Bros. Records through Foster's 143 imprint. He
made his recording
debut singing "For Always" with Lara Fabian on the soundtrack
to A.I.:
Artificial Intelligence, and appeared in the 2001 season
finale of the
television series Ally McBeal.
His debut album, Josh Groban, was released in November
2001. Over the next
year, Groban became a star. His album went double-platinum,
and had his own
PBS special in November 2002. A month later, he performed
"To Where You
Are" and "The Prayer" at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert
in Oslo, Norway, and
joined the Corrs, Ronan Keating, Sting, Lionel Richie
and others for a
holiday performance at the Vatican in Rome.
In November 2003, Groban issued his second album, Closer.
Two months later,
he earned his first number one record when Closer skyrocketed
from number
11 to the top spot on the Billboard album charts. ~ William
Ruhlmann, All
Music Guide