The New Boy Wonder of the Voice was what
Josh Groban was dubbed by The New York Times. "Meteoric" was how his rise to
stardom was described. And "grateful" is how he feels about his journey over the
past few years.
He was discovered by well-known music producer David Foster when he was asked to
stand in for Andrea Bocelli to sing with Céline Dion in the 1998 Gray Davis'
inauguration. Josh said, "I needed that push, and it wound up being a day that
changed my life."
Since then, Josh has released two multi-platinum albums: his self-titled debut
in 2001 and Closer in 2003. He has established himself in the classical
crossover genre with songs like the inspirational To Where You Are (2001) and
the uplifting You Raise Me Up, and has sung for the soundtracks for A.I.:
Artificial Intelligence and Troy.
Josh Groban admits to being ambitious, so
he’s unlikely to go off too wildly on a tangent: ‘‘I’m a number person. I’m
always asking people, ‘How many tickets are we selling? How are things going?’ ”
But Josh Gorban not without mirth. Moments later, his cell phone rings.
‘‘Oops,’’ he says. ‘‘My Scorpions ringtone there.’’
The song? ‘‘Rock You Like a Hurricane.’’ Groban isn’t a big fan of the hard-rock
group: ‘‘I was just on a quest to find the cheesiest ringtone possible.’’
His current tour will visit more than 70 cities across North America and Europe,
lasting at least to the end of August. Though big one-time events have marked
his early career, he enjoys touring a little more.
