Josh Groban

A famous American vocalist Josh Groban, who is considered to be one of the best baritone voice singers in the world, was born on February 27, 1981, in a family of a Jewish American father and a Norwegian American mother. Josh Groban debuted on the stage very young – in seventh grade – but then he decided that education for him is more important than his music career. "I enjoyed the arts aspects, but my grades were slipping", says Josh. Groban entered Bridges Academy, dividing his time between normal studies and music classes. Ironically, the future singer tried himself at first as a musicican – he played flute as well as the kazoo (American flute-like instrument). But in 1997, he started to take voice lessons outside of school. And in late 1998, the 17-year-old Josh Groban was introduced by his vocal coach to Grammy-winning producer David Foster.

Foster was so impressed with Groban, that he invited him on a series of high-profile events, including the 1999 Grammy Awards – where, as a stand-in for Andrea Bocelli, he sang Foster's The Prayer with Celine Dion. In 2001, under Foster's patronage, he began to record his eponymous debut album, which was released on November 20, 2001. At the same time, Groban performed on different events, singing along with Elton John, Stevie Wonder, Don Henley, Robin Williams and more. Foster said: "I love his natural ability in the Pop/Dancepop and rock arena, but I love his sense of classics even more". Therefore, under Foster's influence, Groban's first album focused more on the classics with songs such as Gira Con Me and Alla Luce Dal Sole.

On February 24, 2002, Groban performed The Prayer with Charlotte Church at the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics. His second album Closer was released on November 11, 2003. Josh Groban himself appreciated it more than his first disk, saying that it was a better reflection of him. "What most people know about me, they know through my music. This time, I've tried to open that door as wide as possible", said he. Josh also was movimg from classic music – for example, he sang a cover of Linkin Park's My December. And his cover of Brian Kennedy's You Raise Me Up got wide popularity. Next year, album Live At The Greek was published. Among his musical influences Josh Groban always named Radiohead, Paul Simon, Sting, Peter Gabriel and Bjork. Josh Groban's third studio album Awake was officially released on November 7, 2006. Some songs from this disk were performed with South African artists. It was followed by With You in 2007. In June, Josh spent some weeks in London recording a Christmas album with the London Philharmonic and the African Children's Choir, which was released on October 9, 2007 and was titled Noel. He also has stated that he wishes to pursue musical theatre in the future. The record titled A Collection was issued in 2008. It included songs from Groban’s first three studio albums. Also one new composition Weeping was presented in A Collection. Groban’s fifth long play entitled Illuminations was released in 2010 and it completely satisfied the singer’s fans’ expectations. The signature atmosphere, delicate arrangements and of course Josh’s wonderful baritone again charmed listeners. There is no doubt that Illuminations took its well-deserved place in the performer’s discography, who keeps on creating in his easy recognizable style and finds strength to look for the new sound.