Joshua Winslow Groban was born on February 27, 1981, in Los Angeles. He has a brother, Christopher, who is four years younger than Josh and shares the same birthday. Even as a very young child Josh loved singing and would often practice in the shower; but singing lessons got in the way of school work, and he eventually took a few years off to concentrate on his studies at Bridges Academy and to make sure he got straight A’s. After graduation, he won a place on the Interlochen Arts Program, where he could work on developing his vocal talents. There he also took music lessons to develop a wider understanding of the field, and he started to perform in stage musicals. After graduating from Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, he went on to Carnegie Mellon University, but dropped out after just one year to take up a record contract with Warner Bros.
Mentored by producer David Foster, Groban was initially encouraged to develop the classical side of his work. He performed at the inauguration of California governor Gray Davis and sang duets with Céline Dion and Lara Fabian; he toured with Sarah Brightman, and sang alongside the likes of Elton John, Stevie Wonder, and Don Henley. His début album Josh Groban was an enormous hit, turning double platinum within the course of a year. Its success was bolstered by Rosie O'Donnell's enthusiasm for his music and his appearances on her show; he also won fans with his role as a singer alongside Calista Flockhart in Ally McBeal.
As his album rose in the charts, Groban's own profile also rose, getting a boost when he joined Charlotte Church to sing at the closing ceremony for the Winter Olympics. He went on to perform at the Vatican with Sting, Ronan Keating, and Lionel Ritchie; but then began to diversify, creating ambient pop with Rhys Fulber and covering Richard Marx's hit ballad "To Where You Are." In 2002 he released his second album, Closer, which featured various sounds, including a cover of Brian Kennedy's "You Raise Me Up." Groban commented that it felt much closer to his own personal style.
Alongside his album work, Groban contributed songs for the soundtracks of Steven Spielberg's Brian Aldiss adaptation of Artificial Intelligence: AI , which starred Haley Joel Osment and Jude Law; Troy, with Brad Pitt, Brian Cox and Orlando Bloom; and Robert Zemeckis' The Polar Express, with Tom Hanks. He also used his vocal talent, as an actor, in an episode of American Dad. He has been featured as a performer in several of his own PBS specials.
Groban has shown an ongoing interest in charity work. He performed alongside Nick Carter and Enrique Iglesias in ABC's 2002 Concert for World Children's Day and he has worked as a mentor, making a special point of visiting the schools he once attended in order to inspire young people.
YUDDY
