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Josh Groban: His love affair with Broadway
Growing up loving musicals, singer Josh Groban has long dreamed of recording Broadway musicals
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Growing up loving musicals, singer Josh Groban has long dreamed of recording Broadway musicals.
After releasing six albums, Groban, at 34, has finally paid tribute to some of his favorite musical-theater hits on his new album, Stages.
'It's the greatest feeling. I've loved these songs my whole life,' he said in a phone interview with The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Back in college, Groban studied drama at Carnegie Mellon University before leaving to build a successful career as classical-crossover artist under the guidance of Grammy-winning producer David Foster.
'To finally be able go to a proper studio and record these songs the way that I've always wanted to record them, I feel like it was worth the wait,' said the singer.
'I really decided to wait until the time when my voice was ready, when my interpretation was ready [...] and now it felt like the best time and I couldn't be happier.'
The Los Angeles native first found the spotlight in 1999 when he was asked to fill in for ailing Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli at a rehearsal with Canadian singer Celine Dion. He later got a brief role on TV show Ally McBeal in 2001 and released his debut self-titled solo album later that year.
Stages is a lush compilation of songs from celebrated Broadway musicals, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Les Misérables, the Wizard of Oz, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd and Chess.
Groban admitted it was nerve-racking to sing material with such a history.
'What is exceedingly important to me is that this album represents the Broadway world in a really respectful way,' he said.
'For me the fact that so many people in the Broadway world have said they appreciated the album has meant so much to me.'
The Broadway community was not the only one thrilled by the album.
When Groban released the album's first single, 'All I Ask of You', featuring Kelly Clarkson, fans and music critics alike praised the grandiosity and sensibility of their cover of The Phantom of the Opera.
'Her voice can do anything, and I know that she loves musical theater. So, for her to take on a song was a welcome surprise to my fans,' he said.
Renowned trumpeter and composer Chris Botti helps Groban conjure a sultry 'Old Devil Moon' from Finian's Rainbow and Groban performed a duet with Broadway legend Audra McDonald on 'If I Loved You', from Carousel.
'Audrey McDonald was one of my favorite singers in the world, and one of my favorite actresses in the world. She won a Tony for Carousel, so be able to sing that song with her is a dream come true.'
Groban recorded the album Los Angeles and at London's fabled Abbey Road Studios, where he used the same microphone John Lennon used for his recording of The Wizard of Oz's 'Over the Rainbow'.
'The sound there is so great [...] it has such a great acoustics. To have an orchestra that size in that room is worth the travel for us because it just sounds so beautiful,' he said.
'Of course, it is famous for bands like the Beatles, but so much great music has been recorded there that when you go it really makes you feel honored to walk through the door,' he added. 'All of the old Beatles microphones are still used. It gives me chill just to do it.'
After releasing the album, the bari-tenor is planning to take Stages on the road, touring across America and Europe before coming to Asia after Christmas.
When asked about the idea of performing a concert in Jakarta, Groban said, 'I would love to. We are in the planning stage right now and hopefully we can make it work'.
'To have had such wonderful support for my music has meant so much to me. [Support] from Indonesian fans has meant the world to me. Indonesia is a place of incredible music lovers of all different styles and they have understood my music from my first album 'till now'.
With a globetrotting tour and an album in the works, Groban said he would wait for the right time to realize his other longtime dream: taking the Broadway stage.
'I have some great offers, but truthfully, the only thing that has kept me from doing it so far has been [the problem of] timing,' he said.
'To do a Broadway show takes so much time and dedication, so that I've been waiting it 'till I have the right time and the right role. But I've been very lucky that I had such great offers and support from the Broadway community. And hopefully, in the next couple of years I'll be able to fulfill that dream.'
