Josh Groban

Pop/Classical Star Josh Groban Talks About His Songwriting and Collaborators For His Album, Awake

By Dale Kawashima

Josh Groban

Although he just turned 25 this year, Josh Groban has already established himself as one of the world’s most popular, pop & classical artists. This Los Angeles-based singer/writer has previously released two acclaimed, multi-platinum studio albums, Josh Groban and Closer, plus a best-selling live album, Josh Groban In Concert. And now he has returned with his third studio album, the 13-song Awake (on 143/Reprise Records), which includes his hit AC single, “You Are Loved (Don’t Give Up)”.

Awake finds the baritone Groban in excellent vocal form, and the album features his usual combination of stately pop ballads and classical songs sung in Italian and Spanish. However, the album also marks the continued growth of Groban as a songwriter (he co-wrote four of the songs), and Awake branches out into other musical genres, including subtle forays into world music, jazz/funk, and electronica.

In a recent interview, Groban discussed the making of his new album, and how he consciously pursued a wider range of music styles. He also spoke about his songwriting collaborations with Dave Matthews, John Ondrasik of Five For Fighting, and British singer/songwriter Imogen Heap. In addition, Groban mentioned how much he enjoyed working with such diverse musical artists as Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Herbie Hancock, and electronica producer Guy Sigworth.

Groban felt confident and excited about exploring new musical territory for Awake. This is because when he performed on tour, he realized his fans were open to hearing different styles from him. “It was a real eye-opening experience for me,” he said, “because you get an immediate reaction from people. You get to see firsthand who’s buying tickets and who’s buying your album. There were people of all ages in the crowd. So I thought to myself, ‘Cool, I’ve got my peers here.’ And I learned from the tour that my fans are really open-minded, musical, intelligent people who would like to come on this journey with me. So on Awake, I made it my responsibility to take them there gracefully.”

“The goal was to put music on the new album that was stylistically different from a lot of things that I’ve done,” he explained. “I think sometimes people see me singing in front of an orchestra and think, ‘Oh, he’s the PBS guy.’ So I just decided to have fun. There are some songs that the diehard fans from my first PBS special are going to hear and think, ‘We miss the old thing.’ But that’s fine, because I think we’ll have twice as many people saying, ‘We really like the new thing’.”

Josh Groban

Two new songs on the album which reflect Groban’s fresh approach are the ballads “Lullaby” (which he co-wrote with rocker Dave Matthews) and “Weeping,” a song he discovered during a trip to Soweto, South Africa. Both songs feature backing vocals by the renowned South African group, Ladysmith Black Mambazo. “Ever since I heard Paul Simon’s Graceland, it was a dream of mine to sing with Ladysmith in the studio,” he said.

Perhaps the most adventurous musical exploration on the album, is the jazz/funk groove song “Machine,” which Groban wrote with French world music composer Eric Mouquet and Dave Bassett. The recording features stellar keyboards by jazz icon Herbie Hancock, plus crisp horn tracks by the famed Tower Of Power horn section. “Herbie was so cool,” recalled Groban. “He drove up in his red Ferrari, laid down his solo in two hours, blew everyone away, and left in pure legend style.”

In addition to these songs, there are several other standout cuts on Awake. The album’s first single “You Are Loved (Don’t Give Up)” is an obvious highlight. This soaring pop ballad was written & produced by Canadian Thomas “Tawgs” Salter, who is a frequent collaborator of Grammy-winning writer/producer Walter Afanasieff. Afanasieff played piano on this cut. Another key song is the moving, midtempo “February Song,” which Groban wrote with Five For Fighting’s John Ondrasik and British producer Marius DeVries. And “Un Giorno Per Ner Noi” is a beautiful adaptation of the classic 1968 movie theme, “A Time For Us (Romeo and Juliet Love Theme)”.

Overall, Awake is an impressive album which will appeal to Groban’s large, international fan base, and should attract new listeners. “The album still sounds like me,” said Groban. “It still sounds like it’s coming from my heart, and my soul, and my voice most of all. I didn’t want it to sound like I’m trying to be something I’m not. Because the voice I have is the voice I have. This what I wake up with - it’s how I express myself and it’s not something I ever want to lose. But what I can do is choose songs or styles that are more personal to me.”