Josh Groban returns to Singapore with a career’s worth of songs
Ahead of his first world tour in a decade, the singer reflects on why live performance still matters most
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[SINGAPORE] Josh Groban is preparing to return to the road after a decade away from world touring, but the pause, he insists, never felt like one.
“A lot’s happened,” he said over Zoom, reflecting on the last 10 years. “Time has moved very, very quickly. Ten years has felt like three or four.”
The years since his last global trek were filled with Broadway runs, recordings, film projects and philanthropy – the varied pursuits of a performer who has never quite fit into a single box.
Now, at 44 and roughly 25 years into a career that has spanned pop, classical crossover and musical theatre, he is returning with the Gems World Tour, a career-spanning show that will travel to 21 cities, including Singapore.
“It takes a lot to get everybody out,” he said of mounting a global tour with full band and orchestra. “It’s not just me. And I’m grateful that they’ve all put in that work so that we can do this.”
A distinctive path
Groban’s rise in the early 2000s was something of an anomaly. With a classically tinged baritone and a repertoire heavy on earnest ballads, he emerged at a time when the charts were dominated by boy bands and R&B.
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His self-titled debut album went on to sell more than five million copies, launching a run of multi-platinum releases that included the three-times-platinum anthem, You Raise Me Up.
Over the years, he has sung alongside the likes of Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand and Andrea Bocelli. To Groban, these duets are less strategic and more opportunities to blend contrasting vocal styles, when asked how he decides on who to collaborate with.
“What I look for in a duet partner is (a voice) that feels not just great, but unique,” he said.
He has never been overly concerned with technical perfection. Early in his career, a director offered a piece of advice that stayed with him: “Perfect is for a*******.”
Groban recalls the line with a laugh, but he has taken it to heart. “I much prefer something that people can recognise and that they feel from… I always try to be a voice that’s emotional more than a voice that’s perfect.”
Few contemporary singers have songs as closely tied to listeners’ personal milestones as Groban does. You Raise Me Up, released in 2003, has become a fixture at graduations, memorials and ceremonies worldwide.
He admits that, offstage, he sometimes feels he has sung it enough. But the moment the opening chords begin, things change.
“If I felt like I was doing that song and people didn’t care, then I’d say, all right, time to pack it up,” he said. “But without fail… I can feel that in that moment they need to hear it.”
That exchange of need between performer and audience is what keeps the songs fresh. “They need it, and I need it,” he explained.
A decade of detours
The years between tours were hardly quiet. Groban spent extended periods on Broadway, most notably in the title role of Sweeney Todd, and continued to act, host and record. Recent releases include Hidden Gems, a collection of rare and fan-favourite tracks, and Gems, a compilation charting more than two decades of signature songs.
Outside of music, his Find Your Light Foundation recently raised US$1.5 million at its annual benefit concert for arts education. The cause is personal. He said that as a teenager, access to music teachers and instruments helped him find not only his singing voice, but also a sense of direction.
“It’s the whole reason that I’m able to sit here and talk to you about the arts,” he said.
The foundation’s goal is not simply to produce professional artists. “It’s really about making sure that we finance programmes that are giving kids a chance to find their voice,” he added.
Big room, intimate show
The Singapore stop of the Gems tour will take place at The Star Theatre, a venue Groban remembers fondly as he has previously performed there.
He described it as “the perfect combination of grand and intimate”, a space where he can still make eye contact with people in the audience.
“My songs are about connecting and storytelling... Whether it’s for 10,000 people or 2,000 people or 100 people, I still get the same thrill,” he shared.
“And my happiest moments are always onstage when I take the audience from song one to song 20 and experiencing it together.”
Josh Groban performs at The Star Theatre on Feb 13 at 8 pm. Tickets are available via Ticketmaster online.
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