JOSH HISTORY 101:
The Cliffs Notes Version
1998
Josh's voice coach submits a tape of him singing "All I Ask of You" from "Phantom of the Opera" to uber-producer David Foster, who is blown away by Josh's voice.
1999
January-- Josh sings "All I Ask of You" at the inauguration of California Governor Gray Davis.
February--David Foster calls on Josh again to stand in for Andrea Bocelli at the rehearsals for the Grammy Awards. Josh sings "The Prayer" with Celine Dion, and everyone, including Celine, is amazed by his powerful voice. Rosie O'Donnell, the host of the Grammies, asks Josh to come sing on her show.
Josh is asked to perform at many charity events and people begin to take real notice of his talent.
Josh signs a recording contract with 143 Records.
2000
Josh joins Sarah Brightman on her "La Luna" tour.
2001
May--Josh appears for the first time on "Ally McBeal" and sings "You're Still You." The appearance creates a huge stir, with people all over the US flooding the show's website asking questions about Josh. Many people believe that his voice is dubbed... Warner Brothers puts together a website to let people know about Josh and his music. Fans begin to flock to the site
August--Josh's first recording is released August 27th, a duet of "For Always" with Lara Fabian, on the AI Soundtrack. Josh's official website, www.joshgroban.com, goes up on August 27th, and Grobania is born.
November--Josh's first solo CD, "Josh Groban" is released on November 11, 2001.
Josh begins to appear on television and in radio interviews much more frequently, and his fan base begins to grow at a rapid pace.
2002
February-- Josh performs "The Prayer" with Charlotte Church at the closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics, which is seen by over a billion people.
March-- Josh goes overseas to promote his new album in Europe.
April-- Josh receives his first gold record when "Josh Groban" is certified Gold on April 5th.
Josh begins to get some major television spots...The Tonight Show, Good Morning America, The Today Show. When a profile about him airs on 20/20 on April 12th, people begin to put a name with his face, and his voice. Josh's ride to stardom gets a turbo boost.
June - July-- Josh travels to Asia for performances and promotion in Tokyo and Taiwan.
July - October-- Josh appears on the Oprah Winfrey show July 11th, as the most requested guest of the year. Although he's sick with strep throat and tonsillitis, his performance is breathtaking. Josh has his tonsils removed, and after a few weeks recuperation, goes back to performing, sounding stronger than ever. He sings the National Anthem at the Concert for America and the 2002 World Series opening game. Josh's debut CD reaches its peak at #8 on the Billboard 200 Charts.
August-- Josh's first single, "To Where You Are," hits #1 on the Adult Contemporary charts
October--Josh tapes his first solo concert as a Great Performances Special for PBS in Pasadena, California.
November-- "Josh Groban" is certified Double Platinum on November 4th.
"Josh Groban in Concert" airs on PBS on November 23rd, and the DVD of the performance is released December 3rd.
December-- Josh performs at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Norway.
His second single, "O Holy Night," goes to #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Singles charts
Josh is named Best Selling New Male Artist of 2002 and People Magazine's "Sexiest Newcomer"
2003
January -- Josh appears as a presenter on the American Music Awards and People's Choice Awards. Over the next few months, he travels to Europe for appearances in the UK, Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, and France.
February-- Third single, "You're Still You," released for radio
September-- Josh appears on Broadway for the first time, as Anatoly in a production of "Chess" for the Actor's Fund
October-- "Josh Groban in Concert" certified SIX TIMES PLATINUM, and goes on to be the best-selling long-form music video of 2003.
November-- "Closer" is released on November 11th, and sells 116,000 on the FIRST DAY. It debuts at #4 on the Billboard 200 charts and at #1 for Internet Sales.
December-- Josh is awarded Billboard's Music Award for Classical Crossover Artist and Album.
"Closer" is certified Gold, Platinum, and Double Platinum.
2004
January -- "Closer" reaches #1 on the Billboard 200 Charts!
Josh begins his first solo concert tour in Boise, Idaho, and tickets are sold out in every venue within minutes.
February-- Josh sings "You Raise Me Up" at the Superbowl preshow, and is featured on a Vh1 Spotlight show.
March-- Josh travels to Japan for appearances and promos.
Josh's fourth single, "You Raise Me Up" hits #1 on Adult Contemporary singles charts.
April--Josh plays to sold-out shows for three nights at Radio City Music Hall in NYC.
May-- The soundtrack from the movie "Troy" is released, featuring Josh's fifth single, "Remember."
Josh performs at the We Are The Future concert in Rome, Italy.
July-- Josh is featured on AOL's Broadband Rocks Live concert online, and his performance breaks records with over 100,000 people viewing the first night.
Josh kicks off his Summer Tour July 18th in St. Louis, Missouri, playing to larger venues. Most venues sell out across the country.
August-- "Remember When It Rained" is released as Josh's sixth single
September-- "Remember" is nominated for a 2004 World Soundtrack Award.
Josh is nominated for World Music Awards' "World's Best Male Artist" and he performs at the awards ceremony.
Josh is awarded the AOL RED Members' Choice Award
Josh is nominated for the American Music Awards' "Favorite Male Artist--Pop or Rock"
Josh records his second Great Performances Special for PBS at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles, California.
Josh records the song, "Believe," which is featured in the Christmas movie "The Polar Express."
October-- Josh performs at the Carousel of Hope Ball
Josh performs "Believe" on the Oprah WInfrey show and begins making appearances in promotion of "The Polar Express"
November--Josh wins Billboard's Backstage Pass Touring Award for "Top Small Venue Tour."
Josh travels to London for promotion and the UK premiere of Polar Express
Josh kicks off his first International Tour in South Africa November 27th.
Josh meets with Nelson Mandela and volunteers to serve as an ambassador to help with his global 46664 campaign in the fight against HIV/AIDS in children.
"Closer" is nominated for the Billboard Awards' "Billboard 200 Album of the Year"
"Josh Groban: Live at the Greek" is released November 30th.
December-- Josh's "Live at the Greek" special airs across the country on PBS during their annual pledge drives.
Josh completes his tour in South Africa and sweeps through Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Germany, France, and England before completing his first international tour.
Josh's seventh single, "Believe" is released and jumps to the top of the Adult Contemporary Charts, making it his fourth #1 single.
Josh performs before Prince Charles at the Royal Variety Show in London on December 14th.
Back home in the US, Josh performs on Good Morning America for the fourth time, on Christmas Eve.
Josh closes out his phenomenal year with a rash of nominations...including a People's Choice Award, Billboard 200 Award, Golden Globe, Critic's Choice Award, and a GRAMMY...totalling 13 nominations for 2004! (see all nominations)
Josh helps ring in 2005 with an appearance on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.
2005
January-- "Josh Groban Live at the Greek" is nominated for a 5th Annual DVD Exclusive Award
"Believe" is nominated for an Oscar for "Best Song"
Josh performs "To Where You Are" at the Tsunami Aid Concert
Josh's tour, "Josh Groban: Live" begins January 22nd in Verona, NY
February--Josh is awarded "Best New Touring Artist" by the Pollstar Concert Industry Awards
Josh performs "Believe" with Beyonce' at the 77th Annual Academy Awards
March--LIVE Tour ends in Sioux City, IA, and Josh begins a break before beginning to record his third studio album
Josh performs "When You Say You Love Me" on Oprah's "Wildest Dreams" episode
April--Josh performs with Rod Stewart, Alicia Keyes, Rob Thomas, Joss Stone, and John Legend on the Vh1 Save the Music concert
Josh appears in NYC with Elton John at a benefit to aid the Breast Cancer Research Foundation
June--Josh is awarded "Favorite Male Artist" by the American Society of Young Musicians
Josh inducts Joshua Bell into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame and performs "Mi Mancherai" with him onstage
July--Josh performs at the Live8 Concert in Philadelphia, to help raise awareness of the crisis of HIV/AIDS in Africa
August--Josh performs for the second time at Film Night at Tanglewood with John Williams and the Boston Pops
October--Josh sings the National Anthem at the opening game of the World Series...his second invitation to do so
December--Josh performs "They Won't Go When I Go" at the GRAMMY Jam honoring the work of Stevie Wonder
2006
January--Josh makes his debut at the Metropolitan Opera House as a guest of Barbara Cook
April--Fans get a first look at Josh's new CD when "Weeping" with Ladysmith Black Mambazo is previewed on Good Morning America
August--Josh is honored by his alma mater at the Los Angeles High School for the Arts (LACHSA) First Annual Hollywood Tribute Event
September--New single"You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" is released for radio
November - Josh's third studio CD, "AWAKE," is released on November 7th, already at the top of Amazon and Barnes & Noble sales charts.
"Awake" shoots to #1 in Canada, #2 on the US Billboard 200 chart, #11 in Norway.
Josh ranks #5 in concert ticket sales
Promotion of "Awake" takes Josh to Germany, Netherlands, Canada, Norway, France, Sweden, and UK.
December - Josh finishes the year with over 1.3 million sales of "Awake," hitting PLATINUM in just over one month!
"Closer" is certified FIVE TIMES PLATINUM
2007
January-- Josh is featured in a Hallmark Valentine promotion, releasing "With You," a limited-edition CD featuring two new songs. Josh's recording of "When You Say You Love Me" is also used for a musical Valentine card.
February-- Josh's new AWAKE concert tour kicks off February 17th in Verona, NY.
March-- Josh is named the #1 Best Selling Artist of All Time on Barnes & Noble
July-- Josh performs "All I Ask Of You" with Sarah Brightman at the charity concert honoring Princess Diana at Wembley Stadium in London.
October-- NOEL is released and rockets to the top of the Billboard charts, to become the #1 selling album of 2007 and break many long-standing industry records!
November--Josh appears on the Oprah Winfrey Show to promote "Noel" as one of her "Favorite Things"
December-- NOEL is certified 4 TIMES PLATINUM.
2008
February-- Josh performs a duet of "The Prayer" with Andrea Bocelli at the Grammy Awards...the same song that helped launch Josh's career 10 years prior when he performed it with Celine Dion at the Grammy rehearsals in Andrea's absence.
April -- Josh appears on David Letterman for the first time, ending six years of fan requests for Josh to appear on the show!
Josh appears as one of People Magazine's "100 Most Beautiful People"
June-- Josh performs with Vusi Mahlasela at Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday Concert in London.
July-- Josh performs "God Bless America" at the All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium.
