Entertainment

June 25, 2007

Josh Groban is so nice

DON MAYHEW McClatchy Newspapers

There’s been no shortage of big moments during pop singer Josh Groban’s career the past few years. He’s sung at the Olympics, the Super Bowl and the Vatican.

But asked if one moment stands out above the others, he considers the question a moment and says, “I brought my dad to Red Rocks (the spectacular Denver amphitheater) on his birthday. That was fun. I had the audience sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to him.”

Yes, Groban loves his family. He considers doing charity work an honor. He treasures meeting Nelson Mandela. He admits to stage fright.

Talking about his latest album, last year’s “Awake,” the 26-year-old is most excited not that it hit No. 2 on Billboard’s album chart (following 2004’s “Closer,” which reached No. 1), but because he got to work with the likes of Herbie Hancock and Ladysmith Black Mambazo during recording.

“When you have a little bit of success, you can use it for good things, or you can use it for bad things,” he says. “I try to use it to expand my musical horizons.”

It’s too bad phone booths have become so rare. You want to stick Groban in one and see if Superman pops out.

Since his self-titled debut album hit the top 10 in 2001, Groban has become one of the best-selling singers of the 21st century. His swelling orchestral pop tunes, following the blueprints sung by such stars as Sarah Brightman and Charlotte Church, have become staples of Billboard’s Adult Contemporary chart.

“The kind of sound that I’m doing is new and old at the same time,” he says. But wary of musical formula, he wanted to push the envelope with “Awake,” on which listeners may detect an African influence.

Sticking exclusively to the big, classical sound that got his career off so solidly “felt dangerous to me. That’s a one-way ticket to me of a fad,” he says.

Groban admits to being ambitious, so he’s unlikely to go off too wildly on a tangent: “I’m a number person. I’m always asking people, ‘How many tickets are we selling? How are things going?’ ”

But he’s not without mirth. Moments later, his cell phone rings.

“Oops,” he says. “My Scorpions ringtone there.”

The song? “Rock You Like a Hurricane.” Groban isn’t a big fan of the hard-rock group: “I was just on a quest to find the cheesiest ringtone possible.”

His current tour will visit more than 70 cities across North America and Europe, lasting at least to the end of August. Though big one-time events have marked his early career, he enjoys touring a little more.

“When people come to see you perform, you know from the first moment to the last moment it’s under control,” he says. “When you perform at something that’s way, way beyond yourself, when you’re a part of something that’s a lot bigger, there’s a lot of nerves. You just want to do a good job.”

Given that Groban has sung in public since seventh grade, many fans would be surprised to learn that he gets nervous before performing.

“I’ve discovered that the stage fright is just a winding of coil,” he says. “As soon as I get on stage, it’s just like, ‘Blast off!’ It goes away.”

So Superman, Groban isn’t. But most fans will take him just the way he is, and he’s grateful for that.

“It’s all been good,” he says. “The success has just opened doors for me to work with new and interesting people. ... Anytime I can sing a song or find music that inspires people to do a good thing, is a great thing.”

Clark Kent couldn’t have said it any better.

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