Assignment 1-4 Weekly Written Analysis - Josh Groban

Assignment 1-4 Weekly Written Analysis
Josh Groban

By Karen Flohre

HUMN 341

Professor: Dr. Elisabeth Nixon

July 5, 2008

Josh Groban

Josh Groban, 27, is a good example of Popular Culture. He is classified as a pop and classical music singer. In my opinion his main audience is older. His music is not the typical classical music which belongs in the Elite Culture category. This combined style of music with his young age makes him unique.
Although Josh Winslow Groban made his debut in the seventh grade it was not until about 4 years later that he starting working with producer/writer/arranger David Foster, a friend of his vocal coach. When he initially worked with David Foster, he was a rehearsal singer where he worked on several high-profile events. Shortly after these events, Warner Bros. Records offered him a recording contract. He made his recording debut singing “For Always” on the A.I; Artificial Intelligence soundtrack and then appeared in the 2001 Ally McBeal season finale. In the same year his debut album was released in November. He performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo, Norway, at the Vatican in Rome. One of his most famous performances was with Charlotte Church singing “The Prayer” at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games closing ceremony. In 2002, Josh became a star. He had his own PBS special and his album went double platinum.
Although Josh’s music is quite popular, I wonder if it would appeal to more people if he sang more pop songs than classical. I love his voice and I would listen to anything he sings. The younger population would probably prefer listening to the pop style while the older crowd would listen to both. Some people would rather not listen to the songs in a foreign language. I appreciate these songs more than the English songs since I know how hard it is to learn a foreign language. Josh does not have to understand what he is singing but to pronounce the words correctly to sing them must be very difficult. I think he has more education and elite music skills than other singers his age. Different types of music appeal to different types of people but Josh has really made a unique niche for himself in the music industry and he has his fans, called Grobanites, to prove it.

Here are a couple of interesting sites about Josh Groban:
http://music.aol.com/artist/josh-groban/biography/1470590
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josh_Groban