The classical-pop bridge Josh Groban helped build still stands
Before he became a household name, Josh Groban was that mop-haired, 17-year-old music student who made headlines after standing in for Andrea Bocelli during a 1999 Grammy rehearsal with Celine Dion.
But for some of us in the Philippines, our real introduction to the American singer was on our television screens in 2001, when he played a clumsy teenager on the legal comedy-drama series “Ally McBeal” (Tuesday nights on RPN 9—back when people still watched TV on an actual television).
Those episodes thrust him into the international mainstream. In fact, his appearances became so popular that the producers reportedly received some 8,000 emails, mostly from young viewers. And looking back, Groban’s scenes singing “You’re Still You” at a high school prom and “To Where You Are” in a church service might as well have been many millennials’ first exposure to music they didn’t yet know as classical crossover.
A multigenerational experience
While the genre already had prominent figures such as Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman, they were mostly marketed as prestige artists for an older, well-heeled audience. But with the arrival of Groban—and, to a certain extent, his then-female counterpart Charlotte Church—he helped make “popera” (pop and opera) accessible, and arguably even attractive, to a younger mainstream audience.
In 2001, bubblegum pop had pretty much reached a saturation point, and the teen and young adult demographic was craving something different: many branched out to pop punk, while others gravitated toward hip-hop and R&B.
But there were also smaller pockets of listeners who found their way to popera—drawn in particular by Groban’s pristine baritone and his brand of classical-inspired, hymn-like ballads. For a time, he enjoyed considerable popularity in the Philippines. Remember how Christian Bautista, then packaged in a similar mold, competed in the 2003 talent search “Star in a Million,” performing Groban songs?
Today, the role of bridging mainstream pop with traditional musical disciplines like classical and jazz is being fulfilled by artists like Laufey. Meanwhile, popular series like the period drama “Bridgerton” have also introduced classical music—and even made it cool—for the Gen Z and TikTok generation, thanks to their string quartet covers of contemporary pop hits.
So while his identity now is no longer tied to his classical crossover beginnings, Groban—who has since done more TV and film acting, engaged in philanthropy, and delivered critically acclaimed Broadway performances—is still glad that his mission continues—and on a much larger, democratized scale.
“I think what’s great for this new generation—Gen Z, or even Alpha—is that there are so many ways to discover music. Unlike when I first started, the ways to listen to music were a lot more limited. You went to a music store, and whatever they put on the front shelves was your option. Whatever was on the radio is what you listened to,” he tells Lifestyle Inquirer in a Zoom interview.
“Now, with streaming, there are so many playlists to discover. With social media, there are countless ways a song can become the soundtrack for a video or a trend.”
His third Manila show
But perhaps the most striking difference now, Groban observes, is that the younger generation is “kind of genre-less” in what they like—or at least no longer beholden to any specific trend or tribe. “They listen to jazz, classical, world music, and everything in between. And they like singers, too, which is good for me,” he says, laughing.
“It’s a wonderful thing,” adds Groban, a two-time Tony, two-time Emmy, and five-time Grammy nominee. “It’s just nice to know that this continues to be a multigenerational experience for everybody. It has always been my goal.”
As such, the 44-year-old artist hopes to see some of those younger fans in the audience when he takes the stage at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on Feb. 18. Presented by Wilbros Live, the upcoming show will be Groban’s third in the Philippines—a “home away from home” that he feels has always “gotten me from day one.”
“I have always felt so welcomed there, like I don’t need to explain myself. It’s one of the first places outside America where I truly felt that,” says Groban, who last visited Manila in 2019. “That’s something rare and special for any artist. This is an opportunity to show my gratitude for that connection and for giving me the platform to do what I do.”
The show is part of Groban’s “Gems World Tour,” his first full-scale international arena tour in 10 years, and is mounted in support of his latest album, “Hidden Gems.”
While the setlist is expected to reflect that—new originals like “The Constant” and rare covers like Elton John’s “Empty Sky”—Groban makes sure to curate the songs in a way that will best resonate with the local crowd.
Deeper and more nuanced
And for the Filipino fans, he can’t not perform his cover of Michael Jackson’s “She’s Out of My Life.” “I didn’t think anyone would care that I recorded this, but Filipinos always request it, and I have only ever performed it in Manila,” he says.
Of course, Groban won’t dare leave out his other classics like “You Raise Me Up” and “You Are Loved”—only this time, they come packed with richer musical textures and a deeper understanding that only experience can teach. Indeed, more than changes in musical or vocal style (as Groban demonstrated in his grungier, Tony-nominated performance in the 2023 Broadway revival of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”), it’s his life experiences that breathe new life into the songs.
Interestingly enough, he enjoys performing his earlier material more now than he did when he first recorded it, because he has “actually lived it.” “I know that sense of loss when I sing ‘To Where You Are’ because there are people I think of. I know love when I sing ‘You Are Loved,’” he points out.
“Everything I do—theater, comedy, the genres I have explored—continues to build a toolbox of influences. Over the years, the shows get deeper and more nuanced,” Groban adds. “It’s like a magnet that takes the great experiences in your life and adds them as ingredients to your next show.”
