Visit to America's Got Talent

OK, so apparently Josh didn't fly anywhere near where I was sitting for that last blog.

Well at least the next day he came fairly near where I was sitting, though I didn't get to wave to him.

NightOwl was very good to let me know that she had a pass to go see Josh perform with the Forte Tenor group on America's Got Talent (AGT) and that I could go with her, so I rearranged my schedule and went.

I had seen lots of clips of America's Got Talent on YouTube. Probably the most notable such clip was when Jackie Evancho auditioned.

Also, those of you who are Grobies will surely be following the story of Josh Page, who sang a duet with our Josh at Madison Square Garden in November of 2011.  He is now with a group called Forte, who are finalists in AGT.  Our Josh is to be featured Wednesday.

I really like the way Josh P. emphasizes the diversity of Forte in interviews, and how singing helps bring different people together.  I was also really moved when Sean Panikkar said in one of his interviews that he is biracial between the warring groups in Sri Lanka, so that everyone there is interested in his appearance on US TV.  For those of you who have been reading this blog, you will see that this is related to my quixotic quest for the world anthem.

So this week is the finals. This seems a bit odd to me, because it seems to be the start of a new TV season, but somehow this year's show is just ending, and I know Forte only auditioned in June. Maybe someone can explain this to me. Does the show only run in the summer? I guess that makes sense, because the contestants are all young, so I suppose they're all off on break from school in the summer.

NightOwl got there about noon, wanting to be first in line, even though we didn't have to be there until 3; and she succeeded, except for one very rude woman who just kept walking to the front of the line, even though security told her to back off. Later it appeared that she knew the head lady in charge of managing the line.

I got there about quarter of one.

At about 2:30, they moved us over to the other side of the building to film a red carpet sequence when the six remaining contestants arrived. They promised us that NightOwl would not lose her first place in line, but in fact they shuffled us up, which was very frustrating.

Then they handed some people photos of the contestants with Sharpies, so that they could get autographs. We wanted photos of Forte, but they had already handed them out. I think we might have spent an hour waiting and cheering, while the contestants came in. Forte had to get back in the car and do their entrance again, because something went wrong with their entrance. Of course, by that time, they had already autographed the photos of them.

It was pretty tiring clapping and cheering for all that time. Fortunately, I've had voice lessons, so I was able to pace myself, though I was getting a bit hoarse at one point, so I changed to a more comfortable pitch.  

Really I had only heard of Forte. I didn't know the other acts, which included a country/rock singer, a magician, a dancer, and at least one comedian, all very young. I didn't mind cheering for the people I didn't know, because, after all, they must be good to have gotten this far in the show, and they're certainly under a lot of stress, so they deserve my support, even though I was really there for Forte.

Some of the audience members got into shouting the names of the performers rhythmically, though it seemed to me that they were most enthusiastic about Forte. The other members of the group walked though this without participating, but Josh P. started leading the cheer with great enthusiasm. He was definitely interacting with the crowd more than the other members of his group; though some of the other performers did even more so.

Eventually, around 4, we finally got our tickets. They completely did not observe the original line order, so we ended up something like 10 rows back, even though NightOwl had been first in line.

Then I went off in search of a bathroom. In case you ever need to know, there's a shopping mall under the building just south of Radio City Music Hall. That shopping mall has a nice, large women's room, which is open to the public. I hope I remember that the next time I'm in that area and need one.

Then we went back to the theater. Since we had tickets with assigned seat numbers, it did not matter that we had to stand in a long line to get in.

While we were standing there, I spotted one of Josh Groban's guitarists, not Tariqh, but the other one. Was he the one who switched over from being an audio engineer during the STY tour? I'm not sure.

I also saw Josh P's brother, who I think is called Zach. He didn't look very happy. I wonder if he's shy, or whether he worries that the rock band called "The Brothers Page" is going to die permanently as a result of the success of Forte.

I personally suspect Josh P. will get back to his rock band eventually.

Of the six acts that we were filmed cheering for, only two performed during the segment we saw. These were Forte, with Josh Groban, and the female singer (whose name escapes me), with Gavin McGraw.

The information that Night Owl got seemed to indicate that there might be a second taping, later, that also featured Josh. They only took one take of Josh the time when we were watching.  They were prepared to do a second take, but then said that they didn't need to. So it would make sense that they might do another taping, possibly even with different songs.

We’ll have to see what happens.

In the performance I saw, Forte started out singing "To Where You Are."  Josh P. started the singing. I have to say that his voice sounded much more amazing in person than it does in YouTube videos. There was a lot of subtle shimmering to it. Then each of three other singers sang something, followed by what they called "superstar" Josh Groban.

That was interesting to me, because my feeling from the YouTube videos was that Josh Page had the least showy voice of the three of then, but you certainly wouldn't say that based on today.

They didn't sing the whole song. I think this show operates on the concept that the American people do not have sufficient attention span to sit through a three or four minute song.

Then there was some conversation about the appearance of Josh P. at Madison Square Garden during Josh Groban's “Straight To You” tour, and how the YouTube video of that  appearance led to the formation of Forte.

I find curious that they don't mention that that same duet was what led Jackie Evancho to choose Josh P. to go on tour with her. I would think that would be of interest, because she was also an AGT contestant in the past. I was at one of the concerts on that tour, because I'm also a Jackie Evancho fan. Josh P. and Jackie alternated singing songs, and also sang a duet of “The Prayer” together. I was surprised at how much Josh P. sang, because it was billed as a Jackie Evancho concert, yet Josh P. sang nearly as much as she did.

They also put in a pitch for Josh Groban's tour.

Then they sang part of "Brave." Josh Groban started out and Forte sang the oh's as a chorus. Later Forte stepped back, so Josh G. could finish the song, not that he really finished it, of course, since, as I said before, they don't do whole 3 or 4 minute songs on this show.  At the end of what they sang, though, Josh G. had a larger gospel choir accompany Josh G. on the last chorus. The noise of the band and the gospel choir was such that one could not hear Josh G. singing the ending chorus.

I can say that I was pleased that the first time he sang "away" in “Brave” was clear as a bell, with none of the strained or strangled sounds that have plagued that song from the start. If you’ve been reading this blog you will have noticed that I’ve been very concerned about that.  When he got back to the chorus the second time, though, I can't say if he sang "away," clearly, because, as I said, the gospel choir drowned him out.

I suppose that when the thing airs, the audio engineers will remove the racket and we’ll really get to hear what he sounded like.

People have asked me what he wore. At first I said that he wore his usual concert attire. Now, though, when I think back on it, he might have had black leather shoes and a white Oxford shirt on, rather than sneakers and tee, respectively. Truthfully, I'm a bit embarrassed to say that I only really look at the too tight pants; and I noticed that the jacket seemed to be the usual one that he wears, so I just kept my eyes on the pants.  I guess I’m becoming one of those dirty old ladies.

I can say that Josh G's assertions that he is getting fat are utterly daft. He is most certainly not fat. Of course, photos make people look fatter, because they flatten a three dimensional person into a two dimensional image.

When I saw him at the Allen Room in February, I was thinking the whole time that he looked awfully thin. This time, to me, he looked like he was at a healthier weight. I wasn't quite as close as I was in the Allen Room, where I was front row center, but still I was fairly close, much more so than at the Hollywood Bowl, so I definitely feel that I got a good eyeful, and he was most definitely NOT fat.

I worry that he's got body dysmorphia.

Anyway, Josh G. and Forte were on stage for maybe three minutes. For a while, it sounded like they might redo the numbers on a second take, but then the announcer said that they had what they needed and that was the end of that.

One of the things they had us do while we were waiting was to download an app onto our cell phones, “Wham City Lights.” They made a sound and light show using our cell phones as well add the studio lights. They asked us to turn the screens of our phones toward the stage. The app displayed patterns that their cameras presumably could pick up. Also the app turned on our flashes in back. I hope this sound and light show gets on the show at least for a little while. When I looked behind me, it seemed like the whole theater was full of cell phones running this app.

At other times they had us practicing our standing ovations or listening to the warm-up guy making  jokes.

Eventually, they got to the second act. They had told us that we were only going to get to see two. This was probably just as well, as we were getting pretty cheered out.

I wish I could remember her name. She was some kind of country/rock singer. They had her performing with Gavin McGraw. She was quite pretty and had a nice voice. Unfortunately the instrumentals backing up their duet were a deafening cacophony, so most of the song was just a deafening blur.  They instructed us to stand up when the music got loud as if we were excited. Fortunately, I never go anywhere without earplugs. I needed them for this song . I also needed them for screaming at the acts on the red carpet, which would otherwise have been deafening as well.

I do find that the ear plugs tend to filter out the noise and leave the music, which is good for thus type of thing.

Now this pair did their duet twice, since apparently there was something wrong the first time they did it. That was a bit frustrating. Apparently Josh Groban and Forte, who I came to see, were too good and therefore didn't need a second take, while this group that I wasn't enjoying played twice. GRR 

I suppose, when they broadcast this, the audio engineers will clean it up so that the TV watcher won't hear that horrible racket that we heard and it will sound great.

In any case, we spent over two hours inside Radio City Music Hall to see acts that totaled less than ten minutes.

We did get to see the celebrity judges. We were closest to Howard Stern, who seems to have attended the same fashion school as Josh Groban. His jacket didn't fit quite right, and the bottom of his tie showed awkwardly in the gap below the button, which was closed in a way that made the jacket look too tight, even though Stern is pencil thin.

Finally we get to go out and go to the bathroom again. I hadn't drunk much during the day, so was quite thirsty. 

In the basement there was a red carpet area where people were taking their own pictures. Josh Page was hanging around there and letting people take pictures with him. I didn't see any other contestants doing that. He seemed really happy and very relaxed with fans, an outgoing and poised young man, which is interesting since most performers tend to be shy.  

As usual, I could not find my Josh Groban tee shirt before the show.  This always happens.  I find it at other times.  Not finding it turned out to be a good thing, though, because we weren't allowed to wear logo clothes.  I did wear my shawl neck cardigan that I bought because it looked like one of Josh G's.

Waving from the Hudson

OK, so yesterday Josh Groban said he was going to fly over the Hudson.  He's taking flying lessons.  He asked people to wave at him.

I live near the Hudson, walking distance.  I decided to go down there and look for him.  Of course, I had no clue when he was going to be there, if he even got this far north.

So I sent him a bunch of tweets while I was down there.  This is sort of like when I went to Malibu and tweeted him while he was traveling to Colorado.  If you've been following this blog, you might have read that below, under "Lost Blog."  One of those kind of stupid things.

Anyway, I thought I'd make a record of my little travel log, for those of you who might be curious about the area of the Hudson north of New York City that Josh might or might not have been flying over.  

Anyone who might have known the area just north of the Tappan Zee Bridge before, you should be aware that it is changing a lot -- getting spiffed up.

Also, I note that a couple of those tweets were not actually addressed to him, so he wouldn't have seen them, so I guess if he reads this he will see them.

This is in reverse chronological order, just as if you were reading my twitter time line.  In other words, for the tweets, go to the bottom and read upwards.  The links at the very bottom you can read last.

error in this one, the train station and village hall are east of the park:

 

Here's a video about the Minnesota bridge collapse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C31IlOHNzbM

Idaho bridge collapse

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNOKobGybDQ

This is what we've been fearing for the Tappan Zee Bridge.  I've been living near this bridge since 1986 and they've been talking about replacing it that entire time.  I'm glad they're finally working on it, tho it makes small boating hard.

Here's an article about the bridge construction and how it's making it hard for small boats

http://www.lohud.com/interactive/article/20130914/NEWS02/309090111/Tappan-Zee-Bridge-vessels-lights-tough-navigate

Here's a lovely picture of the bear Mountain Bridge, that I was recommending that Josh fly up to

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.arnabbanerjee.com/data/photos/33_1ny_bear_mtn_bride_copy.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.arnabbanerjee.com/water-and-colors/bear-mountain-bridge-new-york-11_3_33.html&h=1199&w=1800&sz=629&tbnid=bZ9wGQFP4pH_WM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=135&zoom=1&usg=__dCYBSEGj5BdPjdxzlJ13Z4GD3bg=&docid=BYBxprninp5SWM&sa=X&ei=eWo2UtvHPLaj4APM2IHwAw&ved=0CEkQ9QEwCQ&dur=404

Reaction to Hyde Park

Painful, that's what it is, listening to Josh not singing his best in front of a huge crowd, like at Hyde Park, on September 9: high notes strained, some notes off key. What's up?

These high notes sounding strangled seems to be becoming more and more common with him. Yet, every so often, he sounds better. Being off key isn't so common with him.

I have a great imagination. Let's see. Is he sick, which he seems to be way more often than most people?  He complained of laryngitis upon leaving England.  Was that from being sick?  Or from straining?  Has his voice gotten too low for those higher notes, but then why off key on lower ones? He has complained of feeling fat and bingeing.  Has he become bulimic and is he purging before concerts? Has he damaged his voice by singing, particularly when sick, like Placido Domingo’s father?

I'm thinking back on my experience at the Hollywood Bowl in July. July 2, the first time he sang in that series of three concerts, he didn't sound so great -- not as bad as at Hyde Park, but not great. Then, I went back July 4, the third time he sang in the same venue, with the same program and backup musicians, and he sounded totally amazing. 

I can't even begin to tell you what a transporting experience July 4 was:  His voice was so rich and multi-textured, and the synchrony with the orchestra was so subtle. There's a certain magic when things just click, and that was there that night. I was totally mesmerized the entire time.  It was a nearly flawless performance, which certainly banished any suspicion on my part that his voice was permanently damaged.

Yet, the YouTube videos of the Red Rock concert 4 days later had his high notes on “Brave” sounding strangled again.

If he were really overtired or straining, why would he sound better the third time in 3 days in Hollywood?

Back to Hyde Park: he seemed unusually grateful to see fans in the front row.  He spoke with more than usual emotion in his voice about how glad he was that they had taken the trouble to be in the front row with a banner.

Was he nervous? That's such a storied venue, and I guess the crowd there is more random than he might normally expect.  Plus he was on UK TV.

Actually, the most common thing that Josh says about his feelings is that he's nervous.  He's too scared to call Stevie Wonder. He's too scared to be a cohost with Kelly. He's too scared to try stand up comedy.   He has said that earlier in his career he was sometimes so nervous that he could not sing at all.  That seemed to happen on his Live at the Greek DVD, where some of the songs are really so awful that they’re hard to listen to.  I definitely recommend getting the revised CD from that concert, which is better, though still not his best performance.

On the "Straight To You" (STY) tour, I was somewhat discomfited by the change in his sound from when he was younger.  Still, by and large, he did well. The higher notes were somewhat strained, but not this strangled sound we're getting now.  Most people felt he was singing better than he had ever sung.

On the STY tour, he brought his backup musicians with him. I can see where it would be nerve-racking to stand up with a new bunch of musicians, whom one has only practiced with a small number of times, in a new venue, and not be quite sure what is going to happen. I wonder if bringing backup musicians would reduce his stress?

Also, on that tour, he didn’t have large screens, with his image.  Instead he had a sound and light show behind him.  Did he perhaps hope the sound and light show would keep the audience from staring at him? 

Before the Hyde Park concert, he had this whirlwind thing where he filmed with HBO for four days, them rushed off to the UK, where there was jet lag. He said on twitter that he hadn't slept in two days.

I'm wondering if there's a certain amount of denial going on here, where he's allowing himself to be over scheduled, and not sufficiently advocating for his need for more rest and more rehearsal time.

Also, I wonder if he's in denial about being able to pick up local musicians in the venues where he plays.  They're sure to be off, at least in some parts of the music, I would think. They're all going to have their quirks.  He chooses the strings players, by and large, because they’re beautiful young women.  I’m sure they’re great violinists, but, if beauty is the main criterion, is he really getting the best performers?  Moreover, are they distracting while he's singing if they're too beautiful?

Michael Jackson said he liked to rehearse everything about a hundred times and then he would go into a trance, when performing, and sing from reflex. Jackie Evancho has mentioned going into a trance when she sings as well. 

I know in my little YouTube channel, my biggest hit (moving in on 3000 views, whoopee!  not major league) is the song that I sang as a lullaby to my younger son. I must have sung that song at least a thousand times.   Somehow, I believe, people can hear that I really internalized that song, and that's why it's most popular.

Similarly, I think Josh may have done so well on the Noel album, because he sang a lot of those sings repeatedly as a child. He has said he was puzzled, why it was so little work, but then he wasn't thinking, perhaps, of his childhood practice.

It's going to be hard to go into that kind of trance and really sing well, if you're singing with different backup musicians every time.

Also, perhaps with "Brave," has he sung it badly so many times that it's becoming a habit to strangle on the high notes?

I saw an article about neurological research into professional athletes. They documented what parts of the brain are used when a highly experienced player is out on the field, as compared with when people perform such tasks with less experience. It's a totally different part of the brain, for the experienced, professional athlete. It's not in the conscious part of the brain at all. While the less experienced person is thinking consciously about what he or she is doing.

The author commented that this was why professional athletes often sound stupid when asked about their plays. They have no idea what they did. It was all in the subconscious, reflexive thought processes. 

Now imagine if a football player were to play with a different team every time. Would he play as well?  Unlikely.  He would have to go back into that conscious thinking mode more, when dealing with new players, and that would throw him off.

Experienced fans do sense that their enthusiasm has a positive effect on Josh's performances. I've even seen that myself. He responds to a crowd. Still, I wonder if even the most enthusiastic fans can overcome the kind of exhaustion that Josh must have been experiencing this week, together with performing with new musicians and his possible fear of the storied venue. 

Also, I think Josh is really conscious of trying not to be a Diva. I read a news story a year ago or so about Lady Gaga keeping people waiting for an hour while she insisted on extra rehearsals. People got very restive with her, but she knew what was necessary to get the kind of performance she wanted to deliver.  She gets the results she wants.

I kind of suspect that, in the same situation, Josh would probably cave in to pressure, and not insist on those extra rehearsals. Fear again. Maybe some more diva-ish behavior is necessary here.

Also, is he maybe afraid to admit that he has to transpose some songs lower?

Ok, now, just assuming that fear is an issue here, I would like to digress into one of my favorite topics: my 12 step programs.  I love 12 step programs.  They’re a huge passion for me.  I always hope to be able to share what I've found there, which is part of why this account is pseudonymous.

So, here goes:

Josh (and I kind of suspect that you might read this blog, and to anyone else who might have gotten this far), I would like to commend to your attention a prayer I learned in my step programs, from page 68 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.

God, please remove my fear and direct my attention to what you would have me be.

Addicts have to have their fear removed; otherwise they will go back into their self-medicating, addictive behaviors. What 12 steppers, myself included, have discovered is that this kind of prayer has a positive effect on fear. 

Now I know that you're not terribly religious, Josh, but this prayer has definite positive effects on my thinking, I find -- and a lot of people find. It's like a meditation technique.  You don’t have to believe anything in particular for it to work.

I don't know if you saw that YouTube video with that palm reader reading your palm. One need not necessarily believe in palm reading, but he said that doing music was in your palm, that you have to do it for your karma or something like that.

This relates to another aspect of what I've been learning in my 12 step stuff, this idea that God intends us to be exactly where we are right now. If I'm constantly questioning whether I should be where I am, I'm going to make myself miserable with dithering. And, for me, as a food addict, that kind of misery us going to make me want to self medicate with food.

This sort of principle applies to life for anyone, I think. If I'm constantly worrying, I'm going to be miserable, no matter what else is going on.  If you're convinced that God means you to be where you are, then it's less frightening.

Anyway that prayer really helps me, so I recommend it.

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I should add, here, that the reason that I sit here and write four pages on this topic is that I want to keep hearing what I heard on July 4.  Also, I want those many people who saw Josh in a televised concert from Hyde Park to realize that he doesn't always sound that way.

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Oh, one more question I ask myself.  Is he so reluctant to transpose songs downward because he has perfect pitch, so transposing is difficult?

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In case you didn't notice, this blog is about Josh Groban, the singer @joshgroban on twitter.

well *I* thought I was funny

OK, so Chris Groban tweeted a link to that incredibly lousy video and claimed it was his.

I'm taking this as a joke, since he said it was a new video and it was actually posted in February 2012 and had over 500k views and wasn't on his channel anyway.

I suppose it must be a bit frustrating when something that lousy is so successful and really great videos like his "Trapped" with Molly Brown

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7JGIZCjGpY

have only 5k views.

Of course, there are often cult followings for really lousy content.  Like many viewers of "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" cited their reason for watching the show over and over  -- and dressing up in costumes and dancing in the aisles of the movie theaters -- to be that the movie was so lousy that it was great.

--------------------------

Well, anyway, I thought my responses were really funny.

I guess nobody else noticed or thought so, but I thought I would just put my responses up here so I can remember them for narcissistic purposes

clap clap -- laughter

Well, if I don't applaud myself, who will?  

Sigh.

Kind of quiet around here.

Judith appearing with Josh and the quixotic quest -- warning very long

Ok now, if you've been following this blog, you know that I have this thing about the quixotic quest for the world anthem.

This all started when I got obsessed with Michael Jackson.

I got interested in Judith Hill, because she was in the movie "This is It" and because she sang MJ's song "Heal the World" at his memorial service to an estimated audience of 1 billion people.

That's really a lot of people.  It boggles the mind.

But that appearance was the kind of thing Michael Jackson hoped for with the song.  MJ had a vision of the whole world getting together and singing a song all at once, just like he saw people in his audiences singing together.  He hoped his song might bring peace to the world.

He achieved incredible market penetration with "Heal the World."  When I was on the Michael Jackson fan boards, shortly after his death, a fan from Sri Lanka told me that that song was in public school music text books in Sri Lanka.  That's hard for me to wrap my mind around, but he was that good as a performer, as a composer, and as a generator of buzz for himself.  People even as far away as Sri Lanka, and absorbed in their own civil war, noticed and promoted that song.

MJ once said that he did not understand how strange he seemed to people.  I don't know if he understood that he was generating buzz by being strange, but it did work that way.  The stranger he was, the more publicity his work got, and the more successful he got.

They do say that in the entertainment industry there is no such thing as bad publicity.

We  later learned that Judith Hill got offers for recording contracts, because of her appearance in the memorial service, but turned them down because she didn't like the idea of making money off of Michael's death.

I'm pretty sure he would have told her to take those contracts, had he still been able to communicate with her.  First, he liked her.  Second, he would have liked that she sang his song to 1 billion people.  That's what he wanted for that song, like I said.  He always said that he never cared about music or commercial success.  These things were merely means to an end for him, the end being to get the world to sing and dance together.  Her taking that contract would have been advancing that goal.  The money would not be relevant.

We saw that dream of the spreading of dance in the "This is It" movie, where they had dancers doing the drill dance spread through computer enhancement to appear to cover the world.

Michael chose at least 3 young female singers -- at least that I have heard of so far -- to feature in "This is It," the stationary O2 tour.  These were: Lady Gaga, Charice, and Judith Hill.

 Lady Gaga got really huge at least in part because MJ's choreographer, Travis Payne, said he had had a conversation with MJ, shortly before MJ's death, where MJ told Payne to pay attention to Gaga.  Payne responded that he followed MJ's instructions and realized that MJ was right and later went to work with Gaga.  He was probably involved in her work getting a more polished and professional look to it.

Charice was promoted by Oprah Winfrey and David Foster, but has seemingly had a more modest success, despite making a huge international splash at the beginning.  I feel that this is her own doing.  She changed genre from power ballads to R&B.  She was loved for her power ballads and has never really caught on as much with R&B.   Also she has repeated changed her image.  This is common with child prodigies.   Often, as adults, they no longer want to do what they were famous for as prodigies.  Charice remains an MJ fan, BTW, and has performed his "Earth Song," several times.

Judith Hill could have been big, too, after that memorial service, but she turned it down.  She's a classy lady, but classy doesn't always cut it success wise.

Still, I always remembered her.  She so seemed to embody what MJ hoped for in writing "Heal the World".  She's mixed race.  She's beautiful.  She's creative.  She wrote such a nice song about MJ's death.  In my mind she has always been linked to my quixotic quest.

To me, mixed race people are a kind of peace symbol just by their very existence.

I'm a mixed person myself, because my father's ancestry was Jewish and my mother came from a long line of WASPs -- a bit like Josh, who has similar mixed ethnicity.  That mixed ethnicity was a very big deal at the time my parents got married, because my mother's father was hugely anti-semitic.  If he hadn't died prematurely due a smoking induced heart attack I likely would not exist.  Being a melting pot kid and believing that the melting pot is part of the way to peace is a significant part of my identity.

MJ was mixed race also.  His father was part white, having light skin and light eyes.  His mother was part Cherokee.

I don't 100% know why my obsession with MJ switched to an obsession with Josh Groban. At first blush they don't seem like that similar of performers.

MJ was a counter tenor.  Josh is a baritone.  MJ was one of the best dancers who ever existed.

Josh doesn't like to dance.  He claims he isn't good at it, but Ellen DeGeneres said he *was* good, so I don't know what to believe.   He seemed to do pretty well with that Double Dream Hands dance in Ohio on the STY tour.

It was only later that I learned that Josh's first voice teacher was Seth Riggs, who was also Michael Jackson's voice teacher.    Arguably, Josh's early singing style was in some sense not so different from MJ's.

I can't say that I'm nearly as impressed with Josh's current voice coach, as Josh's high notes seem to be deteriorating.  Tho the frustrating appearances of croaked high notes could also be because Josh is failing to recognize that his voice is deepening with age and failing to transpose songs accordingly.

Also, MJ was strongly influenced by classical music.  He often said so.  At first, I couldn't hear it in his music, but now I can.  There is a complexity and subtlety to the multi-layerd nature of MJ's music that is classically influenced.  The classical music influence is much clearer in Josh's music, but that is something they have in common.

Also, there is something similar in the pain Josh projects when he sings and the way MJ did.  I guess a lot of popular performers are like that, projecting a lot of pain in their performances.

When I first got obsessed with Josh, I tried to interest him in my quixotic quest.  I asked management to pass him a letter at the first concert I went to, the BWB concert at the Schubert in New Haven.  I've posted that letter on this blog.   When I got on twitter, I asked him to sing "Heal the World."  These things did not seem to pique his interest.

I gather that Stevie Wonder has somewhat this same idea that MJ had, that the right song could save the world.  Josh said that Stevie asked if they could write a song together, saying it might save the world.  Josh said that he never called Stevie back.  He said that it was because he was too shy, because he was so much in awe of Stevie that he wouldn't be able to work with him.

I blogged about this before, also.  I've been very frustrated by Josh's refusal to get together with Stevie to write a song.  David Foster tweeted a picture of himself working with Stevie in the recording studio.  I told Josh that he ought to try to join them.

I never know how much of his twitter Josh actually reads -- quite a bit, probably not everything.  He hasn't ever said, though, that he's moved off his fear of working with Stevie.  Very frustrating.

I guess Josh doesn't think that a single song could save the world.  Maybe that seems too pie in the sky to him.  Surely, if he thought there was even a slight chance that this could work, he would be able to overcome his fear, because of the potential benefit.  He does at least know that music can save children.  That's why he has a charity called "Find Your Light" that gives musical instruments to struggling youth arts programs.  If music can save individual children, why couldn't it save the world?

Maybe he hasn't been quite big enough to see the power of music -- and dance as well, of course, since he seldom dances.  I have watched that DVD of MJ's Bucharest concert several times.  The crowd there was beyond amazing -- and the concert was broadcast to 500 million people -- a truly earth shattering event.  Perhaps if Josh had been standing in front of that crowd, the way MJ was standing in front of that crowd, perhaps Josh would have come to believe, as MJ believed, that some spiritual transformation was occuring in the audience, a spiritual transformation that might spread, that might heal the world.

Josh has expressed gratitude that he's not that big.  He would hardly want the kind of life that MJ led, a prisoner in his own home for his entire adult life, imprisoned for his fame.  MJ often lamented his lack of a childhood, but it seems to me that he lacked an adulthood, because of his imprisonment.

As I pointed out in a previous blog, Josh's refusal to call Stevie is like his initial refusal to go to that rehearsal with Celine Dion way back when, when he was 17, and David Foster bullied him into it; but, in a way, it is also like Judith's refusal of those recording contracts after MJ's memorial service.  They're similar in that way: classy, modest, not quite certain of their own viability as public figures, and, as a result, shooting themselves in the foot.

So, when I saw Judith Hill in a couple of TV appearances singing backup for Josh, I noticed immediately.  I wrote about it on FOJG.  I wrote about it on Bad Grobanites. I tweeted about it. I deplored that she was only singing backup. I thought she deserved more.

Almost immediately after I wrote that stuff on the bulletin boards on Josh's websites, Judith announced that she was going to perform with Chris Botti, a friend of Josh's.

Was there a connection between what I wrote and those events?  It could have been coincidence, but not necessarily.

Then, almost immediately after that, Judith was appearing on "The Voice."   I still feel frustrated that she didn't stay on longer.  I think she made a mistake in that last number she did, which was a Gaga style number that Judith didn't quite pull off.  She isn't afraid to dance, unlike Josh, but she's not Lady Gaga.  I am still remembering hearing on Judith's website, several years back, an excerpt of some very beautiful madrigals.  I think if she had done something historical/classical like that, it might have carried the day better -- but I'm a pop/classical crossover fan, so I'm not entirely objective.  It does seem like country musicians tend to win these TV talent shows more often than other genres in general.  Melanie Amaro, who did power ballads, was a bit of an exception.

Something that frustrated me about Judith was that she did not keep fans updated on twitter.  She was doing some touring to Asia and Latin America, but she never tweeted photos of her travels, even tho I asked her to.  I signed up to be on her mailing list, but never got any updates -- tho I failed to check my spam folder, so it's possible I missed something.  Still she seemed singularly uninterested in keeping in touch with her fans.
Coincidentally with Judith's appearances with Chris Botti and on The Voice she suddenly started keeping her fans in the loop, tweeting frequently and also posting on Facebook.  Someone obviously told her that if she wanted to succeed she had to network with fans, so she shaped up.

Now she's appearing with Josh Groban on his next tour and double billed.

I'm really pleased about this.  I wonder if somehow what I wrote had an influence on subsequent events.  I'll likely never know.

I think Judith is a good match for Josh.  They both have a soulful style of singing, though they tend to go for different instrumentals.  Judith appeals to a somewhat different audience and hopefully will broaden his appeal.  Josh's touring band for the ATE tour has been notably lacking in female presense, as I've blogged about before.

Also, when I started my Josh Groban obsession, I was strongly influenced by excerpts from the "Awake" DVD that appeared on YouTube.  The "Awake" DVD featured an extremely diverse set of performers.  The music was, of course, also intriguing, being a fusion of various earlier types of music, and extremely beautiful.

I saw the result as fusion people performing fusion music.  Josh also used to tweet fairly often about liking to fuse different types of music.   This was sort of connected in some way with my quixotic quest -- an urge for unification.

At the very least, I can hope that this re-infusion of diverse female presence will help make his tour more interesting.  He should realize that most of his fans are female.  While we like to listen to a sexy young man singing, that does not mean that we have completely stopped being interested in women and the advancement of women.

Certainly, she is of interest to Asians.  Asians are fascinated by people of mixed Asian ancestry.  She's been to Japan several times already and has performed on Chinese TV.  Maybe, if she's touring with Josh, they'll get to Asia.  Who knows?

And, back in the back of my head, is this idea that Judith Hill's appearance could be some kind of positive step on the direction of my quixotic quest.

Then, I suppose, being something like Judith and Josh, I feel like I'm not really good enough to play this sort of role in public events or to have my dreams come true.  And many people have dreamed of world peace before, without its coming true -- though the UN says that, despite our perceptions of ongoing war, war is in fact becoming less frequent world wide, which they take partial credit for.   (They don't seem to notice the importance of an effective world anthem, though.  They have a song that has fallen completely flat, and that no one sings, and they fail to see the need for another that would be more accepted.)

In the mean time, I also asked Connie Talbot to sing "Heal the World," and she put it on her album.  She had asked people what they wanted her to sing, so I put in the request, and at least one person seconded it.  She's really a fine, young performer, and she did go sing that song in China, which is very important.  Asians are big music fans.

So, sometimes it feels like I am making a little bit of progress on this quixotic quest.

I'm certainly looking forward to hearing Judith Hill perform.  She sang with MJ the last day he was alive.  I still regard MJ as a sort of prophet, someone of more significance than merely a successful performer.  I feel that he passed some kind of energy to her, by singing with her like that.  I hope she might have become some kind of deputy, in a way.

I never got to hear him perform.  I only got interested in him after he died.  I hope, maybe, to get just a bit of his vibes this way.

And, maybe, there will be some more progress on the quixotic quest.

Oh my, but this is a long blog! I guess it's fairly amazing that anyone reads this stuff. I am grateful that some people have said they enjoy what I write.  My purpose here has been largely to blow off steam, but I'm glad that someone enjoys reading it -- tho I can hardly imagine anyone enjoying reading this long thing.

Oh, well. At least google is so generous as to allow me to post all this stuff on line.

"When you say you love me..."

So Josh says he's going to bring back "When You Say You Love Me," which he sang directly in to Gayle King's face way back when. She may be the only person who Josh has sung directly into the face of. He claims he does not do it with girlfriends. Gayle's probably eternally bound to him from it.

It's interesting that he very seldom sings directly to the audience "I love you." He will sing about love or about people who are in love, but not this direct to the audience thing.

Now this brings back my thoughts in my previous blog about whether a crooner singing to the audience is actually engaged in a mating call, like a bird. 

I was walking through the woods today and actually heard a Hermit Thrush, btw. If you have never heard this bird, you have not lived.

When I look at my own life: 56 years old, divorced for 8 years, no one on the horizon, wondering if I have lost the ability to fall in love, increasingly dubious that Prince Charming is ever coming by; I have to think that having a handsome young man singing to me from the stage is probably the closest I'm likely to get.

But I wonder what it does to me, as I blogged about before, to have this sexy fellow, with the too tight pants, highlighting you know what, singing "I love you" at me. Is it hazardous to my mental health?

Can I just say "No?" Should I be tied to the mast, like Ulysses?

Still I can't say I am sorry. I haven't heard him sing his song live, and it's clearly one of the most powerful ones he's done.

Sort of like jumping off a cliff. "Here I come, Josh. Do your darndest and let the chips fall where they may."