November 23, 2004
By Tammy O'Reilly
SINGER Josh Groban's has become a global phenomenon. Now South African audiences will be able to experience his golden voice first hand when he performs here at the end of November.
The Canadian songster is set to delight local fans at the Sun City Super Bowl on Saturday 27 November and at the Coca-Cola Dome in Northgate on Sunday 28 November.
He then heads off to Cape Town where three concerts are scheduled, on 1,2 and 3 December at Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
At 23, Groban has a hauntingly beautiful voice, which is as emotive as that of a tenor, yet as tender and romantic as that of a pop balladeer.
He catapulted to fame after a last minute appearance as a stand-in for Andrea Bocelli during a dress rehearsal for the 1999 Grammy Awards and has not looked back since.
The singer has made several appearances on talk shows, sung at the closing ceremony of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics - seen by over a billion people - and even tried his hand at acting with a stint on TV hit Ally McBeal.
Groban's world tour, which promotes his latest album 'Closer', has already proved a roaring success, with every performance to date sold out. Organisers hope the SA leg will be just as successful.
Groban attributes his success to the low profile he has adopted. "I'm not on Top 40 radio all the time, I'm not in the fans' faces all the time. There's only a certain amount of time they can see me," he says.
"Ten tours down the road, who knows? I think the fans wanted this tour for a while, and I wanted this tour for a while, and it's really a kind of 'thank you' to the fans. I think that's part of the reason why they're all coming."
The tour will feature a 16-piece South African string orchestra, along with a 20-member local children's choir, who will join Groban on the song "You Raise Me Up".
Since the release of his 2001 debut album featuring the hit "To Where You Are", album sales in South Africa have exceeded 250 000, making it his third biggest market outside Canada and the US.
Proceeds from the concert will aid the cause of Unite Against Hunger, a food relief programme that currently provides hunger relief to more than 100 000 South Africans each month.
"With the continued support of the South African public and international role players like Josh we can look forward to further increasing efforts in 2005," said Linda Bam, head of social investment of Tiger Brands, one of the sponsors of Unite Against Hunger.
The South African leg of Groban's tour is sponsored by Big Concerts and Famous Concerts, in partnership with mobile service provider MTN, SABC 2, Jacaranda 94.2, Nedbank and Kfm 94.5.
Tickets can be purchased from all Computicket outlets and can be booked telephonically on 083 915 8000 or online at www.computicket.com. Prices range from R161 to R416.
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