Joy 101: Josh Groban

"“We'd like you to go and sing with Celine Dion at a rehearsal." My confidence was not that high yet... So, I said to him, "I don't think this is the right thing for me, so good luck, and thank you so much for calling, David." Thankfully, he called me back, and he said, ”I don't think you heard me. Get your butt over here!"" - ‎Josh Groban on being 17 and overwhelmed by an offer from David Foster The digital deluxe version of “Cinematic” is out November 20th. And learn more about the “Find Your Light Foundation at https://fylf.org https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffylf.org%2F&data=05%7C02%7CBrianBurton%40iheartmedia.com%7C9efb8eaa22044d64eb4008df36d34729%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C639289953204014318%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=vRCPnQzXxO0y%2Bg5p2gQepxtI6foYFP7ewPAUTxdDeek%3D&reserved=0. Experience the full conversation on the "Joy 101 podcast with Hoda Kotb" wherever you listen to podcasts. For more information, please visit us at www.joy101.com/podcast https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.joy101.com%2Fpodcast&data=05%7C02%7CBrianBurton%40iheartmedia.com%7C9efb8eaa22044d64eb4008df36d34729%7C122a527e5b714eba878d9810b495b9e3%7C0%7C0%7C639289953204050882%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=yyqlm2Hr0qdgjYcIUoEFFiu2DmNopzYlm1AC90QrEhY%3D&reserved=0 See omnystudio.com/listener https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:11Hoda Kotb?

  You know, when you interview somebody who is like an extraordinary singer and you just sort of assume that Lady Luck followed them through their career and that's how they wound up that way? That is not the case for a guy named Josh Groban. When I say his name, you already know his voice. He's that guy. He was a kid who, when he was like an awkward 13-year-old, stood in the back row at choir and didn't want to be called forward until one singular teacher gave him a front row seat and he sang and it was beautiful. He ended up finding his way through an extraordinary producer named David Foster. He sang with Celine Dion and all the way through his career, it was hard work, sheer talent and time.

• 0:56Hoda Kotb?

  You know, sometimes when you look back at someone's career, it seems like it was condensed into four highlights. Josh Groban shows that it is a long, beautiful path. And also, along with fame, as Josh told me, comes the other part, sort of the underbelly of fame. What happens when there are high expectations? What if you can't meet them? How does that make you feel? He goes through all of these emotions, but at the very end, Josh is very poignant and he says that when you feel like your cup is empty, the best thing you can do is give back, give to someone. And that's something that Josh does in spades. So enjoy the conversation with Josh Groban.

• 1:38Speaker 01

  This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.

• 1:42Hoda Kotb?

  Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb is presented by CVS. The holidays are already busy enough, so I'm all for anything that makes them feel a little bit easier. CVS can help you check off more of your list in one stop. From the things you need to the little extras that make the season feel special. And with hundreds of stocking stuffers under $5, you can find something fun for just about everyone. Plus, extra care members can save even more while they shop. So this holiday season, take one thing off your plate and let CVS help you get a little more done. Visit your local CVS pharmacy, sponsored by CVS.

• 2:18Speaker 02

  That sound? That's pro squash. Some of the fastest rallies in sport played inches from the crowd. The National Squash League is back in full swing for season four. The sport is heading to the 2028 Olympics for the first time, and you can see it up close right now in a city near you. Watch every match for free on YouTube. Search National Squash League and hit subscribe or follow live updates on Instagram at nsl.sport. Wait, I came in for two things. How is this $47? All right, we're gonna need a plan here.

• 2:58Speaker 03

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• 3:19Speaker 04

  Hey, what's up, everybody? It's Questlove. Behind every chart-topping hit, you know by heart there's an original, writing it someplace where nobody was listening. Behind the culture, that marks a generation, there's an original. Already moving, already shaking things up. Behind every night that changed the room, somebody had to walk in first. Not knowing it would land, but doing it anyway. Originals are out there, living stories worth telling. What's yours? Behind every original, live in Levi's.

• 3:56Speaker 02

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• 4:26Hoda Kotb?

  I've been looking forward to this. Hi, Josh.

• 4:29Speaker 05

  I have also been looking forward to this, Hoda. It's so nice to see you.

• 4:31Hoda Kotb?

  I'm used to three-minute interviews with you on the Today Show, so I'm happy to be able to sit with you.

• 4:35Speaker 05

  That is very true. We're going long form, baby.

• 4:37Hoda Kotb?

  We're going long form. Let me ask you, I want to, I want to take you back.

• 4:39Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 4:40Hoda Kotb?

  This is one of my favorite questions, Josh, that somebody from the Wall Street Journal asked me this once and I was like, oh, okay.

• 4:45Speaker 05

  Okay.

• 4:46Hoda Kotb?

  So he said, he said, first, close your eyes. And then he said, imagine that you are walking into your childhood bedroom, whatever bedroom comes to mind.

• 4:55Speaker 05

  Oh, yeah.

• 4:56Hoda Kotb?

  So look around at the walls, look at the sheets, look at the books on the shelf, look at whatever you have on your shelves and on the walls. Open your eyes and tell me what you see.

• 5:05Speaker 05

  There was, I had a forest dark green carpet that, I don't know why, it was just, it was so cool to have a green carpet when I was a kid. I'm looking, there was the, I had a bunk bed that I shared with my brother, because we both wanted a bunk bed, so, but we both wanted the top bunk, so we would switch every night. We'd get, we'd switch. I had a couple of Cabbage Patch Dolls on the shelf that I'm seeing. I'm seeing all my theater books on the shelves. I'm seeing a trophy that I got in seventh grade for most promising newcomer in the theater department. And, yeah, and what's interesting about that room is that my parents still live in the

• 5:46Speaker 05

  same house that I grew up in, which is an absurdity, especially in Los Angeles. So when I go home now, you know, to visit them for the holidays and things like that, it is now a guest bedroom. No longer has the bunk bed, but, but it's, it's, I can still look out the window that I did when I was, you know, six, seven years old, yeah.

• 6:06Hoda Kotb?

  So as a little kid, everyone has their vibe or the way that they are described in the neighborhood or whatever. Some are the athletic kids, some are the funny kids, the shy kids. How would kids have described you?

• 6:16Speaker 05

  Um, I think that they probably would have described me as a little bit shy, a little introverted. I think that I found, I found my expressiveness through, I think, a little bit of comedy. I think that, for me, I was always a little bit of the class clown with them. I was always trying to make people laugh. I was always trying to do the silly thing in the group. And I think that kind of started with, as a little bit of a defense mechanism, I think. You know, I was, I was kind of having a hard time finding myself, but I found that if I could make someone laugh, then I felt kind of like I'd earned my place in the group. So I think they probably think I was a bit silly.

• 6:50Hoda Kotb?

  Your house was probably filled with music, I'm imagining. Was your, was your mom or your dad the musician?

• 6:55Speaker 05

  My dad is the musician. My dad, who, who did eventually go into executive recruiting, you know, he's been a headhunter for, you know, 50-plus years. But I got my musical, mine, from him. He plays by ear. We had a piano in the house, very, very luckily. And he would just, you know, sit down and play and, and he played trumpet when he was younger, but up until this most recent album where I got him to play it again, he put it, he put it away for many, many decades.

• 7:21Hoda Kotb?

  So was he the kind of dad who said, son, you know, like, I feel like sometimes I push my kids into sports.

• 7:27Speaker 05

  Sure.

• 7:28Hoda Kotb?

  Because I'm like, I love basketball. You'll love it. Did your parents push you into music?

• 7:32Speaker 05

  They were definitely not saying to me that I should try basketball. I, they, they knew immediately how uncoordinated I was and watching me do Little League Soccer or Little League, you know, softball. And the amazing thing about my parents, the thing I think I'm most grateful for, among a lot of other things, is that they, they knew I had a wild imagination and they knew that I was just kind of flipping between different mini-interests. You know, I was taking a lot of side quests in my interests. And so they saw a really curious kid and they just kind of decided to flow with that. And if I was, you know, all of a sudden I'd be kind of interested in, you know, Irish music or whatever it was.

• 8:15Speaker 05

  And oh, I'd get, you know, like I'd get a tin whistle for Christmas or something. Or, you know, if I was suddenly interested in geology, I, you know, they would just kind of slide a book about rocks under my door for my birthday. They really kind of tried to invigorate and, and, you know, kind of stoke the flame of, of whatever kind of little thing I was curious about at that time. It was just such a great lesson for me that sometimes that's all it takes, just the access, just the, the yes and to an idea.

• 8:44Hoda Kotb?

  Yes, and, that's good.

• 8:46Speaker 05

  Is, is, is all it takes for a kid to feel kind of less alone in the world, you know? And that, that stuff definitely did. And the fun part about that is, with all my little ADD side quests, which they'd realize later that's what it was, that a lot of those side quests became main quests in my adult life. You know, when I go on stage now and I, you know, play a drum solo in front of thousands of people, you know, I remember that moment when I got a drum set, you know, when I get to sit at the piano or, you know, collaborate with that artist from that genre that I was interested in at 10 years old.

• 9:17Hoda Kotb?

  It comes back.

• 9:18Speaker 05

  That's my way of being able to say thank you for, for those moments.

• 9:21Hoda Kotb?

  As being, most kids are awkward in school. 13 is the worst, probably, I think. 12, 13.

• 9:26Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 9:27Hoda Kotb?

  I know you were in the choir and I was reading a story about how you were kind of in the back, like, like everyone's trying to push their way to the back. I don't want to be up front. But somebody saw you, a teacher, and tapped you and said, come up here. Explain that experience and how it changed you.

• 9:42Speaker 05

  Sure. And first of all, I think, honestly, I think you have to be awkward at that age.

• 9:46Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 9:47Speaker 05

  If you are not awkward at that age, I don't think you grow up to be a great adult. I think that if you, if you peaked at 13, 14, you're not somebody I'm going to be friends with now. That's the growing pain.

• 9:55Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 9:56Speaker 05

  You know, that's the time period where you can all kind of look back and hopefully laugh about it. But yeah, no, painfully awkward for me at 13. I was a late bloomer, too. So like, you know, in that summer between sixth grade and seventh grade, there are kids who have that growth spurt.

• 10:09Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 10:10Speaker 05

  And they're going, hey, how are you? You know, had a nice summer, you know, all right. And then there were the kids like, hi, everybody, I'm Josh. And so for me, expressing myself was really important. Joining the choir was really important, but I was not front row ready. I was definitely not going to stick my neck out. But I so enjoyed the, the feeling of being lifted by the singers around me and being part of something greater than myself. And so I, yeah, I'd stand in the back of the choir and I had a teacher and he saw something in me and not just inability, not just like, oh, this, this kid can sing. But he saw also the necessity for me of, of how much I needed that to get out of my shell. And so he, he picked me out and his ear could hear that I could do it.

• 10:55Speaker 05

  So he wasn't throwing me into the lion's den. But he also saw that I was not going to be confident enough to do it myself. And so he gave me an assignment. He said, all right, you know, Josh, uh, well, first he started it off with a question of who knows how to scat sing? Anybody, anyone know what scat singing is? And of course my dad, you know, I, I go, oh yeah, it's that thing my dad does around the, you know, I'm so, the guy who did not want to stand in the front. I'm going, oh, I know the answer to that. Silly. And so, you know, and I'm kind of doing it for him. Yeah. It's kind of like, and he's like, hey, all right. So we're going to do, you're going to do a solo. You're going to do a, a Gershwin song called Wonderful. And, uh, you should do it, we're going to, as an assignment, I want you to do a scat solo in the middle of that song. I mean, this was like, he had a lot of faith, right?

• 11:40Speaker 05

  This could have gone, this could have gone real bad. And so of course I was just so mad at myself that I raised my hand. I'm going, what are you doing? You, that back row, it's so comfy. Why did you keep the hand down, Groban? And I worked on it and I worked on it. I didn't really tell my parents what I was working on. I didn't really tell them. I said, oh, I'm doing this thing. You should come to the cabaret night. And, uh, you know, it was, I always kind of pinpoint that moment as one that changed, I think, the trajectory of my whole life because I was scared, I was nervous, but I fa, I, I found the zone for the first time. I got out there and I sang it and I, I went into this improv zone and I did it and everybody was like, who is this kid? What's going on? And my voice hadn't changed.

• 12:23Speaker 05

  So it was like this super, it was up there. But my parents hadn't really discovered that for me yet. At that moment, it was just kind of this musical secret that I had with me and my choir and my teacher. And from that moment on, I realized that there was a gravitas, there was a, a confidence to expressing myself in music that I did not otherwise have. And, uh, and every day after that, I kind of, not a lot, but I held myself just a little bit higher. And then I kind of started working my way to, maybe I can sing in the front. Maybe I can do another solo someday. Maybe I can audition for the musical. Maybe I can, you know, join an improv class. I've got something that I can do that's not just blending in. I can say something that is uniquely my own. And that's, that's where, that's where my light bulb went off.

• 13:07Hoda Kotb?

  Wow. Well, edit ahead because your life has that pivotal moment. And then there's, there's a, there's a moment in your life and most people have somewhere where their life kind of took off in a crazy way.

• 13:18Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 13:19Hoda Kotb?

  Yours, you were still a teenager.

• 13:20Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 13:21Hoda Kotb?

  David Foster, who is a famed producer and just an all around cool guy. I love him so much. Um, had heard you, found you, liked you. He was getting ready to produce the Grammys. He had Celine Dion on stage and he was like, Andrea Bocelli, who's supposed to sing with Celine, actually is late. I got a guy, I got a guy who can fill in during rehearsal.

• 13:41Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 13:41Hoda Kotb?

  I mean, you get the call that you're going to fill in for Andrea Bocelli and you say...

• 13:48Speaker 05

  Well, he asked me if I would do it. And being a 17 year old kid who had no idea that this was an opportunity for me, just like I had no idea what that teacher was doing for me. I said, I don't think I'm the right guy for this. I said, listen, first of all, I got homework to do and, uh, I just, well, he, you know, the, that's a condensed, you know, story of he, he found me through a voice teacher in Los Angeles. He had me sing at a charity event and it was the coolest thing I'd ever done. It was a big arena and it was for the governor, governor of California at that time. And then I went back to class and I thought, well, nothing will ever be cooler than this moment. And so when he called me for something so lofty, I mean, very different singing, just for a charity, just by yourself to, we'd like you to go and sing, sing with Celine Dion at a, at a rehearsal.

• 14:32Speaker 05

  I was, I, my confidence was not that high yet. I mean, I was thinking to myself, you need a professional singer for this. I, I did not think that I was the right person for the job at all. I also didn't have stars in my eyes. I wasn't thinking to myself, I'm looking for any access to fame that I can get. I had no idea, really had no thought in my mind that that was something that I even could have in my life. I wanted to be an actor. I wanted to be in a show. I wanted to, you know, do theater and I just wanted to be in service of the play. That was my whole thing was if I could do that, that is the happiest I could possibly be. The idea of being a solo singer and you're going to sing with these super, didn't, didn't cross my mind. So I said to him, I don't think this is the right thing for me. I'm a baritone, not a tenor, first of all. Uh, so good luck and thank you so much for calling, David.

• 15:17Speaker 05

  And I'm going, phew, all right, dodged that bullet. And thankfully he called me back and he said, you know, kind of confused because nobody says no to David Foster. Uh, you know, I don't think you heard me, you know, get your butt over here. And that was it. But, a, and it, and again, that moment also changed my life. I needed the push, you know? And so having both of those mentors in my life, having both of those teachers in a way to kind of say, I see something in you that you don't yet see.

• 15:44Hoda Kotb?

  Were you calm when you stepped out on the stage with Celine Dion?

• 15:47Speaker 05

  You know, there, there was both the nerves of being in an environment that was just like I'd only seen on TV, right? I'm just looking around at the Grammys and Madonna's walking by and, you know, and you're just, you're just seeing all the superstars that you see everywhere. And then, and then Celine is just there. But I think, I honestly, when I, when I think back to it, I think to myself, oh, you were actually really calm. You were calm, you were focused, you were in that zone, just as like when you were pushed in the front of the choir. And I think part of that was that at that young age, I hadn't experienced yet what failure was. I didn't know what consequences for not doing your best felt like.

• 16:27Speaker 05

  And so there was this kind of naivete that really worked in my favor. To me, I'm just kind of going, all right, well, this is crazy. Yes, this is crazy. There were nerves, but it wasn't the kind of nerves of like, if I mess up, it's all over. It's, there's a different kind of nerve, there's a different kind of nerve that comes with the pressure of expectation. And I wasn't feeling the pressure of expectation. Nobody knew who I was. I just wanted to do a good job and I, and I was, I was taken by the heaviness of just how incredible it was. But I wasn't thinking to myself that this was make or break. I just wanted to do a good job. And so that combined with the fact that Celine is just so nice and so cool.

• 17:11Speaker 05

  And I think saw what David was trying to do and was like, okay, I have a rehearsal, I have to do this. Oh, you're Josh? Okay. Nice to meet you. David's got this kid that's doing this with me? Okay. And, oh, David's got a kid who's doing this with me. This is a thing that he's doing. This is a kid he's interested in. She knew what I didn't know, which was that David was interested in possibly a lot more with me. And so she took that time for her rehearsal to make that moment really comfortable for me and really just very kind hearted and very kind of nurturing, you know? She took my hand and said, all right, we're going to, we're going to do this, let's do this, you know?

• 17:47Hoda Kotb?

  So I, I went back and watched it. Do you, do you go back and watch it every now and then?

• 17:50Speaker 05

  No, I can't, I can't. I, first of all, I can't watch myself do anything. I can't, I can't listen to myself. Once I've done it, it's out in the world. I'm so self-critical, but I was also so unpolished then. I think, I look back and I listen to my technique and I listen to just, yeah, the raw energy and I sounded fine. But, but I, I was, I was, uh, I was, uh, an uncut gem at that point. Yeah.

• 18:13Hoda Kotb?

  I mean, it was so, I was just, when I watched it, cause I was thinking like a teenager, I was thinking of someone in high school, someone who's just, or about to get out, standing with Celine Dion.

• 18:22Speaker 05

  I was doing my best.

• 18:23Hoda Kotb?

  But you were focused on her. I was just so impressed with your, just your presence and your focus on her. It's almost like it was the two of you.

• 18:31Speaker 05

  Well, I was holding on for dear life mentally. I'm going, singing, please don't let me mess up.

• 18:36Hoda Kotb?

  It was beautiful.

• 18:37Speaker 05

  But that's the power of a duet. You have each other, you know? And that was, that was one of the first times where I really felt having somebody that has my back vocally. I love that about duets because you have each other's back and she has such a different voice type than I have. And knowing that we were going to get through this together and lift each other through this song, that's my favorite thing about collaboration.

• 18:57Hoda Kotb?

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• 19:42Hoda Kotb?

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• 19:58Speaker 02

  That sound? That's pro squash. Some of the fastest rallies in sport played inches from the crowd. The National Squash League is back in full swing for season four. The sport is heading to the 2028 Olympics for the first time and you can see it up close right now in a city near you. Watch every match for free on YouTube. Search National Squash League and hit subscribe or follow live updates on Instagram at nsl.sport.

• 20:26Speaker 06

  Wait, I came in for two things. How is this $47? All right, we're going to need a plan here.

• 20:34Speaker 03

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• 20:42Speaker 06

  Oh, that's actually really simple.

• 20:45Speaker 03

  Safe Balance Banking, one less thing to figure out. Learn more at bofa.com/simplbanking. Terms and conditions apply. Bank of America and a member FDIC.

• 20:56Speaker 02

  Deciding on what to listen to is hard. Using Zumo to stream music from iHeart 90's Radio is easy. Or play iHeart Country Classics Radio or Hip Hop Beats. Your choice, all for free. Stream easy with Zumo Play. Get live and on-demand entertainment with no logins, no signups, no accounts, no hassle. Get cozy on the couch and binge your favorite movies like About Last Night starring Kevin Hart, Panic Room starring Jodie Foster, and more, all streaming free on Zumo Play. Go to play.zumo.com now. Life is hard, Zumo is easy.

• 21:26Speaker 07

  Hi, I'm Jenna Oshkowitz. You might know me from Glee. This is At The Table, the food allergy podcast, a show about food, connection, and what it really looks like to live with food allergies. Each episode, we hear stories from real people like Daniel. People would always think I was lactose intolerant, so I just kind of shortened my explanation.

• 21:46Speaker 05

  To I'm deathly allergic. In a big way that defined a lot of my childhood.

• 21:52Speaker 07

  And while there are challenges, there are moments that remind you you're not alone.

• 21:57Speaker 03

  One of the best guys that I dated, he made a point to memorize all my food allergies.

• 22:03Speaker 07

  So join us and hear their stories and more because living with food allergies isn't just about what you can't eat. It's about still having your seat at the table. Brought to you by Genentech and Novartis. Listen to At The Table, the food allergy podcast on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow At The Table and start listening on the free iHeart radio app today.

• 22:23Hoda Kotb?

  So you, this happens and your life takes off like a rocket ship. I mean,

• 22:28Speaker 05

  Not immediately.

• 22:29Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, really?

• 22:29Speaker 05

  No, it was actually many years after that. I know. And it's, it's when, when, when I think about the stars that were aligned.

• 22:36Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 22:36Speaker 05

  In hindsight, it's easy to clump them together.

• 22:39Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, tell me.

• 22:39Speaker 05

  But that moment happened and I went back to school. I went back to school. I told everybody the story. The students were like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

• 22:46Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, right.

• 22:47Speaker 05

  And, you know, I just, it was like a dream. I did this thing. I can't believe this. And David Foster had me do this and my dad's going, you know, you're not getting out of the park, buddy. Great job. And he got to film it. So I had it on video. I knew it happened because I had it on video. But, but no, I went back to school. I went back to school and I studied and I auditioned for Carnegie Mellon and I got in. And I went off and I went to Carnegie Mellon and, and David's going, what, what are you doing next? I said, well, I'm going to Carnegie Mellon. I'm studying musical theater. Oh, all right. Cool. You know, and he's thinking, I know, you know, because I wasn't being offered a record deal. I did this thing, but it wasn't televised.

• 23:22Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 23:22Speaker 05

  So it's not like I did this thing and the world went, who's that?

• 23:26Hoda Kotb?

  Right.

• 23:27Speaker 05

  Fifteen people saw it.

• 23:28Hoda Kotb?

  Right.

• 23:28Speaker 05

  So, you know, I went back and David Foster eventually kind of kept calling me to do other things. He kind of said, all right, I've got this. And, you know, now you, you know what these galas.

• 23:40Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 23:41Speaker 05

  Now I've got my own, you know, but I sang in every backyard of every, every philanthropist's house. And I did every charity event and we sang everywhere. And I, he kept calling me out of school to do these things. And I'm going, okay, this is kind of, this is fun. We're helping a lot of great causes. I'm, I'm, and he had a story. I brought this kid out with Celine and everything, but that was a good year plus of him doing that. And eventually he connected me with, at the time, his boss at Warner Brothers Records, the late, great Phil Corderaro. He was an amazing CEO. And honestly, again, these, these people who were like teachers for me, who saw something that I didn't.

• 24:18Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 24:18Speaker 05

  Phil Q heard me sing at the City of Hope benefit in Los Angeles. They were honoring him. And he came backstage afterwards and he gave me a hug and he said that there's really, there's something special here. There's something special here, just like that teacher said, and just like David said. And that was, that was the first time I said to myself, are they thinking of signing me? Like, wait, wait a minute. A record deal? Like there's, that's not a thing. I really didn't know. I did not think that. I thought, well, I'm helping these charities. I'm singing with David. I'm cutting my teeth. I'm having a great time. The college is getting a little pissed off, but I'm having a good time. And eventually my dad had to sit with David and say, look, you know, I didn't have an agent.

• 25:03Speaker 05

  I didn't have a manager. Josh is, you know, needs to focus on school. You know, what are your intentions for my son? You know, he can't keep getting called out like this. They're getting, they're getting a little upset, rightfully so. And that was when David and Phil, and they said, you know, we're going to take a flyer on this kid. We, we, you know, we don't know what's going to happen. There's not really a category here, but we believe in his voice. And it, just so you know, we might break even. This might not work out. It probably won't. But if he can take a leave of absence, we'd like to work on this for a year and see. And, um, and my parents, I think both viewing it as an education and viewing the fact that I was in college not for, you know, rocket science or architecture.

• 25:49Speaker 05

  I was there for performing. And this was a masterclass. They said, let's do it and you can always go back.

• 25:54Hoda Kotb?

  Wow. Well, uh, boy, that's so, that's so interesting because often you're right. Stories do get condensed. It was like you sang and then boom.

• 26:02Speaker 05

  And then my first album didn't take off right away. It took months and months and months. It, it, everything actually took longer than it seems when you.

• 26:11Hoda Kotb?

  That's an interesting and important point for anyone who's listening to. You look at someone like you and you think raw talent, had a couple of breaks and it took off.

• 26:19Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 26:20Hoda Kotb?

  It's a slog for everybody, for most people, not for everybody.

• 26:23Speaker 05

  Right.

• 26:23Hoda Kotb?

  But to get to that point.

• 26:25Speaker 05

  You have these pillars of aha moments.

• 26:26Hoda Kotb?

  Yes.

• 26:27Speaker 05

  That have to add up and some are bigger than others. I would say that, you know, when Oprah had me on for the first time.

• 26:35Hoda Kotb?

  That's a.

• 26:36Speaker 05

  That was an aha moment.

• 26:37Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 26:38Speaker 05

  You know, when 2020 did a big piece on me. That was an aha moment. When I think about, you know, the moments that were, that were big for me in front of millions of people and the moments that were big for me as stepping stones behind the scenes. Those two things had to converge over a long period of time in order for it to stick.

• 26:55Hoda Kotb?

  Ally McBeal moment.

• 26:56Speaker 05

  And Ally McBeal was, yeah, but even Ally McBeal, I didn't have an album out when that first came out.

• 27:00Hoda Kotb?

  So they were just like, who's that guy?

• 27:01Speaker 05

  That kid, I was just an actor on a show.

• 27:03Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 27:03Speaker 05

  And so, you know, a few people wrote in to say, who is that kid? But it, what I think, the timing was actually really not in my favor.

• 27:12Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 27:12Speaker 05

  You know, nowadays you got to have the album ready to go.

• 27:15Hoda Kotb?

  Right. You get on the air.

• 27:16Speaker 05

  And nowadays you can just drop something on streaming or YouTube and, and you can hit it while the iron's hot. We hadn't pressed the CDs yet.

• 27:23Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah, let's talk, let's talk about, so let's, let's take us to you, you're, you have your peak of fame, which is amazing. And you love singing. You've loved it since you were a kid, but like with everything great in life, there's an underbelly. There's a thing that comes as a result of this great thing. I remember asking Magic Johnson once, I said, when were you your happiest? And he had, you know, he had all these accolades and he goes, I know. Cause I was sitting in my dorm room with Cookie, who eventually became my wife. And we were scraping up change, enough coins to get two slices and two cokes.

• 27:56Speaker 05

  Wow.

• 27:56Hoda Kotb?

  And we had two candles.

• 27:58Speaker 05

  Wow.

• 27:58Hoda Kotb?

  And we were on the floor and he was describing a moment.

• 28:01Speaker 05

  So great.

• 28:02Hoda Kotb?

  That is without any expectation, nothing.

• 28:06Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 28:06Hoda Kotb?

  So it, it got me thinking about happiness and when you feel it. But so you get, and you've had so many obviously amazing moments, but tell me about the other side of being the guy who has great records out and has the fame.

• 28:22Speaker 05

  Well, I think that, you know, the secret is, and I tell students this all the time. I tell young singers. That, you know, that kid that was self-critical, that wanted to be in the back of the choir, that didn't want to stick his neck out. You know, there's a part of that that never goes away.

• 28:37Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 28:38Speaker 05

  And that even if you've developed a tool belt of confidence and experience and you've put in your hours, there's, there's that nagging voice in your head that just says, not enough, not good enough, you know? Why you? The coat's too big. And I think that for me, it's the quiet moments, you know? When you get moments where you're reminded, where you're in front of people and they're applauding and you're singing and you hit the note and they're enjoying it. And, you know, you kind of, you kind of go, all right, I'm still there. All right. That's, but those moments are, those moments are fleeting. You know, the thing is that the pressure always kinds of take, take, kind of takes over. And the self doubt can sometimes last longer than the moments of reassurance.

• 29:23Speaker 05

  And so a big part of figuring out how to have longevity in this business as an artist and entertainer is figuring out how to machete through those long periods of self doubt.

• 29:35Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 29:36Speaker 05

  Because it's very easy in those quiet moments. And, and as an artist, you're in cycles. You're going into a year of isolation when you're making an album, you know? You're not on tour for a while. You don't see an audience for a while. And you, you sometimes forget that there's even anybody at all. And so for me, uh, I, I think that that's why the philanthropic part of it has been so important for me. Because there's a lot of stuff, there's a lot of baggage that comes from being shot out of a cannon at 17. A lot of unnecessary undue pressure and criticism. And honestly, a lot of that pressure can kind of turn into kind of a narcissism. And it's not a, it's not an egotistical narcissism. It's just the kind of narcissism that's like, you got to keep hitting the mark.

• 30:22Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 30:22Speaker 05

  You know, you have to keep delivering. You have to keep hitting it. You have to keep succeeding. And even though that's a pressure that's in service of other people, that's a lot of you, you, you, you, you. And so the thing that takes you out of the you is, is, is altruism, is in giving back, is in focusing on, how can I pay it forward? How can I? And honestly, opening up that bubble for me, taking it, taking, taking the onus off of the next thing that I have to knock out of the park has been the healthiest thing that I could have possibly done.

• 30:51Hoda Kotb?

  By the way, that's the best, that's like the world's greatest advice. Because no matter if you are in a position like yours, or if you're someone who is just going about the business of what they have to do every day. And you're right, most businesses tell you, you got to hit the mark. You got to make this.

• 31:05Speaker 05

  Totally.

• 31:05Hoda Kotb?

  You got to make this. You got to do that.

• 31:07Speaker 05

  And I'm a people pleaser. And I think a lot of us that go into this business just want, they want to please so badly. They want to please their audience. They want to please, you know, their record label. They want to please, you know, whoever. And, and so there is this kind of reverse, uh, you know, it's, it's, you're, you're hyper focused on yourself, but you're hyper focused on yourself because you want to keep matching that bar. And that can be, you can chase your tail into not being your best self and not, and not doing your best work.

• 31:35Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 31:35Speaker 05

  Because of the stuff that's, that's been so instilled in you.

• 31:38Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, before you realize that, because that's a huge realization. When you were 17 and shot out of a cannon and when people were put, there were expectations, obviously. You got to do this. You've got the voice. You're a single name guy. You're going to be that, you know? There's a lot there. How did, how does a teenager, a 20 something, even a 30 something really?

• 31:57Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 31:57Hoda Kotb?

  Deal with all of that?

• 31:59Speaker 05

  Well, I, I was very lucky that I had a family that, um, were not, they were not stage parents. They were supportive, the same parents that just put me in front of the thing and supported. The same parents that also, by the way, had to figure out in real time, you know, my eccentricities, you know? I did have ADD, very much so. And having to figure out, uh, my school life and having to figure out how to learn differently. And having to figure out, you know, this sensitive kind of flighty kid. They took that same openness and they brought that into all the things that I was having to figure out in the business.

• 32:39Speaker 05

  And so having a sounding board in them, having friends, also having been discovered, I think in the business by the right kind of people. Not all people at that level in this business, as you well know, are equal in their, uh, in their.

• 32:57Speaker 05

  Lack of toxicity. And I was lucky that I had people around me and David and Phil Q and the people that were at the record label at the time and now, uh, that really were in it for the right reasons for me. There was, there was a real kind of honest and innocent belief in my voice and they just said, you know, just they wanted me to be me. And that is a, and of course I was naive then. So I just thought this is just how it is. And you grow up and you look around you and you think, oh, there's a lot more to this that I'm so glad I didn't get caught up in that stuff and I was protected from it. And so that was the external that helped me get through those moments.

• 33:39Speaker 05

  Internally, um, I was not emotionally prepared for the pressure. Nobody is. Seventeen is, is a, is a young age and I was a young seventeen to kind of be thrown that pressure. I missed out on the college experience of failing when nobody's looking. I really, I, when I talk to young students about, you know, do I take this opportunity? Do I stay in school? You know, on the one hand, it was a masterclass to go and work with the greats, you know, and, and learn from the best. That's the kind of stuff you only get after you've done your four years and you go out in the world and you learn. But what I really missed out on was the camaraderie, the support of friends that were my age and,

• 34:23Speaker 05

  and the ability to kind of figure out what you're trying to say without anybody micromanaging you. Uh, I had to figure that out in real time in front of millions of people and I had, I was not without a fair share of demons that I'm still figuring out to this day. Therapy has been wonderful.

• 34:38Hoda Kotb?

  Yep.

• 34:39Speaker 05

  And I, you know, I had lots of restless nights. I would, lots of days where I'd come home from the studio and would just kind of be in tears in my room and just cause I was still living at home, you know, when I was making that album and, and just very, very, uh, dark days and nights of, of thinking that I hadn't done a good enough job, thinking that I wasn't cut out for this. Uh, and I think that, that stuff I had to, I, I built a lot of defense mechanisms myself. You have to build a very thick skin and learning how to, uh, kind of reopen myself years later, I think was something that I had to do because the defense mechanisms became so thick that

• 35:24Speaker 05

  re rediscovering the vulnerability, the sensitivity of that kid was something that I had to really work out after the second, third album.

• 35:31Hoda Kotb?

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• 36:13Hoda Kotb?

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• 38:56Hoda Kotb?

  The people pleasing piece, and I know that there are, there's not one person who's not driving down the road right now, or many people who are nodding their head when they think people pleasing, because I felt like I, I, I still work on that.

• 39:09Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 39:09Hoda Kotb?

  Um, how have you kind of, I don't know if it's even overcome, or how have you, how have you improved when it comes to that part of you?

• 39:17Speaker 05

  Well, I think that experience is just the most incredible teacher and I think that there are some things that, you know, you get through enough hard moments that, and you come out the other side, you know, clean. You say to yourself, all right, that's a moment I know how to get through now. Now that I've gotten through it, that's one in my tool belt. And now the sense memory of I'm in this moment again, I've done that before. I know how to get through this. Um, and you realize after a while that you, you have to be confident enough to know what you need to do the job that you'll be proud of. And then other people will be pleased. I think finding that zone was the most important thing for me.

• 40:01Speaker 05

  It becomes a, a lot of noise and, and wanting to please the noise to suddenly being, being in a quiet place. And then after that, you can, you can address the noise. I'm fascinated with sports psychology.

• 40:13Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 40:13Speaker 05

  I, I think there's a lot of similarities between art and entertainment and sports. I'm a big fan of sports and I, I really like watching my favorite players, whether it's a team sport or tennis.

• 40:22Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 40:23Speaker 05

  You know, I, and watching how they get through the hard moments through the course of a game. Watching a batter, you know, not get a hit for 50 at bats and then all of a sudden hit a grand slam and it's just their back. You know, they found it. It was that one little adjustment.

• 40:38Hoda Kotb?

  What do you, yeah, what do you, what do you glean from that? That's very interesting.

• 40:41Speaker 05

  I, I think that, that the only way I was through, you know, and there, there have been moments in my career where I couldn't hit it. I couldn't, I couldn't hit the at bat, you know, and you go back to the dugout and you go, and you, all you have when you go to sleep at night is that missed swing.

• 40:57Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 40:58Speaker 05

  You know, and there's only two ways out of it. You can let it eat you alive and you'll never hit it again. Or you can slowly, calmly shut out the noise and say, today I'm going to try this. All right, now today I'm going to try this and now today I'm going to try this and nothing else is there except you and your mechanics. And, and that's, that's the place that I've had to, uh, learn to live in. I think to, to be a better person, to be a better artist is that quiet. Because if you find that quiet, the, the noise around you will be much happier.

• 41:37Hoda Kotb?

  Yeah.

• 41:38Speaker 05

  Uh, and, and so that, that's the place that just when you're younger and when you're, you're, you're taken by all the stuff and I see it, I sing a lot of duets with students, you know, in my charity work and things like that. And I'll be looking at them while I'm singing and I'm thinking the, they've got the noise, the noise is there.

• 41:54Hoda Kotb?

  You can tell.

• 41:55Speaker 05

  You can tell. There's, they're not shutting out the noise yet and they will, you know, it's, it just takes time to figure out that there is that place you can go to, to find your, to find your light. This is the name of my foundation.

• 42:07Hoda Kotb?

  Well, I was just going to say, because every time you've mentioned giving back your foundation in this interview, your eyes go twinkle. You're like, yeah, this is my thing. This is the deal.

• 42:16Speaker 05

  It is, it is my favorite thing.

• 42:18Hoda Kotb?

  So this beautiful charity that you started many years ago with the help of your fans who kind of kicked in the first check, which just shows you.

• 42:25Speaker 05

  First check for $50,000, which is.

• 42:27Hoda Kotb?

  Crazy.

• 42:27Speaker 05

  I don't know what they sold. I don't know whether they were secretly doing drug runs. They were, these fans got $50,000 real fast.

• 42:35Hoda Kotb?

  For a charity, they knew, like, how did that even?

• 42:38Speaker 05

  They sold autographs, they sold merchandise, they, they had a bake sale, I don't know. They, they did lots of stuff and they presented me with a check at a concert in 2005, I think it was 2006. And they stopped the show and they said, you know, we know that you sing at a lot of things. When you have a foundation one day, here's your first donation. I mean, that is the kind of thing where you say. What I've been able to, lucky enough to cultivate with my fanbase is that there is a partnership in giving that is so deep and it's not superficial. They're not just in it for the music, you know, they are in it for all of it and they want to give back along with me. So to have that first check, I said to myself, all right, I'm gonna match it and we're dollar for dollar, we're gonna

• 43:19Speaker 05

  do this thing together, one day. And then a lot of things had to kick into place for us to finally figure out what our goal was gonna be and what our mission was and it eventually became arts education. But, um, but it is, it is, uh, it is amazing. We, we just had our, our, you know, third concert gala at Jazzlinken Center last night and I'm looking around the room and I'm thinking about how green we were when we first started and say, well, I've got a foundation, if you want to give, you can. And we did our first little thing at City Winery, you know, years ago. And I was so nervous and we're just like, well, you know, here's why arts is important and here's why, you know, please give and, and, uh, here's Brian Stokes Mitchell, you know? And we had so many friends that joined us that first night and, and gave to us. And I'm looking

• 44:01Speaker 05

  at the room last night and I'm seeing Witten Marsalis and Stephen Colbert and my heroes and I'm looking around, we have signs, we have logos, we've got a, we've got a photo wall, we've got, you know, a step and repeat. And we raised, um, 1.6 million dollars last night for programs and, and I'm just, I, I can't believe how it's grown. It is, it is the single greatest,

• 44:24Speaker 05

  um, thing that I'm proud of in my, in my whole career.

• 44:26Hoda Kotb?

  When you talk to kids, cause you also speak a lot about speaking to kids, what is it that you want them, these are all people who want to be in this industry, what do you want to instill in them? Like, what's your, what's your message for the kids when you speak to them?

• 44:40Speaker 05

  Well, interestingly enough, a lot of the programs that we support, most of them in fact, aren't about going into the industry. If we find talent that is profession level, that's great. I did, you know, it, it was, it was, it's a bonus. And when I ask kids to raise their hand, if who wants to go into this professionally, sometimes a lot of them raise their hand. But these programs, the purpose of these programs is to, is to really build a sense of self, is to build confidence, it gets their grades going, it gets, it, it gets a, it world builds for these students in a way that they might decide to go into law, they might decide to go into other jobs. In fact, when people stop me in the street and know that I have a foundation about this,

• 45:22Speaker 05

  it's nine times out of 10, somebody who's not in this business. And they'll say to me, I'll never forget my saxophone teacher, you know, I'll never forget that theater Mrs. So and So or Mr. So and So. And, you know, those, those programs are opening up a world of possibility. They are helping these kids find their voice in the world. And it doesn't necessarily have to be a voice on an album. It can just be, this is the person I want to be for the first time in my life. I know who I am. And that's what these programs are doing. And so, um, so yeah, I talk to them about the business. I talk to them about if they want to do it professionally and, and what it takes and, and all of that. But the main thing I like to talk to them about is just simply

• 46:03Speaker 05

  expression. And how does it feel? What do these things make you feel like? I mentioned it on the stage last night at the, at the gala, but when parents talk to me, very rarely do they say to me, oh, thank you so much. Our kid has gotten so much better at clarinet. They, they, they say to me, wow, our kid is standing so much taller. Our kid is confident. Our kid's grades have gone up. You know, we've, we've never seen a smile like that or a light in their eyes, the way that they have now when they come home. That's the thing that we're, that we're so excited to accomplish with this work. And there are lots of other foundations out there that are about the best talent in the country. Our work is about making sure that whatever is locked in

• 46:48Speaker 05

  a young student becomes unlocked through the tool of arts education.

• 46:53Hoda Kotb?

  That is so beautiful. So in the middle of all your talking, I was thinking, I could picture you as a dad so clearly. It just seemed like such a layout. I was like, when you talk to kids, about kids, I know you're engaged, I saw People Magazine, I'm reading, yay. Is that something?

• 47:10Speaker 05

  We love People Magazine. People Magazine will turn an interview about traffic into somehow an interview about engagement.

• 47:18Hoda Kotb?

  But is it, is it something that you think about? And, and I mean, it sounds like, I mean, you have incredible parents, obviously. Is it?

• 47:24Speaker 05

  Yes. It is something I think about, yeah. It has been, it's something that I've, I've wanted for a long time. And, and we are of course hoping to be parents sometime in the near future. Um, you know, I, you, first of all, you gotta find your person, you know, which is easier said than done. I've been a very busy person for 25 years now. I can't believe 25 years since my first album. And so, you know, again, when you think about that pressure and you think about, well, I just gotta keep hitting the mark, hitting the mark, hitting the mark, a lot of time flies by where you're not planting the seeds for yourself. And so I don't think I put the time and effort into what it would take for me to say, all right, you can do some things

• 48:03Speaker 05

  for you. You can have a balance and the rest of it's not gonna go away if you enrich your life with the things that make life richer. And so, so yes, I have, I have so many blessings in my personal life now. I've got an incredible fiance and we have so many wonderful plans for the future and, and, and God willing, they, they happen. But, um, but I think that I'm at a point in my life now where I'm also just ready for those things. I think that I, I had to, to get through a lot of my own, you know, a lot of my own, again, blockages, defense mechanisms, pressures, a lot of stuff, again, that's just kind of thrown at you when you're at a young age

• 48:45Speaker 05

  that you think, well, some of these things, they're just not for you. And, uh, and so again, big proponent of therapy, you know, it's, it's helped a lot. And, uh, and we're really excited about the future.

• 48:56Hoda Kotb?

  I'm so excited too. So you said 25 years ago, first album?

• 48:59Speaker 05

  Yeah.

• 48:59Hoda Kotb?

  And tell me about the album that's out or that's coming out.

• 49:02Speaker 05

  Yeah, no, we, I just released, actually just, we've been on tour for a year now. It's, uh, it's, I have wanted to make an album. It's been a passion project. I've wanted to make an album of the great songs from cinema for my entire career. When I think about the songs that got me into music, it was theater and it was watching a great movie and then waiting for the end credits and listening to that song. And it was the music in films that drew me into films. Uh, I've always loved great film composers. I've always loved the people who could write for film and then also tag on at the end, a song that matches, you know, that bodyguard, that the, my heart will go on, you know, uh, you know, when I hear Annie Lennox sing, you know, Into the West, you know, for Lord of the Rings, I'm just like, God, this is just such a perfect cap to how I've

• 49:47Speaker 05

  been feeling for the last three hours. Easier said than done, but those songs have always resonated with me. So I had a dinner with Greg Wells, who produced this album, who I've admired his work for such a long time, has produced so many hit albums. And we were just waxing poetic about these songs. I was just going, oh, and I love this one. And oh, this movie. And then we got into foreign films and I'm thinking, oh my God, Cinema Paradiso and, you know, Amelie and all these other things. And, you know, before, before we got to our main course, we were just, we'd had a track list of songs that we've always wanted to do. And by the, by dessert, we were saying, do you want to do this? Let's just do this. Because when you're thinking about what to do next, in any art form, you can be paralyzed with, with ideas. You can absolutely

• 50:30Speaker 05

  just be totally stagnant with too many options. And then, and, and when you find something where you go, oh, and this, and this, and this, you gotta ride that wave. So we rode that wave and we, we made an album together with an extraordinary members of the London Symphony Orchestra in London. And we had incredible arrangers and we picked our favorite songs. We picked songs, we tried to from every era, songs that people didn't know were from films. Um, Against All Odds, the Phil Collins song.

• 50:57Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, yeah.

• 50:58Speaker 05

  Banger. One of the great hit songs of all time. I'm such a Phil Collins fan and I just always sang it growing up. I did not know it was from the film Against All Odds, that he wrote for the film Against All Odds, that he was nominated or won an Oscar for that song. The only nomination for that movie was Phil Collins.

• 51:13Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 51:13Speaker 05

  And, you know, I am just as interested in the, in the songs that are as famous as, as the films, but I am even more interested in the songs that you had no idea were from those films. And so there were a couple of those as well, which were really, really fun.

• 51:29Hoda Kotb?

  That is awesome. One of the other questions, I said, one of my favorite questions is describe your childhood bedroom. Another one is, who is your 2:00 AM phone call? When you are, when you are stuck somewhere, somebody? Who's your call at 2:00 AM?

• 51:42Speaker 05

  Oh, man. Um, yeah, I gotta say, luckily, it's still my folks. You know, I, I, I think that they have been such an amazing sounding board for me. And there have been some, there have been some 2:00 AM conversations, more than a few 2:00 AM conversations. They get, they get me back to where the light is, for sure. Because they've gotten me through so many of those hard moments in my life. And, uh, you know, I, I, what's, what's great about my mom and my dad is that my mom resonates with the emotional side of me, you know? And my dad is all like,

• 52:14Hoda Kotb?

  All business.

• 52:15Speaker 05

  Well, Josh, you know, let me, uh, and my dad is, is business, but he's also humor. You know, he's, he's got this dry, you know, like, he'll just throw out a zinger and I'll be like, where did that come from? You're getting funnier at 81. Like, that is, you know, but they're, they're both sharp as tack. And, you know, being able to see this trajectory through their eyes and to be able to have them with me, to, to go on this journey with still is, uh, is one of, is just one of the things I'm so grateful for. So, you know, uh, because they, you know, we've done this together, you know? So, yeah.

• 52:52Hoda Kotb?

  They're the ones. Well, I know we got a phone laying around.

• 52:54Speaker 05

  We do.

• 52:56Hoda Kotb?

  Can we call mom and dad?

• 52:57Speaker 05

  We're gonna call mom and dad.

• 52:58Hoda Kotb?

  Let's see. 2:00 AM phone call.

• 52:59Speaker 05

  2:00 AM phone call. We can pretend it's 2:00 AM.

• 53:01Hoda Kotb?

  So it's Jack and Lindy?

• 53:04Speaker 05

  Jack and Lindy.

• 53:04Hoda Kotb?

  Lindy. Oh, God. Okay.

• 53:08Speaker 05

  He doesn't, he doesn't pick up. I'm gonna be. Hello? Dad? Hi.

• 53:15Speaker 05

  Good morning. Good morning. Good morning. It's, it's supposed to be 2:00 AM, so I guess it would be good morning. Is mom there too? Yes. Hi, guys.

• 53:22Hoda Kotb?

  Hi, Jack. Hi, Lindy.

• 53:24Speaker 05

  We're sitting here with Hoda and we're having a lovely conversation.

• 53:27Hoda Kotb?

  Hi, how are you, Lindy? By the way, I love your son. He's so entertaining, so amazing. And I hope your ears are burning because he's been talking about the two of you for most of this interview. Oh, my, oh, my gosh. Oh, no. Oh, dear.

• 53:41Speaker 05

  No, all good things. No, all good things.

• 53:43Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, no family secrets. Well, he did tell me that you removed the two bunk beds from his room to make it a guest room. So I guess that's fine.

• 53:52Hoda Kotb?

  Well, you know, you have to leave the nest eventually. Yeah, eventually. Hey, will you tell me what it's like to be the mom and dad of this wonderful human being sitting in front of me? What's the greatest part about it?

• 54:05Hoda Kotb?

  Oh, my gosh. I don't know, Jack. I, I think, I think we entered a world that we didn't really know anything about and then started to participate in it.

• 54:19Hoda Kotb?

  And to watch him grow, to watch him change over time. And he was so young when all of this happened, that it's been, it's been Mr. Toes' wild ride.

• 54:34Speaker 05

  Definitely, for sure.

• 54:36Hoda Kotb?

  Jack, you've got a great son, I have to tell you.

• 54:42Speaker 06

  Oh, thank you.

• 54:44Speaker 06

  I was waiting for, I was waiting for the rest of the.

• 54:47Hoda Kotb?

  I just, I was just letting that breathe. Jack, I did, I did see your, I did see your fancy camera work when, when your son was singing with Celine Dion when he was just 17 years old. I was watching your video on YouTube. I thought that must've been a super proud moment. What was it like for you?

• 55:06Speaker 06

  Well, you can imagine, like Lindy said, this is not our world. We didn't grow up in the entertainment industry. And so much of what happened to Josh was serendipitous.

• 55:19Speaker 05

  The, the really cool thing though about that video is that, you know, Celine's late, great husband Renee, who was just such an amazing force in her life and such a wonderful, soft spoken, but carried a big stick. You know, my dad was not supposed to record, you know? Now, I know, I now know that when you're, you know, when you're filming at a sound check and, you know, Celine's in sweats, you know, and that's a big no-no, you know, you don't, you don't, you know, that's, that's a no camera zone. And so, security kind of went over to my dad and said, sir, you can't be filming here. And it was Renee came over and said, that's his son, it's okay. And so, that video exists because Renee came over and said, no, no, no, this is okay. And that's, that's just the kind of guy he, he was and, and the kind of person Celine is.

• 56:01Hoda Kotb?

  And Jack, in a few words, tell me what it's like to be Josh's dad. What's the best part of it?

• 56:07Speaker 06

  I'm particularly grateful that 25 years young, he not only has a great career, but he's a great human being.

• 56:18Speaker 06

  Everyone that comments to us, comments both on his talent and on his character.

• 56:27Hoda Kotb?

  Well, Jack, you and, you and Lindy did so good with this, with this young man right here.

• 56:31Speaker 05

  I thought you were gonna say fancy dinners, but that was a much nicer answer.

• 56:37Hoda Kotb?

  Well, just so you know this, guys, the reason that you're on the phone is because I asked Josh what his, who his 2 a.m. phone call was. And everyone's got an easy layup for that answer normally. And Josh, without hesitation, said both of you. So, thanks for hanging out with us on the podcast.

• 56:54Speaker 05

  I remember, Dad, I would remember, I remembered when she asked me that question, that before there was GPS, I'd get lost a lot in the car. And I had, I would have to actually call you at 2 a.m. so you could get out the, what was it, the Thomas Guide?

• 57:08Speaker 05

  You'd have to tell me on the phone how to get home at 2 a.m. So, so, so thank you for that, for those 2 a.m. calls as well.

• 57:16Hoda Kotb?

  Jack and Lindy, thank you so much.

• 57:18Speaker 05

  Thank you, guys. Love you, guys.

• 57:19Hoda Kotb?

  Thank you. Love you. Bye.

• 57:21Speaker 05

  Bye.

• 57:23Hoda Kotb?

  It all makes sense. You make sense now to me. Josh, I just want to say thank you again.

• 57:27Speaker 05

  Thank you so much.

• 57:28Hoda Kotb?

  Thank you for everything. Good luck with all the things coming up and enjoy your year of like taking it all in.

• 57:34Speaker 05

  I adore you. Thank you for the joy you bring into the world. Thank you for this conversation. It's been so fun.

• 57:38Hoda Kotb?

  Appreciate it.

• 57:38Speaker 05

  And they'll never live this down. This is, this is gonna be their, this is gonna be the story of Christmas now for many Christmases become.

• 57:44Hoda Kotb?

  Thanks, Josh.

• 57:45Speaker 05

  Thanks.

• 57:48Hoda Kotb?

  Okay, I already love Jack and Lindy, like what great parents. He said that he hit the parenting jackpot. And he said, every time he goes to Vegas or is on tour or doing something, he said, all the celebs come to him and go, Josh, you've got the very best parents in the world. So, he did hit the parenting jackpot. And we hit the jackpot too, with a beautiful interview with Josh Groban. Hope you enjoyed it and we'll see you next time. The holidays are already busy enough, so I'm all for anything that makes them feel a little bit easier. CVS can help you check off more of your list in one stop. From the things you need to the little extras that make the season feel special. And with hundreds of stocking stuffers under $5, you can find something fun for just about everyone.

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