Jason Mraz
| Jason Mraz | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Jason Mraz |
| Born | June 23, 1977 |
| Origin | Mechanicsville, Virginia |
| Genre(s) | Rock, pop rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter, musician |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals, guitar, mandolin |
| Years active | 1999–present |
| Label(s) | Atlantic (2005-present) Elektra (2002–2005) |
| Website | www.jasonmraz.com |
| Notable instrument(s) | |
| Guitar | |
Jason Mraz (IPA: /ˈdʒeɪsʌn mɜrˈæz/[1], born June 23, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter, born and raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Mraz's stylistic influences include reggae, pop, rock, folk, jazz, and hip hop. He has played with various artists, including Dave Matthews Band, James Blunt, Gavin DeGraw, Paula Cole, John Popper, Alanis Morissette, The Ohio Players, Rachael Yamagata, James Morrison, Lisa Hannigan, John Mayer, Jewel and Colbie Caillat..
Contents |
Biography
He attended Longwood University for a short time, studying musical theatre, then he moved to San Diego from Virginia.
In 2002, Jason Mraz signed to Elektra Records, returning to Virginia to work with producer Sean Combs on his major label debut release, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which wouldn't be certified platinum by the RIAA in July 2004 and reach #174 on Billboard's Heatseekers Chart.[2] His first single, "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)," was co-written by music production team The Matrix. Mraz's friend and former roommate Billy "Bushwalla" Galewood also collaborated on the album, co-writing "Curbside Prophet", the album's third single, and "I'll Do Anything".
In June and July 2005, Mraz opened for Alanis Morissette during her Jagged Little Pill Acoustic Tour. On July 26, 2005, he released his second major-label album, Mr. A-Z, for Atlantic Records. It entered the Billboard 200 album chart at number 5.[3] In December, the album earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, while its producer, the prolific Steve Lillywhite, received a nomination for Producer of the Year.[4]
Mraz began his long-running tour in support of Mr. A-Z at the San Diego Music Awards on September 12. The tour featured a variety of opening acts, including Bushwalla and Tristan Prettyman, with whom he had co-written the duet "Shy That Way" in 2002.[5] Mraz and Prettyman dated, ending their relationship in 2006. They also co-wrote the song "All I Want For Christmas is Us".
In November 2005, Mraz opened for the Rolling Stones on five dates during their 2005–2006 world tour. Also in 2005, Mraz was one of many singers featured in the fall advertisement campaign for The Gap entitled "Favorites". The music-themed campaign also featured other singers including Tristan Prettyman, Michelle Branch, Joss Stone, Keith Urban, Alanis Morissette, Brandon Boyd, and Michelle Williams.[6] In December 2005, Mraz released the first part of his ongoing podcast.
In March 2006, Mraz also performed for the first time at a sold-out (one month before the actual performance date) performance in Singapore with Toca as part of the annual Mosaic Music Festival.
In May 2006, Mraz toured mostly small venues and music festivals in the U.S., along with a few shows in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The tour included a May 6, 2006 acoustic show with P.O.D., Better Than Ezra, Live, and The Presidents of the United States of America. Mraz was featured as a headlining guest of St. Louis's annual Fair St. Louis and performed a free concert at the base of the Arch on July 1, 2006.
In December 2006, Selections for Friends, the live, online-only album recorded during the Songs for Friends Tour, was released. Selections for Friends features Jason's favorite songs from the Schubas Tavern and Villa Montalvo shows he played in July 2006.
Jason Mraz began 2007 by debuting his new single "The Beauty in Ugly", an earlier track penned by Mraz entitled "Plain Jane" that he rewrote for the ABC TV show Ugly Betty. The song was featured as a part of ABC's "Be Ugly in '07" campaign.[7] He has since released a song in Spanish entitled "La Nueva Belleza (The New Beauty)".[8]
In 2007, American Idol contestant Chris Richardson performed "Geek in the Pink", which subsequently garnered the song mass recognition and increased downloads at the American iTunes Store. It was also performed later that year by Canadian Idol contestant Greg Neufeld. "Geek in the Pink" peaked at #22 on the U.S. iTunes Store on March 10, 2007, but it was ineligible for the site's Hot 100.
The tape-recording of bootlegs during Mraz's shows is explicitly supported by him and his management.[9]
Jason is currently promoting his latest studio album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. which was released on May 13, 2008. Mraz's single "I'm Yours" has been #1 on AAA radio charts in the US for 3 weeks as of 6/15/08 and was made famous by a live recording from his acoustic show at the Villa Montalvo Winery which received millions of hits on his Myspace. In September 2008, the song became Mraz's first Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking so far at #6. As of October 14, 2008, the album has been certified Gold by the RIAA, selling in excess of 500,000 copies in the US.
Discography
Studio albums
- Waiting for My Rocket to Come (2002) #55 U.S. (Platinum)
- Mr. A-Z (2005) #5 U.S.
- We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. (2008) #3 U.S. (Gold) #110 UK
EPs and other releases
- A Jason Mraz Demonstration (1999)
- Live at Java Joe's (2001)
- From the Cutting Room Floor (2001)(2002)
- The E Minor EP in F (2002)
- Tonight, Not Again: Jason Mraz Live at the Eagles Ballroom (2004) #49 U.S.
- Wordplay - EP (2005)
- Extra Credit - EP (2005) - Digital EP
- Jimmy Kimmel Live: Jason Mraz - EP (2005) - iTunes
- Geekin' Out Across the Galaxy (2006) - Digital Live EP
- Selections for Friends (2007) - Digital Live LP #22 Top Digital Albums
- iTunes Live: London Sessions - EP (2008) - U.K. iTunes[10]
- We Sing. - EP (2008)[11] #101 U.S.
- We Dance. - EP (2008)[11] #52 U.S.
- We Steal Things. - EP (2008)[11]
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions[12] | Album | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US Pop 100 | US Adult | US Top 40 | US Digital | CAN Hot 100 | UK | GER | NOR | NET | ITA | SWE | AUS | LT | ||||
| 2003 | "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" | 15 | – | 4 | 7 | – | – | 79 | – | – | 12 | – | – | 63 [13] |
32 | – | Waiting for My Rocket to Come |
| 2004 | "Curbside Prophet" | – | – | 23 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | |
| "You and I Both" | 110 | – | 15 | 35 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2005 | "Wordplay" | 81 | 59 | 17 | – | 44 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | Mr. A-Z |
| "Geek in the Pink" | – | 90 | 32 | 36 | 45 | – | 128 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | ||
| 2008 | "I'm Yours" | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things |
| "Make It Mine"[A] | – | – | 34 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | 24 | – | – | – | ||
| "–" denotes singles that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||||||
- Notes
- A^ Current single.
Guest contributions
- "Curbside Prophet '04", from the New York Minute Soundtrack (2004)
- "I Melt with You", from the 50 First Dates Soundtrack (2004)
- "Summer Breeze", from the Everwood: Original TV Soundtrack (2004)
- "Dramatica Mujer", with Alex Cuba Band from the album Humo de Tabaco (2005)
- "Shy That Way", with Tristan Prettyman from the album twentythree (2005)
- "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy", from the album Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen (2005)
- "Keep on Hoping", with Raul Midon from the album State of Mind (2005)
- "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall", from the album Listen to Bob Dylan: A Tribute (2005)
- "Winter Wonderland", from the album Sounds of the Seasons: the NBC Holiday Collection (2005)
- "Unravel", "The Boy's Gone", and "Plain Jane", from the album Hear Music XM Radio Sessions Volume 1 (2005)
- "The Joker/Everything I Own", a duet on the Happy Feet soundtrack with Chrissie Hynde (2007)
- "Slummin' In Paradise", background vocals for Mandy Moore, from the album Wild Hope (2007)
- "Something to Believe In", with Van Hunt and Jon McLaughlin from the album Randy Jackson's Music Club, Vol. 1 (2008)
- "Beauty in Ugly" (Ugly Betty Version) (2007)
- "Long Road to Forgiveness" (with Brett Dennen, from the album Songs for Survival) (2008)
- "Silent Love Song", from the benefit album Fire Relief: A Benefit for the Victims of the 2007 San Diego Wildfires (2008)
- "Rainbow Connection", from the album "For the Kids Too" (2006)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | San Diego Music Awards - Best Acoustic | Won |
| 2003 | San Diego Music Awards - Artist of the Year | Won |
| 2003 | San Diego Music Awards - Song of the Year | Won |
| 2009 | Grammy Award - Song of the Year for " I'm Yours" | Nominated |
| 2009 | Grammy Award - Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for " I'm Yours" | Nominated |
References
- ↑ See inogolo:pronunciation of Jason Mraz.
- ↑ Cohen, Jonathan. (April 20,2005) Mraz Nails Down New Album, Alanis Dates Billboard.com Accessed July 1, 2007
- ↑ Zahlaway, John. (August 12, 2005. Jason Mraz books headlining fall tour LiveDaily.com Accessed July 1,2007.
- ↑ Fast Facts: 48th Annual Grammy Nominees December 8, 2005. Accessed July 1, 2007.
- ↑ Jacobs, Jay S. (2005). Tristan Prettyman Rides the Crest Accessed July 1,2007.
- ↑ July 31, 2005
- ↑ iTunes iTunes: Jason Mraz: The Beauty in Ugly
- ↑ iTunes iTunes: Jason Mraz: La Nueva Belleza
- ↑ www.jasonmraz.com
- ↑ U.K. iTunes - iTunes Home: Music: Rock: Jason Mraz: iTunes Live: London Sessions - EP
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Via Atlantic Records - Jason Mraz releases/Tour talk!
- ↑ "Billboard chart positions - singles". allmusic. Retrieved on 2008-09-19.
- ↑ ARIA Top 100 Albums. ARIA. 2003-05-05. pp. 4. http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20030507-0000/Issue689.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-10-03.
External links
- Official Jason Mraz website
- Right Kind of Phrase: Official Jason Mraz Message Board
- Jason Mraz at MySpace
- Jason Mraz at the Internet Movie Database
- Jason Mraz channel at YouTube
- Official Jason Mraz iLike Page
- Jason Mraz on Facebook's iLike application
- Jason Mraz collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive
- Official French Website
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