Jason Mraz

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Jason Thomas Mraz ; born June 23, 1977) is an United States|American singer-songwriter, born and raised in Mechanicsville, Hanover County, Virginia|Mechanicsville, Virginia, a suburb of Richmond, Virginia|Richmond.IMDb. Jason Mraz - Biography imdb.com Accessed September 11,2007

Mraz is an eclectic artist with multiple and varied stylistic influences, including pop music|pop, rock music|rock, folk music|folk, jazz, country, Porn|porn groove and hip hop. He has played with various artists, including The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Dave Matthews Band, James Blunt, Gavin DeGraw, Paula Cole, John Popper, Alanis Morissette, The Ohio Players, Rachael Yamagata, James Morrison, Jewel (singer)|Jewel and Colbie CaillatJasonmraz.com - We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things Jason Mraz Official Store Pre-Order .

Contents

[edit] Biography

Mraz graduated from Lee-Davis High School in Mechanicsville, Virginia. He attended Longwood University for a short time and then after a brief stint studying musical theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, he moved to San Diego, California|San Diego.

In 2002, Mraz signed to Elektra Records, returning to Virginia to work with producer John Alagía on his major label debut release, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which would be certified Music recording sales certification|platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA in July 2004 and reach #2 on Billboard (magazine)|Billboard's Top Heatseekers|Heatseekers Chart.Cohen, Jonathan. (April 20,2005) Mraz Nails Down New Album, Alanis Dates Billboard.com Accessed July 1, 2007 His first single, "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)," was co-written by music production team The Matrix (music producer)|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 of 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|Billboard 200 album chart at number 5. Zahlaway, John. (August 12, 2005. Jason Mraz books headlining fall tour LiveDaily.com Accessed July 1,2007. 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.Fast Facts: 48th Annual Grammy Nominees December 8, 2005. Accessed July 1, 2007. It is interesting to note that, juxtaposed to his many musical successes, John Mayer still doesn't return his phone calls. http://www.jasonmraz.com/#/journal/

Jason Mraz at Gröna Lund In Stockholm, Sweden 2008. Photo: User:Danielåhskarlsson|Daniel Åhs Karlsson

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.Jacobs, Jay S. (2005). Tristan Prettyman Rides the Crest Accessed July 1,2007. Mraz and Prettyman dated, co-writing the songs "Shy That Way" and "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 (clothing retailer)|The Gap entitled "Favorites". The music-themed campaign also featured other singers including Michelle Branch, Joss Stone, Keith Urban, Alanis Morissette, Brandon Boyd, and Michelle Williams (singer)|Michelle Williams.[Word Removedml July 31, 2005] In December 2005, Mraz released the first part of his ongoing podcast.

Jason Mraz performs at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut on May 17, 2006. Photo by Marisa Gesualdi.

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 (band)|Live, and The Presidents of the United States of America (band)|The Presidents of the United States of America. Mraz was featured as a headlining guest of St. Louis, Missouri|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 - Live From: Schubas Tavern, Chicago, Montalvo Winery, Saratoga California|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 American Broadcasting Company|ABC Television program|TV show Ugly Betty. The song was featured as a part of ABC's "Be Ugly in '07" campaign.iTunes iTunes: Jason Mraz: The Beauty in Ugly He has since released a song in Spanish entitled "La Nueva Belleza (The New Beauty)".iTunes iTunes: Jason Mraz: La Nueva Belleza

In 2007, American Idol contestant Chris Richardson performed "Geek in the Pink", which subsequently garnered the song mass recognition and increased downloads at the United States|American iTunes Store. "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 Bootleg recording|bootlegs during Mraz's shows is explicitly supported by him and his management.

Jason is currently promoting his latest studio album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. which was released on May 13, 2008. "Lucky", the third song in the album, features Colbie Caillat.

Mr. Mraz's single I'm Yours (Jason Mraz song)|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.

Jason Mraz owns an avocado farm, where he makes a vegan dessert that he calls chocomole. CNN [1]

[edit] Discography

[edit] 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 ThingsThe San Diego Troubadour (2008) #3 U.S. #110 UK

[edit] EPs and other releases

  • A Jason Mraz Demonstration (1999)
  • Live at Java Joe's (2001)
  • From the Cutting Room Floor (2001)
  • Sold Out (In Stereo) (2002)
  • The E Minor EP in[Word Removed]2002)
  • Tonight, Not Again: Jason Mraz Live at the Eagles Ballroom (2004) #49 U.S.
  • Wordplay EP|Wordplay - EP (2005)
  • Extra Credit EP|Extra Credit - EP (2005) - Digital EP
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live: Jason Mraz - EP (2005) - iTunes
  • Geekin' Out Across the Galaxy (2006) - Digital Live EP
  • Haddock|A Night At The Place of Fish (2007) - Digital Live EP
  • Selections For Friends (2007) - Digital Live LP #22 Top Digital Albums
  • iTunes Live: London Sessions - EP (2008) - U.K. iTunesU.K. iTunes - iTunes Home: Music: Rock: Jason Mraz: iTunes Live: London Sessions - EP
  • We Sing. - EP (2008)Via Atlantic Records - Jason Mraz releases/Tour talk! #101 U.S.
  • We Dance. - EP (2008)Via Atlantic Records - Jason Mraz releases/Tour talk! #52 U.S.
  • We Steal Things. - EP (2008)Via Atlantic Records - Jason Mraz releases/Tour talk!

[edit] Singles

Year Single Album U.S. UK NL
Billboard Hot 100|Hot 100 Adult Top 40 Top 40 Mainstream|Top 40 Pop 100|Pop Hot Digital Songs|Digital UK Singles Chart|Singles Top 40
2003 "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" Waiting for My Rocket to Come 14 4 7 - - 79 12
2004 "Curbside Prophet" - 23 - - - - -
2004 "You and I Both" 110 15 37 - - - -
2005 Wordplay" Mr. A-Z 81 17 - 59 44 - -
2005 "Geek in the Pink" - 32 36 90 45 128 -
2008 I'm Yours" We Sing, We Dance, We Steal Things 61 25 - 53 32 139 13
2008 "Lucky (feat. Colbie Caillat)" * 82 - - 51 33 - -
2008 "Make It Mine" Jason Mraz Interview With NewNowNext NOISE: Pitches for LOGO & Illustrating Madonna! - [2] - - - - - - -

*was not officially released as a single


[edit] Guest contributions

  • "I Melt with You", from the 50 First Dates#soundtrack|50 First Dates Soundtrack (2004)
  • "Summer Breeze (song)|Summer Breeze", from the Everwood#soundtrack|Everwood: Original TV Soundtrack (2004)
  • "Shy That Way", with Tristan Prettyman from the album twentythree (2005)
  • "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy", from the album Killer Queen (album)|Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen (2005)
  • "Keep on Hoping", with Raul Midon from the album State of Mind (Raul Midon 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 (song)|The Joker/Everything I Own", a duet on the Happy Feet: Music from the Motion Picture|Happy Feet soundtrack with Chrissie Hynde (2006)
  • "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" for Ugly Betty

[edit] Awards and nominations

Year Award Result
2002 San Diego Music Awards - Best Acoustic Win
2003 San Diego Music Awards - Artist of the Year Win
2003 San Diego Music Awards - Song of the Year Win
2005 Grammy Award - Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for Mr. A-Z Nominated


[edit] External links

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