Closer (Josh Groban album)
Encyclopedia
Closer is the second studio album and third overall album by vocalist Josh Groban
, released in November 2003. Much like his first studio album, half of Closers songs are sung in English
, with the remainder sung in various other languages (Italian
, Spanish
, and French
).
The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200
albums chart, selling about 375,000 copies in its first week. In January 2004, the album rose from number 11 to number one in its ninth week on the chart, selling about 110,000 copies that week. This followed a sales campaign by Target.
In Australia, Closer reached a peak position of 25 on the ARIA Albums Chart
of Australia. On 13 June 2007, it re-entered the chart at number 39. , the album has sold over 5,759,000 copies in the United States. The track, "You Raise Me Up
", charted at number 73 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. The track, "Remember When It Rained", reached number 15 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Josh Groban
Joshua Winslow "Josh" Groban is an American singer-songwriter, musician, actor, and record producer. His four solo albums have been certified at least multi-platinum, and in 2007, he was charted as the number-one best selling artist in the United States with over 21 million records in that country...
, released in November 2003. Much like his first studio album, half of Closers songs are sung in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, with the remainder sung in various other languages (Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, and French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
).
The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
albums chart, selling about 375,000 copies in its first week. In January 2004, the album rose from number 11 to number one in its ninth week on the chart, selling about 110,000 copies that week. This followed a sales campaign by Target.
In Australia, Closer reached a peak position of 25 on the ARIA Albums Chart
ARIA Charts
The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June...
of Australia. On 13 June 2007, it re-entered the chart at number 39. , the album has sold over 5,759,000 copies in the United States. The track, "You Raise Me Up
You Raise Me Up
"You Raise Me Up" was the debut single from Westlife's fifth studio album, Face To Face.This version is considered by many to be the most popular , of all the various versions of the same song. The single peaked at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's 13th Number One. It was the first...
", charted at number 73 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. The track, "Remember When It Rained", reached number 15 on the Adult Contemporary chart.
Track listing
- "Oceano" (Leo Z, Andrea Sandri, Mauro Malavasi) (Produced by David FosterDavid FosterDavid Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
, Leo Z, and Malavasi) – 4:03 - "My Confession" (Richard Page) – 4:56
- "Mi Mancherai (Il Postino)" (featuring Joshua BellJoshua BellJoshua David Bell is an American Grammy Award-winning violinist.-Childhood:Bell was born in Bloomington, Indiana, United States, the son of a psychologist and a therapist. Bell's father is the late Alan P...
) (Luis Bacalov, Marco MarinangeliMarco MarinangeliMarco Marinangeli is a Grammy-nominated Italian composer, songwriter and producer. He is the president of Magelic Productions, Inc., in Hollywood...
) – 6:04 - "Si Volvieras a MiSi Volvieras a Mi"Si Volvieras a Mí" is the fourth song on the album "Closer", released on November 11, 2003, by Josh Groban. Like some of the songs on his album, this one is sung in a foreign language, Spanish. The song is 4:19 minutes long....
" (Klaus DerendorfKlaus DerendorfKlaus Derendorf, also known as "Klaus D," is a Los Angeles based record producer and songwriter with millions of worldwide record sales to his credit including two Number 1 albums on the Billboard Charts.-Early Years:...
, Mark Portmann, Claudia Brant) – 4:19 - "When You Say You Love Me" (Mark Hammond, Robin Scoffield) – 4:32
- "Per Te" (Marinangeli, Walter AfanasieffWalter AfanasieffWalter Afanasieff is a multiple Grammy-award-winning record producer and songwriter. He is best known for his long association with Mariah Carey, for whom he was producer and co-writer for several years, beginning in 1990...
, Josh Groban) (Produced by Afanasieff) – 4:16 - "All'improvviso Amore" (Foster, Paul Schwartz, Frank Musker, Kaballa) – 3:38
- "Broken VowBroken Vow"Broken Vow" is a song that was written by Lara Fabian and Walter Afanasieff for Fabian's self-titled album.-Other versions:Broken Vow was featured as an insert song in the Taiwanese soap opera Meteor Garden II...
" (Walter Afanasieff, Lara FabianLara FabianLara Fabian is a Belgian-Italian international singer who also holds Canadian citizenship. Multilingual, she sings in French, Italian and English....
) – 4:34 - "CarusoCaruso (song)"Caruso" by Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla in 1986. It is dedicated to Enrico Caruso, an Italian tenor.-Unclear meaning of the song:Controversially, the song simply tells about the pains and longings of a man who is about to die while he is looking in the eyes of a girl who was very dear to...
" (Lucio Dalla) – 5:07 - "Remember When It Rained" (Groban, Eric MouquetEric MouquetEric Mouquet , is the co-founder of the band Deep Forest. He won a Grammy Award in 1995, and a World Award for best world music album....
) (Produced by Mouquet) – 4:41 - "Hymne à l'amourHymne à l'amour"Hymne à l'amour" is a popular French song originally performed by Édith Piaf. The lyrics were written by Piaf and the music by Marguerite Monnot. She first sang this song at the cabaret Versailles in New York on September 14, 1949. It was written to her lover and the love of her life, the French...
" (Edith PiafÉdith PiafÉdith Piaf , born Édith Giovanna Gassion, was a French singer and cultural icon who became widely regarded as France's greatest popular singer. Her singing reflected her life, with her specialty being ballads...
, Marguerite MonnotMarguerite MonnotMarguerite Monnot was a French songwriter and composer best known for having written many of the songs performed by Édith Piaf and for the music in the stage musical Irma La Douce....
, Geoffrey Parsons) – 4:04 - "You Raise Me UpYou Raise Me Up"You Raise Me Up" was the debut single from Westlife's fifth studio album, Face To Face.This version is considered by many to be the most popular , of all the various versions of the same song. The single peaked at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's 13th Number One. It was the first...
" - 4:52 (Rolf LøvlandRolf LøvlandRolf Løvland is a Norwegian composer. Together with Fionnuala Sherry, he formed the celtic group Secret Garden, where he played as the composer/producer/keyboardist...
, Brendan GrahamBrendan GrahamBrendan Graham is an Irish novelist and composer. He has published three novels, The Whitest Flower , an Irish no. 2 best seller, The Element of Fire and The Brightest Day, The Darkest Night .He also wrote the lyrics for Rolf Løvland's "You Raise Me Up"...
) - 4:52 - "Never Let Go" (featuring Deep ForestDeep ForestDeep Forest is a musical group consisting of two French musicians, Michel Sanchez and Eric Mouquet. They compose a style of world music, sometimes called ethnic electronica, mixing ethnic with electronic sounds and dance beats or chillout beats...
) (Produced by Mouquet) – 3:52
Special Edition tracks
- "Mi Morena" (Martin PageMartin PageMartin Page is a musician, singer, bass player, session musician, and noted pop songwriter.Martin George Page was born at Southampton, Hampshire, England, September 23, 1959 to Alan Richard Page and Ruth Pamela Page...
) – 4:39 - "She's Out of My LifeShe's Out of My Life"She's Out of My Life" is a song written by musical artist Tom Bahler. Although it has been claimed that Bahler wrote the song about Karen Carpenter, Bahler stated, "The fact is, I had already written that song by the time Karen and I became romantic. That song was written more about Rhonda Rivera...
" (Tom BahlerTom BahlerThomas Lee Bähler , is an American singer, composer, songwriter, arranger and producer.He is the brother of John Bähler.-Early career:...
) – 3:46
Website Exclusive tracks
- "You're the Only Place" – 4:55
- "My December" (Linkin ParkLinkin ParkLinkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
) – 5:02
Awards
Closer was a massive success, and garnered several achievements for Groban, including:- Certified 4x Platinum in the United States
- Certified 5x Platinum in South Africa
- Third best-selling album of 2004 on the Billboard 200
- Nominated for best album of the year (2003)
- Certified Platinum by ARIA (2007)
Chart positions
| Chart (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard 200 | 1 |