Awake (Josh Groban album)

Awake is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Josh Groban. Announced on September 13, 2006, it is his third studio album, and a follow-up to his multi-platinum album Closer. Awake was released on November 7, 2006.

Awake
Studio album by
Josh Groban
ReleasedNovember 7, 2006
RecordedLate 2004–06
Genre
Label
Producer
Josh Groban chronology
Live at the Greek
(2004)		 Awake
(2006)		 Noël
(2007)
Josh Groban studio album chronology
Closer
(2003)		 Awake
(2006)		 Noël
(2007)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

The album was certified 2x platinum in the US by the RIAA on January 31, 2008, and has sold 2.3 million albums as of October 2015.[2] It is the third top selling classical album of the 2000s in the US, according to Nielsen SoundScan.[3]

Album information

The album's first single is "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)". The album features producers Imogen Heap, Marius De Vries, Guy Sigsworth, Eric Mouquet, Glen Ballard, and David Foster (who also worked on previous Groban works). As with all Josh Groban albums, songs on Awake are performed in English, Italian and Spanish. The album offered a more modern vibe to his voice by using more instruments aside from the occasional classic piano accompaniment in his previous albums. The album also featured Groban's head voice technique as evident in most of the tracks in the album.

Awake additionally features tracks that credit Groban's recent movements in South Africa. "Lullaby" and "Weeping" (album tracks 11 and 12) are sung by him in conjunction with the renowned South African musical group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, with further contributions from Vusi Mahlasela and Dave Matthews. "Weeping", a pop song originally composed in South Africa, is thematically oriented with the country's history of Apartheid.[4] "Lullaby" is a track included in the album as a supplement to "Weeping", considered one of the album's major highlights. "Lullaby" is meant to flow gaplessly into "Weeping", but the rest of the album uses gaps. The song "Now or Never" was produced and co-written with English singer-songwriter Imogen Heap.

"You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" peaked at No. 9 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, while "February Song" and "Awake" each peaked at No. 13 on the same chart.

Track listing
Standard version
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Mai"Leo Z., Andrew Sandri, Marco MarinangeliMarius de Vries4:35
2."You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)"Thomas SalterTawgs Salter, Guy Sigsworth[a]4:49
3."Un Día Llegará"Oksana Grigorieva, Claudia BrantDavid Foster, Humberto Gatica4:18
4."February Song"Josh Groban, Marius de Vries, John OndrasikVries5:12
5."L'ultima Notte"MarinangeliFoster, Gatica[b]4:22
6."So She Dances"Asher Lenz, Adam CrossleyVries4:54
7."In Her Eyes"Michael Hunter Ochs, Jeff Cohen, Andy SelbyFoster, Gatica[b]4:54
8."Solo por ti"Mark Hammond, MarinangeliVries3:59
9."Now or Never"Groban, Imogen HeapHeap3:38
10."Un Giorno per Noi"Nino Rota, Lawrence Kusik, Edward A. Snyder, Alfredo RapettiFoster, Gatica[b]5:11
11."Lullaby" (featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo)Groban, Dave Matthews, Jochem van der SaagGlen Ballard, Groban2:32
12."Weeping" (featuring Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Vusi Mahlasela)Dan HeymannBallard, Groban[b]4:45
13."Machine" (featuring Herbie Hancock)Groban, Eric Mouquet, Dave BassettGroban, Mouquet4:54

Notes

  • ^a signifies a vocal producer
  • ^b signifies a co-producer

Bonus track listing
  1. "You Raise Me Up" (Brendan Graham, Rolf Løvland) (European bonus track) – 4:50
  2. "Verità" (Richard Page, Per Magnusson, David Kreuger) (Special edition bonus track) – 4:01
  3. "Awake" (Groban, Mouquet, Salter) (Special edition bonus track) – 5:11
  4. "Smile" (Charlie Chaplin, Geoffrey Parsons, John Turner) (Website exclusive[5]) – 3:43

Personnel
  • Josh Groban – vocals, drums, keyboards, piano, backing vocals
  • Vinnie Colaiuta – drums
  • Joel Shearer – guitar
  • Frank Ricotti – percussion, vibraphone
  • Jochem van der Saag – synthesizer, programming
  • Glen Ballard – keyboards
  • Blair Sinta – percussion
  • Michael Thompson – guitar
  • Ian Thomas – drums
  • Eric Mouquet – keyboards
  • Nathan East – bass guitar
  • Chris Elliott – piano, dulcimer
  • Vincent Nguini – guitar
  • Sean Hurley – drums
  • Bakithi Kumalo – bass guitar, backing vocals
  • David Foster – keyboards
  • Marius de Vries – keyboards, programming, piano
  • Ramon Stagnaro – guitar
  • Matt Chamberlain – drums
  • Herbie Hancock – electric piano
  • Tim Pierce – guitar
  • Jason Boshoff – programming
  • Anton Fig – drums
  • Trevor Barry – bass guitar
  • Kaitlyn Barton – tambourine
  • Zac Rae – keyboards
  • Alexis Smith – additional programming
  • Dean Parks – guitar
  • Fiona Hibbert – harp
  • Imogen Heap – piano, programming, kalimba
  • Anna Ross – backing vocals
  • Ladysmith Black Mambazo – backing vocals
  • Vusi Mahlasela – backing vocals
  • Susie Suh – backing vocals

Certifications
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[6] Gold 35,000^
Belgium (BEA)[7] Gold  
Canada (Music Canada)[8] 2× Platinum 200,000^
France (SNEP)[9] Gold 114,400[10]
Ireland (IRMA)[11] Gold 7,500^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[12] Gold 7,500^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[13] Platinum 40,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[14] Gold 189,412[15]
United States (RIAA)[16] 2× Platinum 2,300,000[2]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References
General references
Specific references
  1. Awake at AllMusic
  2. Caulfield, Keith (October 23, 2015). "Josh Groban's 'Stages' Hits Half-Million in U.S. Sales". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 25, 2015.
  3. "Classical Albums | Billboard.com". billboard.com. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  4. Heymann, Dan. "Weeping Lyrics". [Weeping, The South African Anti-Apartheid Protest Song]. Archived from the original on July 10, 2007. Retrieved July 14, 2007.
  5. Awake Exclusive Edition in the Internet Archive
  6. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2007 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on August 10, 2020.
  7. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – albums 2008". Ultratop. Hung Medien. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
  8. "Canadian album certifications – Josh Groban – Awake". Music Canada.
  9. "French album certifications – Josh Groban – Awake" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  10. "Les Albums Or". infodisc.fr. SNEP. Archived from the original on October 18, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  11. "The Irish Charts - 2006 Certification Awards - Gold". Irish Recorded Music Association.
  12. "New Zealand album certifications – Josh Groban – Awake". Recorded Music NZ.
  13. "IFPI Norsk platebransje Trofeer 1993–2011" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved July 3, 2019.
  14. "British album certifications – Josh Groban – Awake". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Awake in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  15. Jones, Alan (September 28, 2018). "Charts analysis: Eminem's Kamikaze holds on at No.1". Music Week. Retrieved September 30, 2018.
  16. "American album certifications – Josh Groban – Awake". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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