Josh Groban Talks Channeling Movie Magic for ‘Cinematic,’ His ‘Emotionally Personal’ New Album
Categoria: Musica
He joins the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast to chat about his covers set, which features the "epic" Jennifer Hudson and even Groban's own dad.
Por Billboard | 07/05/2026
On Josh Groban ’s new album Cinematic (out May 8), the chart-topping singer-actor pays tribute to movie music, covering silver screen classics like “As Time Goes By,” “Moon River” and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” Cinematic marks Groban’s first album of new material since his Tony Award-nominated turn starring in the 2023 revival of Sweeney Todd . And that show loomed large in the early stages of making Cinematic . He says, “having just come off of the grandest score of all time with Sweeney Todd , and really putting on my big boy voice for that… I wanted to keep riding that wave… I wanted to stay in that grand zone.” At the same time, he and his team were also brainstorming ideas for what a new album could be like, thematically, and “this word cinematic kept coming up,” he tells the Billboard Pop Shop Podcast (listen to his full interview, below). The “grand zone” and “cinematic” ideas combined into what Groban calls “MGM-escapism” on the album. Essentially, a collection of movie songs that he could perform and take the listener on a journey. It’s “that feeling of, you know, the lights are out, and the world out there is going to take a pause for a couple hours… that’s the vibe we wanted. We wanted to lean into that escapism.” And while the set is comprised entirely of covers, Groban notes, “This album feels personal for an album that… was such a broad idea. It whittled down to a very specific and very emotionally personal album.” On the project, Groban is joined by Jennifer Hudson (who duets on “Unchained Melody”), his dad Jack Groban (who plays trumpet on “Moon River”) and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Los Angeles (on “Can You Feel the Love Tonight”). Cinematic was produced by two-time Grammy Award-winner Greg Wells. And, in keeping with the “grand” theme, was recorded largely with an orchestra, and in multiple studios across Los Angeles, New York and London. Groban says Hudson is “so multi-talented, and such an epic vocalist.” Their first team-up came in 2024 when they sang “O Holy Night” together on the CBS-TV special Josh Groban & Friends Go Home for the Holidays . He says he immediately knew there was something special in that collaboration. “We looked at each other, we went, ‘wow’.” So, when it came time to discuss Groban’s upcoming tour, he had a “bucket list of one person” that was his dream person to come out on the road — Hudson. The stars aligned and the two were able to not only join forces for a tour (which kicks off June 2 in Montreal) but also their “Unchained Melody” duet on Cinematic . Regarding his father, Groban says “I owe so much of my introduction of the arts to his musicality.” While his dad is not a professional trumpet player, there is “one album that he made playing trumpet back when he was in his 20s,” Groban says, and “there’s a one of one copy that we finally digitized.” Though Groban’s father had essentially put his trumpet away for the past 40 years, and had never recorded in the studio with his son, Josh k