Josh Groban Lands Two Albums In The Top 20

12/09/2010
. Josh Groban has two albums charting in the Top 20 on Billboard's Top 200 chart this week: Illuminations, which lands at No. 9, and the 5x-platinum Christmas album Noel, at No. 18. Now a holiday classic, Noel spent five consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart in 2007 and was the best-selling album of that year.

Released by 143/Reprise Records on November 15th, Illuminations debuted at No. 4 on Billboard�s Top 200 chart (Groban�s fourth consecutive Top 5 chart bow), selling 191,337 units in its first week. Stellar reviews for the album have been pouring in. Entertainment Weekly declared that �Illuminations might be Groban�s handsomest effort yet.� USA Today raved: �Illuminations yields glowing music. Sturdy, deeply personal statements, brimming with poignancy.� The New York Times also praised the album, saying it �showcases Mr. Groban�s songwriting� and �reflects the conviction that gallantry can also be pensive and uncertain.� The Washington Post calls out Groban�s cover of Nick Cave�s �Straight To You,� calling it a �doozy of a track, which finds Cave and Groban united in their fondness for dark romantic overstatement.�

Illuminations is the result of an unprecedented partnership between Groban and his producer Rick Rubin, who came together to create an entirely new zone where art meets intimacy and immediacy meets timelessness. Groban � who ranks as Billboard�s 14th top-selling artist of the 2000s with more than 20 million units sold in the U.S. alone � has expressed himself at his fullest by tapping into a new range of expression and emotional connection with lyrics drawn straight from the heart.

Last week, Groban performed during NBC�s star-studded annual special Christmas in Rockefeller Center, as well as on Oprah Winfrey�s recent �Ultimate Favorite Things� episode. He will appear this week on Rachael Ray on December 9th. Groban will also perform �Bells of New York City� on Good Morning America on December 21st.

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