Jason Thomas Mraz ( ; born June 23, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''
Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single "
The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" that peaked at number 15 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart.
His second studio album ''
Mr. A-Z'' (2005) peaked at number five on the
''Billboard'' 200.
His third studio album, ''
We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.'' (2008), peaked at number 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified four times Platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
(RIAA). The album's lead single, "
I'm Yours", reached the top ten on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, while spending a then-record 76 weeks on the Hot 100, and it was certified
Diamond
Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Diamond is tasteless, odourless, strong, brittle solid, colourless in pure form, a poor conductor of e ...
by the RIAA. The album also spawned the
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
winning singles "
Make It Mine" and "
Lucky" with
Colbie Caillat.
His fourth album, ''
Love Is a Four Letter Word'' (2012), peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' 200 and spawned the single "
I Won't Give Up", which became his second top ten hit on the Hot 100. He went on to release the top ten albums ''
Yes!'' (2014) and ''
Know.'' (2018). After signing a three-album agreement with
BMG in 2020, Mraz released the albums ''
Look for the Good'' (2020) and ''
Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride'' (2023).
Along with receiving two Grammy Award wins, Mraz is also the recipient of two
Teen Choice Awards
The Teen Choice Awards were an annual awards show that aired on the Fox television network between 1999 and 2019. The awards, based on a popularity vote that could be overridden by the producerswho reserved the right to choose the winnerscovered ...
, a
People's Choice Award, and the
Hal David Songwriters Hall of Fame Award. As of July 2014, Mraz has sold over seven million albums, and over 11.5 million in digital singles.
In 2023, Mraz competed as a contestant on
season 32 of ''
Dancing with the Stars'', finishing in second place, behind
Xochitl Gomez.
Early life
Mraz was born and raised in
Mechanicsville, Virginia.
[Keith Bellows]
"Traveling Troubadour,"
'' National Geographic Traveler'', March 2011. He is of
Slovak descent through his paternal grandfather, who moved to the United States from
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
in 1915.
His surname comes from , .
His parents, Tom (Tomáš ) Mraz and June Tomes, divorced when he was five years old, leaving Mraz to live with his father while his sister lived with his mother.
His father is a postal worker, and his mother is vice president at a branch of
Bank of America
The Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America) (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment banking, investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in ...
.
[Ruggieri, Melissa (October 5, 2003). "All That Mraz: After Breaking Big, Musician Comes Home to His Family, and Maybe Brunswick Stew". ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (Richmond, Virginia). p. H1.]
While attending
Lee-Davis High School, Mraz was a member of the
cheerleading
Cheerleading is an activity in which the participants (called cheerleaders) cheer for their team as a form of encouragement. It can range from chanting slogans to intense Physical exercise, physical activity. It can be performed to motivate s ...
squad,
school chorus, and drama club. He starred as
Joseph in ''
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' and as
Snoopy in ''
Snoopy! The Musical''. During this period of his life, he struggled with his sexuality at times, wondering if he was gay.
Mraz graduated in 1995.
After high school, Mraz attended the
American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City for about a year and a half, originally to work in musical theater.
[Ruggieri, Melissa (November 27, 2002). "Jason Mraz Home, and Just Look at Him Now". ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (Richmond, Virginia). p. E1.] When his roommates played guitar he would provide the vocals.
Eventually, a friend gave him a guitar that was about to be thrown away and Mraz learned to play and write his own music.
Mraz credits an early girlfriend as being one of the influences that drove him to songwriting. She encouraged him to write his thoughts on paper which helped him get "all of the voices in my head to shut up" and "become something I could follow."
Mraz moved to the
Shockoe Bottom neighborhood of
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
, where he took a series of odd jobs, including elementary-school janitor, and joined the Ashland Stage Company.
[Joan Tupponce]
"Jason Mraz,"
''Richmond Magazine'', March 24, 2010. Mraz then enrolled at
Longwood University
Longwood University is a public university in Farmville, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1839 as Farmville Female Seminary and colloquially known as Longwood or Longwood College, it is the third-oldest public university in Virginia and one of ...
in
Farmville, Virginia
Farmville is a town in Prince Edward County, Virginia, Prince Edward and Cumberland County, Virginia, Cumberland counties in the U.S. state, Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Prince Edward County, Virginia, Prince Edward County. ...
, on a scholarship.
Instead of attending classes, he headed west on a road trip that ultimately brought him to
San Diego
San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
, where he decided to stay.
Music career
1999–2001: Career beginnings
Soon after moving to San Diego in 1999, Mraz became a roadie for the band
Elgin Park. He met future band member Toca Rivera at Java Joe's, a coffee house in the
Ocean Beach neighborhood of San Diego known for being formative in the careers of Jewel and Steve Poltz. Mraz performed once a week for nearly three years, building a following in San Diego and online.
Mraz self-published the albums ''A Jason Mraz Demonstration'' (1999), ''From the Cutting Room Floor'' (2001), and ''On Love, In Sadness (The E Minor EP in F)'' (2001). In 2001, Mraz released the live acoustic album ''
Live at Java Joe's'', performing with percussionist Rivera and bassist Ian Sheridan. The album featured several songs he would later re-release, including "1000 Things", "You and I Both", and "Halfway Home". The album was later released on
iTunes
iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...
, on March 11, 2008, under the title ''
Jason Mraz: Live & Acoustic 2001''. Mraz returned to perform at Java Joe's for the 15th anniversary of the album on January 29, 2016. Mraz' last self-released album was ''Sold Out (In Stereo)'', released on March 21, 2002.
2002–2004: ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come''
In late 2001, Mraz signed a recording contract with
Elektra Records
Elektra Records (or Elektra Entertainment) is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group, founded in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt. It played an important role in the development of contemporary folk and rock music between the ...
and moved to Los Angeles.
In 2002, Mraz opened for
Jewel on her tour.
On October 15, 2002, Mraz released his first major label debut album, ''
Waiting for My Rocket to Come'', which peaked at number 55 on the ''Billboard'' 200. The day after the album's release, Mraz played on ''
The Late Late Show With Craig Kilborn''. "You & I Both" was released as a promotional single prior to the album's release, but received minimal airplay.
In early 2003, Mraz released his first commercial single, "
The Remedy (I Won't Worry)". The track was co-written by music production team
The Matrix
''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...
, and became Mraz's first top-40 single on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 15.
The song was inspired by a high school friend who was diagnosed with cancer.
At the time of the album's release, Mraz said that he did not like "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)" and had not wanted it on the album.
[Garin, Nina (October 10, 2002). "Coffee Break: With all those Java Joe's gigs under his belt, Jason Mraz tests the recording waters". ''The San Diego Union-Tribune''.] In June 2003, "You & I Both" was released commercially as the second single from the album. ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' was certified Platinum in May 2005 for selling 1 million units.
[Searchable Database](_blank)
(search under: Jason Mraz), Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
Mraz opened for
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman (born March 30, 1964) is an American singer-songwriter, widely known for her hit singles " Fast Car" (1988) and " Give Me One Reason" (1995).
She was signed to Elektra Records by Bob Krasnow in 1987. The following year she rel ...
in 2003 at the
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London, England. It has a seating capacity of 5,272.
Since the hall's opening by Queen Victoria in 1871, the world's leading artists from many performance genres ...
in London. In 2004, while on tour, Mraz released a live album with an accompanying DVD, ''
Tonight, Not Again: Jason Mraz Live at the Eagles Ballroom''. He performed with his touring band, including drummer Adam King, Rivera, Sheridan and keyboardist Eric Hinojosa, along with a guest appearance from
Blues Traveler frontman
John Popper
John Popper (born March 29, 1967) is an American musician and songwriter, known as the co-founder, lead vocalist, and frontman of the rock band Blues Traveler.
Early life
Popper was born on March 29, 1967, in Cleveland, Ohio. His father was a ...
.
2005–2007: ''Mr. A–Z''

On July 26, 2005, Mraz released his second major label album, ''
Mr. A–Z'', produced by
Steve Lillywhite
Stephen Alan Lillywhite (born 15 March 1955) is an English record producer. Since he began his career in 1977, Lillywhite has been credited on over 500 records, and has collaborated with a variety of musicians including new wave acts The Alarm ...
for
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...
. The album's lead single, "Wordplay", was produced by
Kevin Kadish,
["Mraz Nails Down New Album, Alanis Dates,"](_blank)
''Billboard''. Retrieved May 25, 2014. and entered the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 5.
[Keith Caulfield]
"Jason Mraz Vs. Lionel Richie For No. 1 Album Next Week,"
''Billboard'', April 19, 2012. The album earned a
Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
nomination for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, while Lillywhite received a nomination for Producer of the Year.
Mraz began a long-running tour in support of ''Mr. A–Z'' at the
San Diego Music Awards on September 12, 2005. The tour featured several opening acts, including
Bushwalla and
Tristan Prettyman, with whom he had written the duet "Shy That Way" in 2002. Mraz opened for
Alanis Morissette
Alanis Nadine Morissette ( ; born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian and American singer, songwriter, musician, and actress. Known for her emotive mezzo-soprano voice and confessional songwriting, she became a cultural phenomenon during the mid 199 ...
during her 2005 ''
Jagged Little Pill Acoustic'' tour,
and for the
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...
on five dates during their 2005–06 world tour.
In March 2006, he performed in Singapore as part of the annual
Mosaic Music Festival. That May, he toured mostly small venues and music festivals in the U.S., along with a few shows in the United Kingdom and Ireland where he supported
James Blunt. The tour included a May 6, 2006, acoustic show with
P.O.D.,
Better Than Ezra,
Live, and
The presidents of the United States of America. Mraz was featured as a headlining guest of
St. Louis's annual
Fair St. Louis and performed a free concert at the base of the
Gateway Arch
The Gateway Arch is a monument in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Clad in stainless steel and built in the form of a weighted catenary Catenary arch, arch, it is the world's tallest arch and List of tallest buildings in Missouri, Missouri's ...
on July 1, 2006. During this time, Mraz was also the opening act at several dates for
Rob Thomas'
Something to Be Tour.
In 2005, Mraz was one of many singers featured in the fall advertisement campaign for
The Gap campaign "Favorites", singing a cover of
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...
's "
One Love". 2006 saw the release of ''Selections for Friends'', the live, online-only album recorded during the Songs for Friends Tour. In 2007, "The Beauty in Ugly", an earlier track penned by Mraz originally titled "Plain Jane", was rewritten for the
ABC television show ''
Ugly Betty
''Ugly Betty'' is an American comedy-drama television series developed by Silvio Horta, which aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 28, 2006, to April 14, 2010. It is based on the Colombian telenovela ''Yo soy Betty, la fea' ...
''. The song was featured as a part of ABC's "Be Ugly in '07" campaign.
2008–2011: ''We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.''

On May 13, 2008, Mraz released his third studio album, ''
We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.'' The album debuted at number 3 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and was later certified quadruple platinum.
It broke into the top 10 of many international music charts. Mraz said that the album title was taken from the work of Scottish artist
David Shrigley.
Prior to its release, Mraz released three EPs, each with acoustic versions of songs from the album.
The album's lead single, "
I'm Yours", was written in August 2004 and was initially released in demo form on the limited edition EP ''Extra Credit'' in 2005''.'' Through Mraz's live performances of the song, it gained in popularity with fans.
"I'm Yours" became Mraz's first Top 10 hit on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at No. 6 on September 20, 2008. It ultimately spent 76 weeks on the Hot 100, longer than any other song in the magazine's 51-year history (a record since broken by
Imagine Dragons with "
Radioactive
Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is conside ...
" in 2014). It was a major commercial success in the US and was certified 7x multi-Platinum by the
RIAA
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
for sales of over seven million.
The song was also successful internationally, topping the charts in New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Sweden, and peaking in the top ten on the charts in 11 other countries. By May 2012, it had gained over 125,000,000 hits on YouTube. It was the first song to top the charts in four different radio formats: Mainstream Top 40, Adult Contemporary, Adult Top 40 and Triple A. "Make It Mine" was released as the second single from the album but failed to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "
Lucky" with
Colbie Caillat was released as the third single from the album and peaked at number 48 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.
At the
2009 Grammy Awards, "I'm Yours" was nominated for
Song of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, and ''We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.'' was nominated for
Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.
[Saul Relative]
"Jason Mraz, Colbie Caillat and Steve Martin on SNL,"
Yahoo! Voices, February 2, 2009. In 2009, Mraz was awarded the Hal David Starlight Award from the
Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2010, Mraz won two
Grammy Awards for
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance ("Make It Mine") and
Best Pop Collaboration ("
Lucky" with
Colbie Caillat). "I'm Yours" was also named
ASCAP's 2010 Song of the Year.
Mraz's 2008 world tour traveled across the United States, Europe, Asia, and Australia. His personal photo travelogue from the world tour was published as a book, titled ''A Thousand Things'' (2008).
The book was launched with a photo exhibition at
Charles Cowles Gallery in New York City at the end of 2008.
Also in 2008, Mraz played with
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...
to a crowd of 45,000 in
Hyde Park, London, sold out London's Royal Albert Hall, and performed at the
Nobel Peace Prize Concert in Oslo. That year, he embarked on the Music, Magic & Make Peace Tour with Bushwalla, The Makepeace Brothers, and magician
Justin Willman''.''
In 2009, Mraz recorded "The Way Is Love", an unreleased
Roy Orbison song, as a duet with
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and activist. He was one of the main figures of the outlaw country subgenre that developed in the late 1960s as a reaction to the conservative restr ...
. In November 2009, he released the live CD/DVD ''
Jason Mraz's Beautiful Mess: Live on Earth'', recorded in Chicago during the Gratitude Café tour. The following year, he went to Brazil to record "Simplesmente Todo" with
Milton Nascimento, who sings in Portuguese while Mraz sings in English. He also did some writing with
Dido and recorded new material with producer
Martin Terefe. Mraz released the live EP, ''Life Is Good'' on October 5, 2010.
2012–2013: ''Love Is A Four Letter Word''
Mraz released the live EP, ''Love Is A Four Letter Word'', on February 28, 2012. His fourth studio album, ''
Love Is a Four Letter Word'' was released on April 13, 2012. It reached number 2 on the ''Billboard'' 200,
[Jason Mraz Chart History](_blank)
Billboard 200, ''Billboard''. Retrieved May 25, 2014. and the top 20 in 10 other countries. The album's lead single, "
I Won't Give Up", debuted at number 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and number 1 on the Digital Songs chart.
[Gary Trust]
"Jason Mraz's 'I Won't Give Up' Storms Hot 100s Top 10,"
''Billboard'', January 11, 2012. It charted in 15 countries in total, and in October 2013 was certified 4x multi-platinum, for selling in excess of 4 million units.
Further singles from the album were "
93 Million Miles" and "
The Woman I Love", but these releases were not as successful.
''Love Is a Four Letter Word'' was nominated for a
2012 Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical. In 2012, he played sold-out shows at the
Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles,
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
in New York and the
O2 Arena in London, and performed at President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
and family's lighting of the national Christmas tree at the
White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...
; a noted Obama supporter, he has also performed at numerous other events involving Obama and Vice President
Joe Biden
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
. Also in 2012, he performed "You Did It" at the presentation ceremony for the
Kennedy Center
The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...
's
Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, won that year by
Ellen DeGeneres
Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American former comedian, actress, television host, writer, and producer.
She began her career in stand-up comedy in the early 1980s, gaining national attention with a 1986 appearance on '' ...
.
In September 2013, Mraz was featured on the Hunter Hayes song "
Everybody's Got Somebody but Me", which was later certified Gold. The same month, he was featured on the
Travie McCoy single "
Rough Water". That year, Mraz won a
People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Artist.
2014–2019: ''Yes!'' and ''Know.''
Mraz's fifth studio album, ''
Yes!'', was released on July 15, 2014.
[Lily Rothman]
"Jason Mraz Announces New Album, With An Exclusive Acoustic Performance,"
''Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'', May 19, 2014. It was recorded with all-female
folk rock
Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...
band Raining Jane, with whom Mraz had previously collaborated on the track "A Beautiful Mess" for his 2008 album ''We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things''. The album's lead single, "Love Someone", was released on May 19, 2014; Mraz performed the song for ''
Time
Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
''.
On June 20, 2014, he released ''We Can Take the Long Way'', a music video trilogy for the first three songs on ''Yes!'', which premiered on the ''
USA Today
''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...
'' website.
In 2015, Mraz was featured on "Bad Idea" and "You Matter to Me" on the Sara Bareilles album ''What's Inside: Songs From Waitress''. On September 27, 2017, it was announced that Mraz would make his
Broadway debut in the musical ''
Waitress''. He took on the role of Dr. Pomatter from November 3, 2017, until February 11, 2018.
On August 10, 2018, Mraz released his sixth studio album, ''
Know.''.
He referred to the new album as "bright and shiny" and a "classic-sounding pop acoustic, vocally driven record with positive lyrics and love songs."
The album was preceded by the release of two singles: "Have It All" was released on April 27, 2018, and was inspired by a blessing he received from a Buddhist monk during a trip to
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
in 2012. It was accompanied by a video filmed with performing arts students from his hometown of Richmond. The album's second single, "Unlonely", was released in June.
In July 2018, Mraz shared the lyric video for the song "More Than Friends", a duet with
Meghan Trainor
Meghan Elizabeth Trainor (born December 22, 1993) is an American singer-songwriter and television personality. She rose to prominence after signing with Epic Records in 2014 and releasing her debut single "All About That Bass", which reached ...
. On August 7, 2018, he partnered with
Fathom Events for the one-night-only release of ''Jason Mraz - Have It All The Movie'', a concert film and behind the scenes footage of the making of the "Have It All" video, in 600 movie theaters throughout North America.
In 2019, he was featured on the album ''
The Secret'' by
Alan Parsons as lead vocalist on the song "Miracle". On August 13, 2019, Mraz was named the first-ever District Advocate Ambassador to continue the fight for music creators' rights.
2020–present: ''Look for the Good'' and ''Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride''
In June 2020, Jason Mraz signed a three-album agreement with
BMG led by Vice President of A&R Jaime Neely, Executive Vice President of Repertoire & Marketing Thomas Scherer, Vice President of Marketing and Recorded Music Cyndi Lynott, and Vice President of Creative Synch Jonathan Palmer. Jason also founded Interrabang Records, through which his 2020 album, ''
Look for the Good'', was released, as well as singer-songwriter
Gregory Page's eighteenth album, ''One Hell of a Memory''.
On February 15, 2023, Mraz released the single "I Feel Like Dancing" for his upcoming album ''
Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride''. The album was released on June 23, 2023, which was also Mraz's 46th birthday. In September 2023, Mraz began appearing on
Season 32 of ''Dancing With the Stars'', partnered with pro dancer
Daniella Karagach. He placed second during the season finale.
''Dancing with the Stars'' performances
Average: 26.6/30
Personal life
Mraz lives a health-conscious lifestyle and has said that he eats mostly
raw vegan foods. His vegan diet has also influenced his music. He owns a five-and-a-half acre avocado farm in
Oceanside, California
Oceanside is a beach city in the North County (San Diego area), North County area of San Diego County, California, United States. The city had a population of 174,068 at the 2020 United States census, making it the most populous city in the Nort ...
. He is an investor at
Café Gratitude, a vegan restaurant in Los Angeles, and named his 2011 tour Gratitude Café in its honor. His hobbies include surfing, yoga and photography.
Relationships and sexuality
Mraz married Sheridan Edley in 2001. They divorced the following year.
Mraz was engaged to singer-songwriter and long-time close friend
Tristan Prettyman on Christmas Eve 2010; they broke off the engagement six months later.
On October 25, 2015, Mraz married Christina Carano in a private ceremony in his hometown of
Mechanicsville, Virginia. On June 22, 2023, Mraz announced that he and Carano had divorced.
In June 2018, Mraz penned a "love letter" to the
LGBT
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
community, as part of a ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' feature during
gay pride
In the context of LGBTQ culture, pride (also known as LGBTQ pride, LGBTQIA pride, LGBT pride, queer pride, gay pride, or gay and lesbian pride) is the promotion of the rights, self-affirmation, dignity, Social equality, equality, and increas ...
month. A line in the poem, "I am bi your side. / All ways"
led some media reports to state that the poem represented Mraz's
coming out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...
as
bisexual
Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
.
In an article published on July 19, 2018, by ''Billboard'', Mraz said he has had previous experiences with men, even while dating Carano.
Mraz said Carano defined him as a "
two-spirit
''Two-spirit'' (also known as ''two spirit'' or occasionally ''twospirited'', or abbreviated as ''2S'' or ''2E'', especially in Canada) is a umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people who fulfill a trad ...
",
a description that was criticized by some as misappropriating a word originally coined for the Native American population, arguing that it distorted the term's meaning.
Social activism and philanthropy
Mraz is a social activist whose philanthropic efforts span wide-ranging issues, including environmentalism, human rights, and
LGBT equality.
In 2003, after learning one of his beer bottles was listed for sale on eBay, Mraz was inspired to auction off items of his wardrobe online, raising money for the Make a Wish Foundation.
During early tours, he encouraged his fans to drop off food items as they arrived at the venue, an effort to support local food banks.
In 2009, he participated in a rescue mission to
Ghana
Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
with members of
Free the Slaves, a global nonprofit working to liberate children sold into slavery.
In 2012, he was featured on the cover of ''
Instinct
Instinct is the inherent inclination of a living organism towards a particular complex behaviour, containing innate (inborn) elements. The simplest example of an instinctive behaviour is a fixed action pattern (FAP), in which a very short to me ...
'' magazine in recognition of his efforts in support of
LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...
.
The Jason Mraz Foundation was established in 2011, with a mission to support charities in the areas of human equality, environment preservation and education.
["Jason Mraz Establishes Jason Mraz Foundation,"](_blank)
Artist Direct, December 5, 2011. Organizations supported by the foundation include
VH1's Save The Music Foundation,
MusiCares,
Surfrider Foundation,
Free the Children, Life Rolls On, the
School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community, the
Natural Resources Defense Council
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States–based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicag ...
, and the
True Colors Fund, which promotes LGBT equality.
Mraz was named the 2010 Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) Humanitarian of the Year. He also received the Clean Water Award in 2010 from the Surfrider Foundation, for helping to preserve the world's oceans and beaches. That same year, he teamed up with
The Nature Conservancy
The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, United States. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US.
Founded in ...
and created a
PSA using his song "I'm Yours" to raise awareness about the nonprofit organization's efforts to protect the earth.
On December 16, 2012, Mraz headlined the Milestone Concert in
Myanmar
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
to raise awareness about
human trafficking
Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...
, making him the first foreign artist to play an open-air concert in Myanmar. The concert was organized by
MTV EXIT and held in the People's Square in
Yangon
Yangon, formerly romanized as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar. Yangon was the List of capitals of Myanmar, capital of Myanmar until 2005 and served as such until 2006, when the State Peace and Dev ...
, with over 70,000 people in attendance, as part of an initiative to raise awareness about human trafficking in Myanmar. Also in 2012, Mraz spent a week in
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
with a group of environmentalists, scientists and researchers on a mission led by
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American former politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. He previously served as ...
, to learn about the effects of climate change.
Mraz is a continued supporter of
WhyHunger, a grassroots support organization dedicated to fighting hunger and poverty in the United States. The organization was founded by late musician
Harry Chapin and Radio DJ
Bill Ayres in 1975.
On June 19, 2020, Mraz announced he would be donating all profits from his album ''Look for the Good'' to
Black Lives Matter
Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...
and other organizations working toward equality and justice.
Politics
On October 24, 2019, Mraz endorsed
Bernie Sanders
Bernard Sanders (born September8, 1941) is an American politician and activist who is the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from the state of Vermont. He is the longest-serving independ ...
for president in the
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries stating, "Bernie is the perfect candidate to follow Trump & continue to shake up the system for the benefit of true American values: Life, Liberty & The Pursuit of Happiness".
Discography
Studio albums
* ''
Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002)
* ''
Mr. A–Z'' (2005)
* ''
We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.'' (2008)
* ''
Love Is a Four Letter Word'' (2012)
* ''
Yes!'' (2014)
* ''
Know.'' (2018)
* ''
Look for the Good'' (2020)
* ''
Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride'' (2023)
Awards and nominations
{, class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
, -
! scope="col" , Award
! scope="col" , Year
! scope="col" , Nominee(s)
! scope="col" , Category
! scope="col" , Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable",
, -
! scope="row" rowspan=4,
Grammy Awards
, rowspan="2",
2009
2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...
, rowspan="2", "
I'm Yours"
,
Song of the Year
,
, rowspan=4,
, -
, rowspan=2,
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
,
, -
, rowspan="2",
2010
The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...
, "
Make It Mine"
,
, -
, "
Lucky"
(with Colbie Caillat)
,
Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals
,
, -
! scope="row" rowspan=2, Pop Awards
, rowspan=2, 2021
, Himself
, Icon of the Year
,
, rowspan=2,
, -
, ''Look for the Good''
, Album of the Year
,
, -
! scope="row" rowspan=15,
San Diego Music Awards
, rowspan=2, 2002
, rowspan=3, Himself
, Best Acoustic
,
, rowspan=2,
, -
, rowspan=2, Artist of the Year
,
, -
, rowspan=2, 2003
,
, rowspan=2,
, -
, "
The Remedy (I Won't Worry)"
, Song of the Year
,
, -
, 2004
, rowspan=2, Himself
, rowspan=2, Artist of the Year
,
,
, -
, rowspan=3, 2009
,
, rowspan=2,
, -
, "
Lucky"
(with Colbie Caillat)
, Song of the Year
,
, -
, ''
We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.''
, Album of the Year
,
,
, -
, rowspan=4, 2014
, Himself
, Artist of the Year
,
, rowspan=2,
, -
, rowspan=2, "
Love Someone"
, Best Music Video
,
, -
, Song of the Year
,
, rowspan=2,
, -
, ''
Yes!''
, Album of the Year
,
, -
, rowspan=3, 2019
, Himself
, Artist of the Year
,
, rowspan=3,
, -
, "
Have It All"
, Song of the Year
,
, -
, ''
Know.''
, Album of the Year
,
Other awards
, -
, 2004
, rowspan=2, Jason Mraz
,
Pollstar
''Pollstar'' is a trade publication for the concert and live music industry. The publication was purchased by Oak View Group, a venue consultancy founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, in July 2017.
''Pollstar'' holds an annual award ce ...
Concert Industry Awards for Best New Touring Artist
,
, -
, rowspan=4, 2009
,
Teen Choice Award for Choice Music – Male Artist
,
, -
, ''
We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.''
,
Teen Choice Award for Choice Album (Male Artist)
,
, -
, rowspan=3, Jason Mraz
,
American Music Award
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...
for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist
,
, -
,
Songwriters Hall of Fame Hal David Starlight Award
,
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 2010
,
People's Choice Award for Favorite Male Artist
,
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 2010
, "
I'm Yours"
,
ASCAP Song of the Year
,
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 2010
, Jason Mraz
, Surf Industry Manufacturers Association Humanitarian of the Year
,
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 2010
, Jason Mraz
,
Surfrider Foundation Clean Water Award
,
, -
, style="text-align:center;" ,
2012
2012 was designated as:
*International Year of Cooperatives
*International Year of Sustainable Energy for All
Events January
*January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins.
* January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, rowspan="2" , "
I Won't Give Up"
,
Best Love Song
,
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 2012
, MVPA Awards for Best Adult Contemporary Video
,
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 2012
, Jason Mraz
, ASCAP Foundation Champion Award
,
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 2013
, Jason Mraz
,
People's Choice Award for Pop Male Artist
,
, -
, style="text-align:center;" , 2013
, Jason Mraz
,
MTV Europe Music Award For Best World Stage
,
, -
Bibliography
* ''A Thousand Things'' (2008, I Love Books)
Filmography
Film
{, class="wikitable sortable"
, -
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" , Notes
, -
, 2012
, ''
The Big Fix''
, Himself
, Produced / Documentary film
, -
, 2015
, ''
Unity''
, Narrator
, Documentary
, -
, 2019
, ''
Trouble''
, Himself (voice)
, Animated film
, -
, 2020
, ''
Clouds''
, Himself
, Feature film
, -
, 2020
, ''Kiss the Ground''
, Himself
, Documentary
, -
Television appearances (selected)
* ''
American Music Awards
The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...
'' (2003)
* ''
Late Night with Conan O'Brien'' (2003)
* ''
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'' (2003, 2005, 2008)
* ''
New Year's Rockin' Eve'' (2004)
* ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2014)
* ''
Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' (2004, 2005, 2009, 2012)
* ''
The EBS space (EBS 스페이스 공감)'' (2006)
* ''
Late Show with David Letterman
''Late Show with David Letterman'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by David Letterman on CBS, the first iteration of the ''Late Show'' franchise. The show debuted on August 30, 1993, and was produced by Letterman's production com ...
'' (2008, 2009, 2012)
* ''
Nobel Peace Prize Concert'' (2008)
* ''
Rachael Ray'' (2008)
* ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
'' (2009, 2019)
* ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' (2009, 2019)
* ''
Spicks and Specks (TV series)'' (2009)
* ''
The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien'' (2009)
* ''
Grammy Awards'' (2009, 2010)
* ''
Family Guy
''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...
'' (2010)
* ''
The Jay Leno Show
''The Jay Leno Show'' is an American prime time talk show hosted by Jay Leno that was broadcast by NBC from September 14, 2009, to February 9, 2010. The series was a spiritual successor to his previous late-night talk show ''The Tonight Show wit ...
'' (2010)
* ''
Sesame Street
''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...
'' (2010)
* ''
Chelsea Lately'' (2012)
* ''
Conan'' (2012)
* ''
Dancing With the Stars'' (2012)
* ''
The Fresh Beat Band'' (2012)
* ''
Late Night with Jimmy Fallon'' (2012)
* ''
Opening Act'' (2012)
* ''
Today'' (2012)
* ''
VH1 Storytellers'' (2012)
* ''
Watch What Happens: Live'' (2012)
* ''
Live from Daryl's House'' (2012)
* ''
American Restoration (2015)
* ''
Live from the Artists Den'' (2014)
* ''
K-pop Star 4 (케이팝 스타 4)'' (2015)
* ''Today Show with Hoda and Jena'' (2019)
* ''
Celebrity Show-Off'' (2020)
* ''
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune'' (2021)
* ''
Rick and Morty
''Rick and Morty'' is an American Adult animation, adult animated science fiction Animated sitcom, sitcom created by Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon for Cartoon Network's nighttime programming block Adult Swim. The series follows the misadvent ...
'' (2022) –
Brachiosaurus
''Brachiosaurus'' () is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in North America during the Late Jurassic, about . It was first Species description, described by American paleontologist Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 in paleontology, 1903 from fossi ...
(voice; in "Juricksic Mort")
* ''
Dancing with the Stars'' (2023)
References
External links
*
*
*
Jason Mraz collectionat the
Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
's live music archive
Playlist: Jason Mraz–
Nightline
''Nightline'' (or ''ABC News Nightline'') is ABC News (United States), ABC News' Late night television in the United States, late-night television news program broadcast on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States with a franchis ...
07/17/09 – Reggae to rock, Mraz reveals his musical influences.
Jason Mraz Interviewat
NAMM Oral History Collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mraz, Jason
1977 births
20th-century American LGBTQ people
21st-century American LGBTQ people
21st-century American male singers
21st-century American singer-songwriters
American bisexual male actors
American bisexual musicians
American folk-pop singers
American LGBTQ rights activists
American LGBTQ singers
American LGBTQ songwriters
American male guitarists
American male singer-songwriters
American Musical and Dramatic Academy alumni
American people of Czech descent
Atlantic Records artists
Bisexual male musicians
Bisexual singer-songwriters
Elektra Records artists
Grammy Award winners
Guitarists from Virginia
LGBTQ people from Virginia
LGBTQ record producers
Living people
Musical groups from San Diego
Musicians from Richmond, Virginia
People from Mechanicsville, Virginia
People from Oceanside, California
Singer-songwriters from California
Singer-songwriters from Virginia