"Brave" is a 2012

classical crossover Crossover is a term applied to Musical composition, musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience, audiences. This can be seen, for example, when a song appears on two or more of the record chart, record charts, which tr ...

–

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

song by American singer and songwriter

Josh Groban Joshua Winslow Groban (born February 27, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. His first four solo albums have been certified multi-platinum, and he was charted in 2007 as the number-one best selling artist in the United States, ...

. It was the first single release from his sixth studio album, '' All That Echoes'', signaling a move by Groban to a "more guitar-based, rhythmic" sound. Groban and longtime songwriting partner

Tawgs Salter Thomas "Tawgs" Salter is a Canadian musician, songwriter, producer and recording engineer. His extensive body of musical work includes a vast array of artists ranging from Josh Groban, Lights and Lenka to Chantal Kreviazuk, Fefe Dobson, Dear R ...

composed the melody, and the lyrics were written by

Chantal Kreviazuk Chantal Jennifer Kreviazuk ( ; born May 18, 1974) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, composer, and pianist. Born in Winnipeg, she played music from a young age before signing with Columbia Records in the 1990s. Her debut studio album, ''Under The ...

. "Brave" reached No.13 on ''

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 ...

''s

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

chart.

Background

As Josh Groban was releasing '' Illuminations'' in 2010,

Rob Cavallo Robert Siers Cavallo (born March 21, 1963) is an American record producer, musician, and record executive. He is among the biggest-selling producers in alternative music, having contributed to albums that have sold over 130 million units worldwi ...

was taking over as chairman of

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...

, Groban's label. Carvallo attended one of Groban's concerts during the following tour and had dinner with the singer afterward. Groban said Carvallo—known for his work with rock acts like

Goo Goo Dolls The Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band based in Buffalo, New York, composed of lead vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik, bassist and vocalist Robby Takac, as well as several rotating members since its formation in 1986. After starting ...

and

Green Day Green Day is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their majo ...

—had "done his homework" and shared some ideas for the future that coincided with Groban's own. "So we said, 'This seems like on paper maybe not the most obvious thing but let's try it out. Groban and Tawgs Salter had been working on the melody for "Brave" when Groban started singing the words "wake up, wake up" while playing on the piano; "so from the get-go we felt this was a song about rejuvenation." For the remainder of the lyrics, Groban turned to longtime friend

for their first collaboration, since they had "always been sniffing around for the right thing to do" together. Groban said he wanted "Brave" to fuse the more traditional vocal style with "an intensity and an urgency", opening an album designed to "bridge the old and the new, the light and the dark of life and love... all that echoes in our souls."

Music video

A "behind the scenes" music video for "Brave" was posted to Groban's YouTube channel in December 2012, including candid shots and production footage. The official music video was released in March 2013; it features orchestra musicians in a recording studio, and Groban standing on a lighted, wooden platform in a warehouse.

Performances and covers

Like the album, Groban used "Brave" to open his concerts during the ''All That Echoes'' tour in 2013. Also in 2013, Groban performed the single for two competition programs: in March, he sang alongside professional dancers for ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

''; in September, he was invited by

tenor A tenor is a type of male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. Composers typically write music for this voice in the range from the second B below m ...

group

Forte Forte or Forté may refer to: Music *Forte (music), a musical dynamic meaning "loudly" or "strong" * Forte number, an ordering given to every pitch class set * Forte (notation program), a suite of musical score notation programs * Forte (vocal ...

to perform together for the ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is an American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distributed by) and ...

'' finale, singing a medley of "Brave" and "

To Where You Are "To Where You Are" is the debut single by American singer Josh Groban, from his 2001 self-titled debut album. It was written by Richard Marx and Linda Thompson and produced by Marx. Commercial performance When released as a single in 2002, the ...

A cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

musician Peter Hollens covered "Brave" in 2013, using only his voice to create the vocals and instrumental accompaniment. A link to Hollens' performance was added to Groban's official website. "Brave" has been recorded by several professional and amateur musicians including ''

Britain's Got Talent ''Britain's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated to ''BGT'') is a televised British talent show competition, and part of the global '' Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. Presented by Anthony McPartlin and Declan Donnelly (colloquial ...

'' alumnus Charlie Green and UK opera singer and actor Toby Hinson.

Reception

Release

BBC Music BBC Music is the arm of the BBC responsible for the music played across its services. The current director of music is Lorna Clarke. Officially it is a part of the BBC's Radio operational division; however, its remit also includes music used i ...

called "Brave" a

You Raise Me Up "You Raise Me Up" is a song composed by Rolf Løvland with lyrics by Brendan Graham. It was first recorded by Secret Garden, in collaboration with Brian Kennedy. Although the original version was not a major hit, the song has since been rec ...

'-style anthem". ''

'' said the song is "the latest example of Groban's continued move toward more guitar-based, rhythmic arrangements—the kind he's been trying out on tour for years to surprise his fans." Reviewing ''All That Echoes'',

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

said "Brave" invokes "the yearning uplift of bands like U2 and

OneRepublic OneRepublic is an American pop rock band from Colorado Springs, Colorado, formed in 2002. The lineup currently consists of Ryan Tedder (lead vocals, piano), Zach Filkins (guitar, viola), Drew Brown (musician), Drew Brown (guitar), Brent Kutzle ( ...

". For its review of ''All That Echoes'', ''

Newsday ''Newsday'' is a daily newspaper in the United States primarily serving Nassau and Suffolk counties on Long Island, although it is also sold throughout the New York metropolitan area. The slogan of the newspaper is "Newsday, Your Eye on LI" ...

'' wrote, " nthe "

Coldplay Coldplay are a British Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1997. They consist of vocalist and pianist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, drummer and percussionist Will Champion, and manager Phil Harvey (band m ...

esque first single, 'Brave... roban'sclassically trained, powerful vocals compete with the extra drama of the orchestral arrangements." ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' found the song "vaguely uplifting". ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'' called it "cinematic" if positive in its message. "Be careful, though: it's like a sprayed-white Christmas tree covered in blue lights and tinsel—works fine in the bank, but you might not want it in your house."

Performance

In concert in 2013, ''

MLive MLive Media Group, originally known as Booth Newspapers, or Booth Michigan, is a media group that produces newspapers from the state of Michigan in Cleveland, Ohio. Founded by George Gough Booth with his two brothers, Booth Newspapers was sold t ...

'' called the song "the first of many heavily orchestrated numbers with lush instrumentation, designed to be vehicles for his throaty vibrato." The ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'' said "Brave" was a "zestful, melodic anthem ". The ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'' said the song "might be a metaphor for the singer's charmed connection with loyal fans." ''

The Morning Call ''The Morning Call'' is a daily newspaper in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1883, it is the second-longest continuously published newspaper in the Lehigh Valley, after '' The Express-Times''. The newspaper is owned by Alden Global Capital ...

'' was more critical in its review, writing that Groban seemed to be "trying too hard to be contemporary rather than classical.... He sang too much of the song in an affected voice".

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control 2012 singles 2012 songs Josh Groban songs Reprise Records singles Song recordings produced by Rob Cavallo Songs written by Josh Groban Songs written by Chantal Kreviazuk Songs written by Tawgs Salter