Josh Groban to Receive Hollywood Walk of Fame Star on May 6
josh groban will receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 6, a homecoming honor for the Los Angeles native who used to walk the boulevard as a kid. He said he never expected to join the names he admired there.
“I remember thinking about how absolutely iconic and cool it is that these names are down there,” Groban said, adding, “Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be one of them.”
Hollywood Boulevard memories
Groban said his father often took him to a magic shop on Hollywood Boulevard, and he would stroll the Walk of Fame while coming and going. That childhood routine now frames a rare full-circle moment: the same sidewalk that once belonged to other people will carry his name.
His path to that point did not follow a standard pop breakout. Groban said, “I didn’t have the usual avenues that musicians have when they become successful, like a radio hit or MTV or that kind of highway to stardom,” and added, “So everything that made me popular with people really relied on crossing over into different forms of media.”
From Grammy telecast to Broadway
Before his 2001 debut album, Groban worked with Celine Dion on the 1999 Grammy Awards telecast and landed a guest star role on Ally McBeal. After that, he kept moving across formats, appearing as himself in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and CSI: NY, and contributing to film soundtracks including The Polar Express.
That crossing-over strategy also helped define his public image. Groban said, “There is a part of me that is weird and tells jokes, but I felt like I had to be the guy that’s on the billboard,” and, “You’ve got to be the serious guy who sings the serious music.”
Cinematic and Broadway reach
His song “Believe” remains a holiday staple, and his stage work includes two Tony-nominated Broadway runs. He also said “Glee” became a release valve fifteen years later: “Something like ‘Glee’ was my way of letting off some steam for the very, very controlled first five years of my career.”
Groban’s new album, Cinematic, leans into that same wide net, with covers of film theme songs including “Skyfall,” “The Lion King” and “Against All Odds.” For an artist whose rise came through television, Broadway and soundtracks as much as radio, the star formalizes a career built on using every lane available.
