Why Josh Groban is the cheerleader Pinoys didn't think they needed
When Josh Groban made a one-night stop in Manila for his "Gems World Tour 2026," Filipinos were expecting to be treated to some heartrending music, be amused by Groban's humor, and then go home. The audience did not count on being celebrated for merely belonging to The Country of Singers. Neither did they expect to walk away at the end of the concert feeling extremely empowered and optimistic.
But that's what happened.
The self-effacing Tony, Emmy, and Grammy Award-nominated singer began his concert at SM MOA Arena with zero fanfare. His long-time guitarist and musical director Tariqh Akoni simply started up the chords to You Are Loved (Don't Give Up) and, after a few moments, Groban emerged from stage left spiffy in a suit and armed with his world-renowned baritone notes.
"Everybody wants to be understood. Well, I can hear you. Everybody wants to be loved. Don't give up. Because you are loved," Groban sang.
He sustained the uplifting theme for the two or so hours he was performing, as if he knew about the chaos the world would plunge into a couple of weeks after that night. Between each song, as is his habit, Groban shared about himself and his thoughts, making sure everything circled back to the musical therapy session onstage.
"I was talking to some people before the show about the goal of mental health in music, and how important it is that we have music, both as performers and writers. Certainly, writing songs has gotten me out of dark days more times than I can count," Groban said.
He went on to reminisce about how his self-titled debut album's incredible worldwide success in 2001 affected him, "a shy kid who had a hard time figuring out what to do with all that praise and criticism and everything in between."
So then, to cope with his overwhelming feelings, he wrote February Song, released it in 2006, and things became easier to handle.
"Sometimes it's hard to find my ground because I keep on falling as I try to get away from this crazy world," Groban then performed the therapeutic "February Song to cheers from his Pinoy audience.
He did mix it up by throwing in covers of songs by Robbie Williams and Celine Dion.
Then Groban went local.
"I can't believe that I have the friends I have on the stage tonight. I'm so, so excited," he said, self-effacing, as usual.
Introducing his first Pinoy guest, Groban continued, "I cannot believe that she took time out of her schedule to be here tonight. She is an actress, a singer, a writer. Somebody who's so deep into the pop culture of this amazing country. She is amazing, too. Please give it up for Julie Ann San Jose, everybody."
San Jose, equally humble, admitted to Groban she was "Kinakabahan," inadvertently teaching him a new Filipino word. They went on to sing Joni Mitchell's Both Sides Now, a duet Groban previously recorded with singer, songwriter, and three-time Tony award nominee Sara Bareilles.
Groban introduced his next guest, Martin Nievera, with the familiarity and eagerness of a friend.
"[Here's] somebody who's been a friend for a very long time; somebody I've looked up to here in this country, who's...shown such incredible kindness to me from the moment I started. He is somebody that has conquered all, all of entertainment here in the Philippines and beyond," Groban said before welcoming Nievera onstage.
The balladeer, who began his career in 1982, needed no time to warm up the audience, many of whom had probably watched him on TV in Penthouse Live. He launched into his "favorite Louie Ocampo song," Say That You Love Me, getting the full house to pick up the chorus without any bidding. Nievera owned the stage the moment he stepped on it.
"That was incredible. Oh my God, that was so wonderful," Groban burst out after the song.
"You should sing that song, please," Nievera suggested.
"I can't sing that song," Groban said.
Both bowled over by each other's star wattage, Groban and Nievera then launched into a soulful duet with What I Did For Love from the Broadway musical A Chorus Line.
Groban saved Asia's Songbird for last.
"I can't tell you how fun this is for me because I have such an amazing reverence and respect for the music that comes out of the Philippines. And to be able to have these legends come onstage to me just means the absolute world to me. This is somebody who, I feel, has been, I think, truly, an enormous part of the tapestry of the culture of this country for as long as I can remember," Groban said of Regine Velasquez.
Greeting Groban simply, as if eager to release her vocal chords, Velasquez flew through Jeffrey Osborne's On the Wings of Love.
It seemed all business for the songbird as she dove into her next song, a duet with Groban, and regular track on his Philippine concerts, All I Ask of You from the Broadway musical Phantom of the Opera.
For the rest of his concert, Groban reminded the audience how he has stayed on top of his game since the day he filled in, at 17, for Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli to rehearse The Prayer with Celine Dion for the 1999 Grammy Awards. He accompanied himself on the piano for Bridge Over Troubled Water, did a drum-off, and performed Michael Jackson's She's Out of My Life because he said he knew Filipinos love it.
Aside from Groban's band, there were Filipino faces onstage performing with him as well: The Manila Symphony Orchestra and, serving as Groban's excellent back-up singers, the UP Concert Chorus.
"Martin certainly warmed you up. Now I know how you can sing," Groban told his audience, getting them to "get those voices going, get those lights back up," before dedicating You Raise Me Up to his Manila fans.
For good measure, perhaps to make sure he was leaving his audience with goosebumps and a warm hug, Groban finished off with Somewhere Over the Rainbow and Bridge Over Troubled Water.
"We need each other more than ever," he said. "Manila, Philippines, you have been a bridge over my troubled water more times than you can possibly imagine."
Groban is set to wrap up his Gems World Tour 2026 with his Las Vegas Residency in October.
