Deerfield teen who sang with Josh Groban: ‘Never would have dreamed’
BY ARIEL CHEUNG Staff Reporter/acheung@suntimes.com July 19, 2011 12:16PM
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Updated: November 2, 2011 1:09AM
When Josh Joseph saw an electronic message inviting the United Center audience to text Josh Groban before his July 13 concert, Joseph never imagined ending up singing a duet on stage with the pop star.
The Deerfield teen shot off the first text message that came to his mind and went back to studying for his summer-school history exam before the show started.
Joseph, 16, was attending the concert with his parents, Marc and Robin, and brother, Michael, 22, when, halfway through, Groban began reading some of the text messages sent to him. When he got to Joseph’s message asking to sing a duet, Groban replied, “I’ve got to ask you, Josh, can you bring it?”
Groban then pulled Joseph from the audience to sing “You Raise Me Up” at Joseph’s request, jokingly dubbing the night “Chicago Idol.”
“My mind had so many thoughts, and at the same time, my mind was blank,” Joseph said. “I never would have dreamed that would happen in a million years.”
Joseph’s father was likewise “shocked.”
“I didn’t even have time to get nervous for him because I didn’t even know what was going on,” Marc Joseph said.
When they finished the song, Groban high-fived the teen and declared, “Josh Joseph’s got some pipes!”
Joseph, a junior at Deerfield High School and longtime Groban fan, wants to study musical theater in college and attend Carnegie Mellon University, where Groban studied.
As his mother, Robin, sees it, performing at United Center for 22,000 people is “a pretty good start.”
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