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Jason Mraz
Jason Mraz performs at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Ledyard, Connecticut on May 17, 2006. Photo by Marisa Gesualdi.
Background information
Birth name	Jason Thomas Mraz
Born	June 23, 1977 (age 29)
Origin	Mechanicsville, Virginia, USA
Genre(s)	Pop rock hip hop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter guitarist
Instrument(s)	Singing rapping guitar piano
Years active	2001 - Present
Label(s)	Atlantic (2005- ) Elektra (2002-2005)
Associated acts	Speechwriters LLC Raul Midon
Website	http://www.jasonmraz.com

Jason Thomas Mraz (born June 23, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter, born and raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia, a suburb of Richmond. His last name is from the Czech word mráz, meaning "frost".

Mraz is an eclectic artist with multiple and varied stylistic influences, including pop, rock, jazz, country, and hip hop/rap. He is popular in the United States, Southeast Asia, Korea, Japan, and Australia and has played with various artists, including The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Dave Matthews Band, Paula Cole, John Popper, Makana, Alanis Morissette, The Ohio Players, Tristan Prettyman, and Jewel.

Contents 1 Background 2 2005 3 2006 4 2007 5 Trivia 6 Discography 6.1 Albums 6.1.1 Studio LP Releases 6.1.2 Live and Other EP Releases 6.2 Guest contributions 6.3 Singles 7 Awards and nominations 8 See also 9 External links

Mraz graduated from Lee Davis High School in Mechanicsville, Virginia. After a brief stint studying musical theater at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, he moved to San Diego. Mraz became a hit on the Southern California club scene, playing with percussionist Toca Rivera and his brother, latin-pop guitarist Carlos Olmeda, in a regular gig at the now-defunct Java Joe's coffee shop—the same venue where fellow musician Jewel played during her early career. In 2001 he was briefly married to a woman named Sheridan; however, they divorced amicably and still remain good friends.

Mraz's clear, strong tenor voice and easygoing, optimistic lyrics gained popular acclaim in 2003 when his first single, "The Remedy (I Won't Worry)," began to receive regular play on radio, MTV, and VH1. Co-written by music production team The Matrix, the popularity of "The Remedy" boosted the sales of his major label debut release, Waiting for My Rocket to Come, which would be certified platinum by the RIAA in May 2005.

Mraz has often collaborated and performed with funk-hip-hop-folk artist Billy "Bushwalla" Galewood, a friend from Ohio who studied musical theater with Jason. They perfected their skills by jamming and freestyle rapping for hours while living in New York. Together, they have written and recorded several songs, including "Curbside Prophet", a track from Waiting for My Rocket to Come which was later released as a promotional single. They both describe each other as one of their biggest influences.

In June and July, Mraz opened for Alanis Morissette during her Jagged Little Pill Acoustic Tour. On July 26, 2005, he released the follow-up album, Mr. A-Z, to his major label debut Waiting for My Rocket to Come. It entered the Billboard 200 album chart at No. 5, selling nearly 90,000 copies in its first week; later on in December, the album earned a Grammy Award nomination for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical, while its producer, Steve Lillywhite, received a nomination for Producer of the Year.[1]

Mraz played at the San Diego Music Awards on September 12 and from September to October toured in support of Mr. A-Z; on the tour, he was opened by various artists, including Bushwalla. In November, Mraz opened for the Rolling Stones on five dates during their 2005–2006 world tour.

Also, in this year, Mraz was one of many singers featured in the fall advertisement campaign for The Gap entitled "Favorites." The music-themed campaign also featured other singers including Michelle Branch, Joss Stone, Keith Urban, Alanis Morissette, Brandon Boyd, and Michelle Williams.

In December 2005, Mraz released the first part of his ongoing podcast.

In January of 2006, Mraz had two concerts in Makati and Taguig City, Philippines to promote his album Mr. A-Z. They were held at the Rockwell Tent in Makati and the NBC Tent in Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City. In February and March, he toured the U.K. and Ireland with James Blunt. Also in January, his single "Did You Get My Message?" was the free download of the week on the UK Version of iTunes.

In February, Mraz split with singer-songwriter and former Roxy model Tristan Prettyman, whom he met at Java Joe's in San Diego.

Jason wrote two songs with Tristan entitled Shy Like That and All I Want For Christmas Is Us. The first song was written before he barely knew Tristan, but whom he had been touring with.

In March, Mraz also performed for the first time at a sold-out (one month before the actual performance date) performance with Toca in Singapore as part of the annual Mosaic Music Festival (In March 2007 incidentally, Tristan also performed at the Singapore MMF. Rachael Yamagata, who sang with Jason in his sophomore Mr.A-Z album on songs like Did You Get My Message and Song For a Friend, also performed at the MMF in March 2007.) Following that, he toured Australia to promote Mr. A-Z. While in Melbourne he performed at sold-out shows in Manchester Lane for two nights in a row. His Sydney shows, also sold-out, took place at the the Vanguard.

In May, Mraz toured mostly small venues and music festivals in the U.S., along with a few shows in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The tour included a May 6 acoustic show with P.O.D., Better Than Ezra, Live, and The Presidents.

Mraz opened on July 7, 8, 9, and 12th for Rob Thomas during his summer 2006 tour which promoted his solo album, Something to Be

Jason Mraz performed at Pentaport Rock Festival in Korea on July 28th and Fuji Rock Festival in Japan on July 30th.

In August, Mraz returned to Australia for the second time this year to perform a short "acoustic trio" tour of the main Australian cities.

Following a couple of US shows, including a one-off at old haunt the Belly Up Tavern on Labor Day in San Diego, Jason is taking a break from his touring schedule to begin work on his third album, which he has said will be much more acoustic than his previous efforts.

In December, "Selections For Friends," the live, online-only album recorded during the Songs For Friends Tour was released. "Selections For Friends" features Jason's favorite songs from the Schubas Tavern and Villa Montalvo shows he played in July 2006. Schubas Tavern featured a stripped down solo performance, while Villa Montalvo was an unplugged full band show.

Jason Mraz began 2007 by debuting his new single "The Beauty In Ugly," which was an earlier track by Jason entitled "Plain Jane" that was reworked for the ABC TV Show "Ugly Betty." He has since also released a song in Spanish entitled "La Nueva Belleza (The New Beauty)." Carlos Olmeda helped him with the Spanish lyrics; Mraz is not fluent in Spanish himself.

Jason is recording his third album, scheduled to be released in the fall. He has performed some of the songs on the album for candid audiences at local coffee shops, like Twiggs's Coffee House.

In 2007, American Idol contestant Chris Richardson performed Geek in the Pink, which spawned a mass blow up in recognition as well as sales on iTunes, peaking the song at #22 most downloaded song as of March 10, 2007.

Mraz is also scheduled to headline Duke University's LDOC (Last Day of Classes) concert on April 26, 2007, along with Common.

• Aside from the 2005 Jagged Little Pill Acoustic Tour, Mraz has opened for Alanis Morissette several times before, including a 2003 show in Costa Mesa, CA and a 2004 industry show in Hollywood, CA to promote Morissette's So-Called Chaos album. He is quoted as saying she was a big inspiration for him, and at one point he called himself the male version of Morissette.

• Waiting for My Rocket to Come (2002) #55 US (Platinum)
• Mr. A-Z (2005) #5 US

Released Independently:

• A Jason Mraz Demonstration (1999)
• Live at Java Joe's (2001)
• From the Cutting Room Floor (2001)
• Sold Out (In Stereo) (2002)
• The E Minor EP in F (2002)

Released by Major Label:

• Tonight, Not Again: Jason Mraz Live at the Eagles Ballroom (2004)
• Wordplay EP (2005)
• Extra Credit EP (2005) - Digital EP
• Jimmy Kimmel Live: Jason Mraz EP (2005) - iTunes
• Geekin' Out Across the Galaxy (2006) - Digital Live EP
• Selections for Friends - Live From: Schubas Tavern, Chicago, Montalvo Winery, Saratoga California (2006) - Digital Live LP

• "I Melt with You", from the album 50 First Dates Soundtrack (2004)
• "Summer Breeze", from the album Everwood: Original TV Soundtrack (2004)
• "Rainbow Connection", from the album For the Kids Too! (2004)
• "Shy That Way", with Tristan Prettyman from the album twentythree (2005)
• "Good Old Fashioned Loverboy", from the album Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen (2005)
• "Keep on Hoping", with Raul Midon from the album State of Mind (2005)
• "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall", from the album Listen to Bob Dylan: A Tribute (2005)
• "Unravel", from the album XM Radio Sessions Vol. 1 (2005)
• "My true love", from the album XM Radio Sessions Vol. 1 (2005)
• "Plain Jane", from the album XM Radio Sessions Vol. 1 (2005)
• "Dramatica Mujer", with Alex Cuba Band from the album Humo de Tabaco (2005)
• "Blitzkrieg Bop", unknown album, Ramones cover
• "Jesus BoBezzus", unknown album, duet with Bushwalla
• "Personal Ads", unknown album, duet with Bushwalla
• "White Girl", unknown album, duet with Bushwalla
• "The Joker/Everything I Own", Happy Feet Soundtrack duet with Chrissie Hynde (2006)

Year	Single	Album	US					UK
			Hot 100	Adult Top 40	Top 40	Pop	Digital	Singles
2003	"The Remedy (I Won't Worry)"	Waiting for My Rocket to Come	15	4	7	-	-	79
2004	"Curbside Prophet"		-	23	-	-	-	-
2004	"You and I Both"		-	15	37	-	-	-
2005	"Wordplay"	Mr. A-Z	96	17	-	59	44	-
2005	"Geek in the Pink"		-	32	36	90	-	128
2007	"The Beauty in Ugly"		-	3	3	2	-	1

Year	Award
2002	San Diego Music Awards - Best Acoustic (Win)
2003	San Diego Music Awards - Artist of the Year (Win)
2003	San Diego Music Awards - Song of the Year (Win)
2003	San Diego Music Awards - Artist of the Year (Win)
2005	Grammy Award - Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical for Mr. A-Z (Nominated)

Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen

• Official Jason Mraz Site
• Official Jason Mraz Store
• Ugly Betty Website Promoting Jason's New Song
• Right Kind of Phrase: Official Jason Mraz Message Board
• Jason Mraz at MySpace
• Jason Mraz collection at the Internet Archive's live music archive