Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Jason Mraz

Jason Thomas Mraz (pronounced /məˈræz/; born June 23, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter, born and raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Mraz's stylistic influences include reggae, pop, rock, folk, jazz, bossa nova and hip hop.
Mraz released his debut album "wait for my rocket to come", which contained the hit single "The Remedy (I Won't worry ", in 2002, but it was not until the release of his second album, Mr. A-Z  that Mraz achieved major commercial success. The album peaked at number five on the Billboard 200  and sold over 100,000 copies in the US. In 2008, Mraz released his third studio album, "We sang, we dance, we steal tinggs "The album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and was a commercial success worldwide, peaking in the top ten of many international charts.
Mraz's international breakthrough came with the release of the single "I'm yours"  from the album We sang, we dance, we steal tinggs . The single peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, giving Mraz his first top ten single. The song was on the Hot 100 for 76 weeks, beating the previous record of 69 weeks held by LeAnn Rimes' "How Do I Live". The song was a huge commercial success in the US, receiving a 5x platinum certification from the RIAA for sales of over five million. The song was successful internationally, topping the charts in New Zealand and Norway and peaking in the top ten of multiple international charts.

Personal life


Jason Mraz was born and raised in Mechanicsville, Virginia. He is of Czech descent through his great-grandfather, who moved to the United States from Austria-Hungary in 1915. His surname is Czech for "frost" (Czech: mráz). His parents, Tom Mraz and June (née Tomes) Mraz, divorced when he was four years old, but he asserts that he had an idyllic childhood, saying, "My hometown of Mechanicsville was very American. There were white picket fences, a church on every street corner, low crime and virtually no drug use. It was a good place to grow up."
Mraz attended Lee-Davis High School in Mechanicsville. As a teenager, Mraz participated in local theater with SPARC (School of the Performing Arts in the Richmond Community). He played Joseph in the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
After graduating from high school in 1995, Mraz attended The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City, for a short time, studying musical theater. He dropped out of the school after taking up the guitar and focusing more on songwriting, and began performing at the world famous Java Joes. He then briefly returned to Virginia before moving to San Diego, California.
Mraz is now engaged to singer-songwriter Tristan Prettyman. On December 24, 2010, Mraz posted on his Twitter "SHE SAID YES." Immediately after his post, Prettyman tweeted "For Once, I Am Speechless..... i did good! holy crap! man of my dreams!!! for the rest of my life!!!" Mraz stated that he will not be getting married until gay marriage is legal.
Mraz lives a health-conscious lifestyle and enjoys eating mostly raw vegan foods. He owns an avocado farm in Oceanside in Northern San Diego County near Fallbrook. Jason Mraz is an active supporter of several charities including VH1's Save The Music Foundation, MusiCares, Free the Children, Life Rolls On and SPARC. He has been named the 2010 SIMA Humanitarian of the Year. He also received the Clean Water Award in 2010 from the Surfrider Foundation.


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