It was sheer luck when Celine Dion and Josh Groban performed The Prayer; it wasn’t the product of a label-assembled team. Although their stirring performance left viewers speechless, few are aware that its origins date back to 1998, when Groban, then a young and unknown artist, was given the opportunity of a lifetime.
It all began during a Grammy practice with Dion, when music mogul David Foster asked Josh to fill in for opera icon Andrea Bocelli. Overwhelmed by the pressure, Groban almost declined, but Foster insisted that he jump. And he did, thank God.
Later, Celine recalled Groban’s extreme nervousness, saying, “He was shivering. I was anxious for him! However, the nervousness vanished as soon as he opened his mouth to sing, exposing a voice that even Dion was astounded by. Their memorable 2008 performance was the result of the connection that was ignited by that moment.
In a video that introduces their duet, Celine talks about how she helped Josh’s career take off and even refers to their second performance as her way of commemorating that fateful first encounter. Their vocals are so delicate and full of unadulterated emotion that it’s difficult not to get chills.
Even if they haven’t worked together since, who knows what the future will bring with that kind of chemistry?
