Josh Gracin

Born on October 18, 1980, Josh Gracin spent his formative years in Westland, Michigan. As a teenager he took the stage at fairs, music competitions, and assorted local spots, and at sixteen he recorded the lead vocal for a Nashville demo of “She Loves Me,” a composition credited to Ken Salaets and Tim Barbor. His national profile rose sharply after he competed on the second season of American Idol, finishing fourth while serving as a Lance Corporal in the United States Marines. On the program he delivered expansive, country-tinged interpretations of pop material such as “Baby I Need Your Lovin’,” “Piano Man,” “Jive Talkin’,” and “To Love Somebody.” One performance in particular—an appearance on Rascal Flatts’ “I’m Moving On”—caught the ear of the group’s bassist, Jay Demarcus, who arranged an introduction to Marty Williams, producer of the band’s first two albums. Williams then guided Gracin to a contract with Lyric Street Records. The label issued the single “I Want to Live” in early 2004, and that June Gracin’s self-titled debut album, produced by Williams, reached stores. He also placed a cover of “Three Times a Lady” on the American Idol Season 2 soundtrack collection. A second full-length, We Weren’t Crazy, arrived in 2008. To promote the project Gracin spent a year touring coast to coast; during the same period he contributed “When I See an Elephant Fly” to Jim Brickman’s Disney Songbook and recorded “Working for the Weekend” for the Herbie: Fully Loaded soundtrack. He later joined the roster of Average Joe’s Entertainment, Colt Ford’s imprint, and released the self-written, self-produced Redemption in fall 2011. In January 2013 he moved to Private Label and issued the single “Drink It Gone” that summer, his sole output for the company. After a period of personal difficulties, Gracin resurfaced in early 2017 with the EP Nothin’ Like Us, Pt. 1 on Revel Road Records.