Josh Groban Hates Summer; Glad ‘Rising Star’ Gives Him Something To Do

Tabloids won’t be getting any scandalous shots of Josh Groban laying out this summer. Other celebrities may crave water and sun to show off the enviable results of their work with personal trainers — but Groban prefers to stay covered up.

Speaking to The Canadian Press, Groban laid out his aversion to summer and why he’s glad to be spending these vacation months hosting a new singing competition show, Rising Star:

“I’m just not much of a beach guy. Summer’s always the time where I’m like, ‘Ugh, God, wearing this sweater is going to be so uncomfortable.’… I’ve always been the pale theatre geek.”

Instead of working on his tan, Groban will spend every Sunday night helping viewers navigate a new kind of singing competition show. Fans vote live during a performance and if 70 percent like it, the act gets to advance to the next round. That means no sleepless nights before a results show, wondering if your vote counted. The format is borrowed from a show in Israel.

Viewers on the west coast can rest easy — although their votes won’t be calculated right away, they will count towards a “save” for contestants who didn’t reach 70 percent from watchers in earlier time zones.

Groban is excited about the new venture:

“[H]aving something that’s going to be this fun to be a part of every week and for it to be completely live, and for me to have a chance to be weird every Sunday and work with young artists… It’s going to be, for me, a really fun experience.”

The show also features three judges who will give advice and feedback. They have 7 percent of votes each to dole out to performers. Kesha, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges and Brad Paisley are judges this season.

Groban’s anticipation at his chance to “be weird” could be enough to make viewers tune in. He’s known for doing wacky things like using his stellar operatic voice to sing Kanye West’s tweets. Anticipation of a bit of unusual hosting tactics could be a boon to show ratings.

So could the possibility to technical glitches, that often make for interesting television. The Hollywood Reporter quoted one of Rising Star‘s executive producers, Nicolle Yaron, who admitted instantaneous voting through an app could lead to problems: “We can guarantee you something will go wrong at some point. It’s live television, and we have a lot of contingencies.”

Josh Groban said he’s committed to “keeping it quirky,” and offered a playful warning: “[The producers] are giving me a live stage — which is a horrible mistake on their part[.]”

[Image: I AM PR Agency]