Joshua Mario Gracin (; born October 18, 1980) is an American country music singer. He first gained public attention as the fourth-place finalist on the second season of American Idol. His self-titled debut album was released in 2004. It produced a number one hit, "Nothin' to Lose", and two more top five hits on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks charts, and was certified gold. His second album, We Weren't Crazy, followed in 2008. This album produced five more chart singles.

Biography Gracin was born on October 18, 1980, and was raised in Westland, Michigan.

During high school, Gracin performed at state festivals, fairs, and pageants throughout Michigan. At 16, he performed on stage at the Grand Ole Opry in a national talent show.

After graduating from John Glenn High School in Westland, he attended Western Michigan University before he joined the United States Marine Corps where worked as a supply clerk.

Career

2003–2005: Josh Gracin In 2003, Gracin auditioned for the second season of American Idol. He made it to the finals and eventually came in fourth place on the show. However, because of his earlier commitment to the Marine Corps, Gracin was not able to participate in the finalist tour. Gracin was honorably discharged in September 2004.

After singing Rascal Flatts' "I'm Movin' On" on American Idol, Gracin was contacted by Rascal Flatts bass player Jay DeMarcus. That led to a record deal with Lyric Street Records in 2004. Gracin's debut album Josh Gracin was released on June 15, 2004, and went to gold. The album's first three singles ("I Want to Live," "Nothin' to Lose," and "Stay with Me [Brass Bed]"), reached the top five on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart, with "Nothin' to Lose," reaching number one.

In 2005, Gracin also contributed the song "Working for the Weekend" to the Herbie: Fully Loaded soundtrack, and he also sang on "When I See an Elephant Fly" on the Jim Brickman album The Disney Songbook.

2006–2008: We Weren't Crazy

In March 2006, Gracin released his fourth single, "Favorite State of Mind." This was followed by the release of the single, We Weren't Crazy. The album of the same name was released in 2008. The single "Unbelievable (Ann Marie)", was released to country radio on August 25, 2008.Josh Gracin – "Unbelievable (Ann Marie)" | The 9513 Gracin wrote the song about his wife. "Telluride," a song originally recorded by Tim McGraw on his 2001 album Set This Circus Down, was released as the album's fifth and final single. Gracin was dropped from Lyric Street Records following the release of "Telluride."

2009–2011: Redemption A new song, "Enough", was posted on Gracin's MySpace page on May 1, 2009, and released to radio in June 2009. It was his first project since leaving Lyric Street Records. The second single, "She's A Different Kind Of Crazy" was released in August 2009.

In January 2010, Gracin signed with Average Joe's Entertainment. His first single under Average Joe's, "Cover Girl," was released in August 2010. Gracin's third album, Redemption, was released on November 8, 2011. The album's next single, "Long Way to Go," became Gracin's first single to chart on the adult contemporary chart.

Personal life Gracin was married to Ann Marie. They have three daughters born in 2002, 2006 and 2008, and a son born in 2005.

On August 14, 2014, Gracin left a goodbye note on his Facebook account which Rolling Stone described as "[reading] like a suicide note" and TheWrap stated "many perceived [it] as a suicide threat". He was placed on a psychiatric hold in a hospital, but was later released after voluntarily checking himself into an inpatient psychiatric facility. Gracin has maintained the note was not meant as a suicide note, rather as he says a "poorly worded" painful separation letter as his wife insisted on divorcing him. Ann Marie filed for divorce shortly after.

In October 2015, Gracin became engaged to his new girlfriend Katie Weir. The couple married on May 6, 2017. The single "Nothin' Like Us" is reference to his new relationship. Gracin and Weir later had a son in 2020, and a daughter in 2024.

Songs performed on American Idol Week/themeDate performedSongArtistSemifinalsN/AFebruary 25, 2003"I'll Be"Edwin McCainTop 12MotownMarch 11, 2003"Baby I Need Your Loving"Four TopsTop 11Songs of the CinemaMarch 18, 2003"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" from ArmageddonAerosmithTop 10Country-RockMarch 25, 2003"Ain't Goin' Down ('Til the Sun Comes Up)"Garth BrooksTop 8DiscoApril 1, 2003"Celebration"Kool & the GangTop 8Billboard Number 1April 8, 2003"Amazed"LonestarTop 7Billy Joel SongsApril 15, 2003"Piano Man"Billy JoelTop 6Contestant's ChoiceApril 22, 2003"That's When I'll Stop Loving You"'N SyncTop 5Neil Sedaka1960sApril 29, 2003"Bad Blood""Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye"Neil SedakaNeal McCoyTop 4Bee GeesMay 6, 2003"To Love Somebody""Jive Talkin'"Bee Gees

Due to Corey Clark's disqualification, the Top 9 performances became Top 8 when no one was eliminated.

Discography

Studio albums Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications(sales threshold) US Country US US Indie Josh Gracin Release date: June 15, 2004 Label: Lyric Street Records Formats: CD, music download 2 11 — US: Gold We Weren't Crazy Release date: April 1, 2008 Label: Lyric Street Records Formats: CD, music download 4 33 — Redemption Release date: November 8, 2011 Label: Average Joes Entertainment Formats: CD, music download 39 — 39 "—" denotes releases that did not chart

Extended plays Title Details Nothin' Like Us: Pt. 1 Release date: February 17, 2017 Label: Revel Road Records Formats: Music download

Singles Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications(sales threshold) Album US Country US USPop US AC 2004 "I Want to Live" 4 45 — — Josh Gracin "Nothin' to Lose" 1 39 — — US: Gold 2005 "Stay with Me (Brass Bed)" 5 47 66 — 2006 "Favorite State of Mind" 19 119 — — We Weren't Crazy "I Keep Coming Back" 28 — — — 2007 "We Weren't Crazy" 10 82 78 — 2008 "Unbelievable (Ann Marie)" 36 — — — "Telluride" 34 — — — 2009 "Enough" — — — — Redemption "She's a Different Kind of Crazy" — — — — 2010 "Over Me" — — — — "Cover Girl" 57 — — — 2011 "Long Way to Go" — — — 16 2013 "Drink It Gone" — — — — style="text-align:left;" 2014 "Can't Say Goodbye" — — — — Redemption 2017 "Nothin' Like Us" — — — — Nothin' Like Us: Pt. 1 – EP2018 "Good for You"———— style="text-align:left;" 2019 "Lucky Stars"———— style="text-align:left;" 2019 "Bye Felicia"———— style="text-align:left;" 2020 "Home"———— style="text-align:left;" 2021 "Love Like"———— style="text-align:left;" 2022 "History Repeats"———— style="text-align:left;" 2023 "You're On Fire"———— style="text-align:left;" "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not certified

Other charted songs Year Single Peak positions Album US Country 2006 "Please Come Home for Christmas" 51 rowspan="2" "O Holy Night" 59

Music videos Year Video Director 2004 "I Want to Live" Brent Hedgecock 2005 "Nothin' to Lose" Trey Fanjoy "Stay with Me (Brass Bed)" 2006 "Favorite State of Mind" Roman White 2007 "We Weren't Crazy" Stephen Shepherd 2011 "Can't Say Goodbye" Adam Dew 2017 "I Go Crazy"

References

External links

Official website