Josh Gracin

Joshua Mario Gracin (

Later, Gracin auditioned, as the only male, for a national pop orchestra and vocal competition, known as the Fairlane Youth Pops Orchestra, and won as a sophomore in high school.^[4] During his high school career Gracin performed at state festivals, fairs, and pageants throughout the State of Michigan. At 16, he performed on stage at the Grand Ole Opry in a national talent show ^[4] and recorded a demo CD in Nashville, Tennessee.

Upon graduation from John Glenn High School in Westland, he attended Western Michigan University before he joined the United States Marine Corps.^[4] After basic training, he returned to marry his wife and was assigned to Camp Pendleton as a supply clerk.

Musical 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 lucrative American Idol Finalists tour of American venues.^[3] Gracin was instead sent on a year-long tour as a recruiter, making appearances at special events around the United States to promote the United States Marine Corps. After completing his fourth year of service, he was honorably discharged in September 2004.

Gracin's true transition from reality show finalist to recording star began when he sang

In March 2006, Gracin released his fourth single, "Favorite State of Mind." Although it was a Top 20 hit on the country chart, Gracin's second album was delayed. Originally slated to be titled All About Y'all, the second album was later re-titled I Keep Coming Back and then finally We Weren't Crazy, after the title of its third single. "We Weren't Crazy," the third release from the album, entered the country music charts in October 2007, and for the chart week dated August 2, 2008 (40 weeks after it debuted on the charts), it reached a peak of number 10. The album was finally released on April 1, 2008. A fourth single, "Unbelievable (Ann Marie)", was released to country radio on August 25, 2008.^[6] Gracin wrote the song about his wife.^[3] "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 his MySpace page on May 1, 2009, and released to radio in June 2009. According to his blog, Gracin wrote the song ^[3] and enlisted Lonestar's Dean Sams to co-produce it. "Enough" is his favorite song in this collection and he said, "writing this song felt like a turning point artistically. I was better able to take what was going on in my head and get it onto paper in a way I feel is relatable to so many."^[3] In the entry, Gracin also said it is his first project since leaving Lyric Street Records.^[7] The second single, "She's A Different Kind Of Crazy" was released in August 2009.

In January 2010, Gracin signed with

Gracin was married to Ann Marie. They have three daughters: Briana Marie Gracin, born March 30, 2002; Gabriella Ann Gracin, born November 15, 2006; and Isabella Sophia Gracin, born November 12, 2008; as well as a son, Landon Joshua Gracin, born August 4, 2005.[10] After his Idol stint and his discharge from the Marine Corps, he moved to Tennessee in pursuit of his singing career.

Relations with his wife soured. On August 14, 2014, Gracin left a goodbye note on his Facebook account interpreted by some media as being a suicide note,^[11] particularly when it was tipped off to TMZ, and the note went viral. He was placed on a psychiatric hold in a hospital, but was later released after voluntarily checking himself into an inpatient psychiatric facility.^[12] 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.^[13] Ann Marie, his wife of 13 years, filed for divorce shortly after.^[14][15] Gracin shared new music, apologized and indicated he was on the road to recovery. In October 2015, Gracin became engaged to his new girlfriend Katie Weir.^[16] The couple married on May 6, 2017. The single "Nothin' Like Us" is reference to his new relationship.^[13]

On July 10, 2019, Gracin and Weir announced they were expecting their first child together.^[17] Their son was born on January 13, 2020.^[18]

Songs performed on American Idol

• ^Note 1 Due to Corey Clark's disqualification, the Top 9 performances became Top 8 when no one was eliminated.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Other charted songs

Music videos

See also

References