YOU'RE stick in the rush-hour jam and the person behind you is honking for some reason you can't even comprehend. Your eyes grow dry and tired, your wrists go limp while holding on to the wheel. It's been a hard day at the office, and now this. Weary and exhausted, you decide the only thing you can do is turn on the radio.

Unexpectedly, a sweet melodious tenor voice flows through your car and over your body. You close your eyes and ears to the cacophonic sounds outside the car and turn the volume up just a little more so for a few minutes you are living in the world of this song - a song that lifts your spirits just a little more than before with each passing second. Chances are, the voice whom you are listening to is Josh Groban's.

Now instead of sitting in your jam, you can take the next exit and get tickets to the Josh Groban concert.

Wait - you ask - what concert?

Yes that's right. I did say concert. The pop opera tenor will perform for the first time in Kuala Lumpur on October 18 at the KL Convention Center for one night only.

The 27-year-old is expected to perform songs from his third album "Awake" which was released last year. The album contains uplifting and romantic songs with titles like "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" and "In Her Eyes" as well as Italian (L'Ultima Notte) and Spanish (Un Dia Llegara) songs, and duets with Herbie Hancock (Machine) and Ladysmith Black Mambazo (Lullaby).

Josh Groban made his first break with a self-titled CD featuring the hit single, "To Where You Are" in 2001. He followed up his initial success with a second CD "Closer" with the even bigger hit "You Raise Me Up". He also starred in several episodes of the final season of the TV series Ally McBeal.

A year later, he released "Believe", which was included in the soundtrack album for the popular Christmas holiday animated film, Polar Express. He went on to launch a 40 city tour that sold out in a record breaking 20 minutes.

'Where the gift comes in'

According to an article by WBVTV.com , Josh tells Sunday Morning correspondent Sandra Hughes that "When I go into music stores, I find it, you know, all over the place,... I like to think of what I do as pop music. I think of my voice as a pop voice. But it's not without its classical training and classical influences and world music influences and that kind of thing."

"We work classically," said Romano his voice trainer. "We train classically. He chooses to sing the way he sings, OK, which works quite well. It's amazing that he has the gift to be able to do that. So that's where the gift comes in."

His appeal to the young is also evident with 18,688 myspace friends on his myspace website. He is popular to an older crowd because of his trained classical voice, yet accessible to his peers because of his interesting pop styled covers of old classics. His legions of fans have even termed themselves Grobanites and created non-musical related groups like Grobanites for Charity and Grobanites for Africa.

Calling all Grobanites in Malaysia. That's right, I'm pointing to you. Watch out for more news on the upcoming concert and get your tickets early before they run out!

Tickets for the Grammy award nominee's upcoming show in Malaysia will be available in July.

SABRINA CHAN is a malaysiakini intern.