Josh Gracin

Biography

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.

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. Gracin wrote the song about his wife. "Telluride×Telluride2008 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracks1Telluride3:532Telluride3:533Telluride3:53," 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×Redemption8 November 2011 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1Different Kind of Crazy3:372Over Me4:233Get Back to Us4:274Enough4:185I Want to Make You Cry4:236Let You Go5:257Edge of Desire5:118Lie to Me3:119Love You Right4:1210Only When It Rains5:2811My Life3:0912Cover Girl3:1913Catastrophe5:2414Can't Say Goodbye4:0515I Still Love You3:5816Long Way to Go3:1517Long Way to Go (remix)3:14, 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

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