As Joshua Radin describes how his music career began, an image comes to mind of a horse, galloping so fast, it’s almost a blur. Its rider, meanwhile, hangs on for dear life, not sure how he wound up there, but sure as hell not about to let go. At some point, though, he figures out how the reins work, and the horse steps into a smooth canter. But when that horse took off 15 years ago, Radin didn’t even know what the moment was, much less how to balance himself while trying to find his stride. He’d been trying to gain traction as a screenwriter in New York, but when his attempts fizzled, the frustrated Cleveland native started playing guitar to vent.
Eventually, he penned a song, and played it for his friend Zach Braff, star of TV’s Scrubs. Braff suggested Radin send a demo to the show’s producer. Almost overnight, millions of viewers reached for Kleenexes as Radin’s “Winter” aired over an emotional scene. They crashed NBC’s website trying to track down the singer. That’s when the lightning-bolt notion of a songwriting career first flashed, prompting him to join his friend Cary Brothers in L.A. Each time Radin debuted a new heartbreak tune at their Hotel Café haunt, some music supervisor would snag it for Grey’s Anatomy, One Tree Hill, House, or another show. When Radin posted his first batchof homemade demos on iTunes, the collection of folk-pop gems soared to No. 1.After Columbia won the label battle, Radin, unaware demos differed from finished product, insisted they issue his 2006 debut, We Were Here, unretouched or not at all. Then the guy who’d barely plucked a chord till he was 30 faced another reality: He actually had to become a performer .Screaming “whoa!” wasn’t an option, so he hung on. “It took a good couple of years of playing in different cities every night before I got my stage legs,” Radin says. “Now I’m as comfortable onstage as I am walking around the city. ”He’s shared some of those stages with Ed Sheeran, Sara Bareilles, Ingrid Michaelson, Sheryl Crow, Tori Amos, Imogen Heap and Irish band the Script. He’s played to sold-out audiences in theatres across the globe, from North America to the UK and Europe to China and Australia. He’s sold three-quarters of a million albums and two million singles, racked up 350+ Million Spotify streams and over 500+ Million plays on Pandora, and scored a Gold record in the US and No. 2 UK hit with “I’d Rather Be With You.”
One of the most licensed artists ever, Radin’s music has played in over 150 TV shows, commercials and films, including his song “Brand New Day” being selected by Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden as the soundtrack to a commercial made for the troops. He’s appeared multiple times on various chat-shows (Ellen, The Tonight Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, Conan, Today Show) and even performed at mega-fan Ellen DeGeneres’ nuptials with Portia DeRossi at Ellen’s request.
