[artax]

Пост Джоша на фодже, суть которого в том, что двд с тура Эвэйк будет весной.

Hey Everyone!
Happy Holidays and Happy New Year!! I hope everyone had a fantastic time! I had a very quiet holiday with my family which was much needed. I don't know about you guys but my month of December was a bit on the nutsy side. I'm so sorry not to write you until now but honestly, I had to back far far away from anything that had my face on it and unfortunately this website was included in that category! (it also meant no mocha frappuccinos...I had the jitters something awful).

Now that we've all had a minute to breathe, I am still completely stunned by whats happened this last year. The Awake album was such a labor of love for me but nothing could compare to the experience I had sharing it with all of you on stage night after night. It's the most fun I've ever had touring and I sincerely hope you all had as much fun as I did as we trekked around the world. To all the international fans who came out to see me, we all appreciate it so much. It's been a bit of a slow climb in some markets but it has continued to be a climb and nothing makes me feel stronger in that regard than when you all come out to see a show. The North American tour was insane!! Thats for packing in the arenas! I'm excited to announce that the Awake Tour DVD is coming in the spring and I'm so excited for you all to see it. It was directed by the famous Hamish Hamilton (look him up, he's got the goods) and was shot on half 35 mm film and half High Def so it should have a really multi-textured look to it. We're editing right now and it so perfectly captured the music and energy we shared that night and all year. Many thanks to my brilliant band, crew, Angelique Kidjo (get her grammy nominated CD Djin Djin!), and all of you for making this tour the best ever.

So lets see what else...that about....covers it....oh wait! My friend sent me a google alert the other day and as it turns out, NOEL WAS THE TOP ALBUM OF THE YEAR! You all probably know that but I'm still all CAPS when I talk about it. Seriously though...you came, you conquered, target will never be the same. This album was so much fun to make. The songs are beautiful, the LSO was brilliant to work with, and I hope its something people can enjoy every year (if there are any left). There honestly are no words to express the thanks that David Foster and I have for your feverish support of Noel. Glad you enjoyed it and Merry Christmas.

07 was also a great year for my foundation! My mom wrote a great letter on behalf of our whole family and I want to personally thank you as always for continuing, without fail, to find creative and wonderful ways to raise money for places where a little bit goes such a long way. You have single handedly raised almost 800,000 dollars since the start of JGF which is phenomenal!! I think we can bring that up to the big 1 million in 08. I have so much faith in all of you to make it happen and am so proud of what you've achieved already. I'm also announcing here that I'm putting 1 million dollars of my own money into the foundation to kick it into high gear. I'm also planning to do some performances in 08 with all money going into the foundation so I'll keep you updated on when and where those will be.

2008 will be a very interesting year for me creatively. On the heels of an album like Noel its really important for me to get back into the studio with a fresh attitude and try some new things. I've been writing since the tour and I'm very excited about a lot of the songs. I'll probably start laying down tracks in Feb with all the usual suspects and a few new ones. Not sure yet what the production is going to be like but I can say I've really enjoyed breaking things down lately. The XM satellite radio Artist Confidential show was a blast (airing in a couple months i think) and taking things down to a 5 piece band/string section I felt really brought out a lot in the songs and my voice that I'd like to explore further.

I think thats all for now! To all the fans in South Africa, we will see you soon! Can't wait!

My family and I wish you love, health and happiness in 08. We've all come a long way together....heres to the next chapter.

Josh