To haters, this Mechanicsville,
Virginia native is a purveyor of Top-40 shlock, yet another pretty boy
with a sincere face and a soul as deep as a wading pool. Well, that set
wouldn't get within 100 yards of a Jazon Mraz concert, so it's better
to take a look at what his fans see. There's that pretty face, yes, but
also an endearing vulnerability. Fans know Mraz is pretty open about
singing of his real-life relationships -- he once wrote and recorded a
track with then-partner, the appropriately named Tristan Prettyman,
titled "All I Want For Christmas Is Us." Awww. Beyond this personal
accessibility, though, is Mraz's nimble fingers on his acoustic guitar,
a knack for nimble wordplay, and a genre-hopping pop sensibility that
has found him sharing stages with everyone from Keith Urban to P.O.D.
And that, folks, is what has landed all of Mraz's three albums to date
high up on the American charts.
Friday, December 5; The
Fillmore Miami Beach, 1700 Washington Ave., Miami Beach. Show starts at
7:30 p.m.; tickets cost $33.50 and $41.50. www.livenation.com and www.ticketmaster.com.
-- Arielle Castillo