Jason Mraz

Even the most incredible of journeys starts with a single step. For Jason Mraz, his life-altering journey began with a single word: no. No touring, no recording, no work for a year: “I said, I want to go to the grocery store again. I want to do my own laundry. I want to tend to a garden. I want to raise a cat.”

Mraz came to the decision after a remarkable four years where he had seen his major label debut, “Waiting for My Rocket to Come” explode off the success of such hits as “Remedy (I Won’t Worry),” “You & I Both” and “Curbside Prophet.” Shortly thereafter, he returned with his Grammy-nominated, critically acclaimed “Mr. A-Z,” which continued his chart success with “Wordplay.” Throughout, his reputation as a tremendous live act soared.

But when he took a well-earned break, something unexpected happened: he rediscovered himself. After a few months, “I suddenly woke up and real songs started coming out of me,” Mraz recalls. “Songs that I didn’t plan on writing. But that just became a reflection of how I feel and the mood that I was in and these awakenings that I was having,” he says.

The result is “We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.” his most self-assured effort to date. In true Mraz style, the 12 tunes are wrapped in clever, observant lyrics and strong, engaging pop melodies, but this time they are inspired “by these moments of self realization, self empowerment and self improvement. I was happy to be able to write an album at the same time I was coming back to earth.”