Josh Groban with Idina Menzel. Forum/LA. 10.29.2018

America's Sweetheart crooner Josh Groban finally graced the Forum stage in his hometown of Los Angeles for the first time, and brought Broadway darling Idina Menzel with him. Here to promote his new album "Bridges," the earnest, yet humble and relatable Groban wowed with his incredible voice and charmed with much banter and storytelling.

With a slew of tracks from his new album, Groban opened up with the appropriately titled "Bigger than Us" which moved into "You Are Loved (Don't Give Up)" – apropos for what happened over the weekend.

While not being overly political, Groban didn't shy away from stating that children should never be taken away from their families. It would be fair to say his overall sunny hopeful outlook certainly pointed in a liberal direction. He also tackled mental illness and depression before launching into new song "River," that included the lyrics "I walk down to the river, though I might not understand it, it's not always as we planned it, but we grow stronger when we break."

Groban graced the crowd with a medley of songs from his album "Stages," including "Pure Imagination" from "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." and a duet with Idina Menzel with "Falling Slowly" from the musical "Once."

He left the main stage (and his library of songs) to do a beautiful cover of Billy Joel's "She's Always a Woman" and later floored the crowd with "Bring Him Home" from "Les Mis�rables."

Of course, a Groban concert wouldn't be a Groban concert without the requisite "You Raise Me Up," arguably his biggest hit to date, which he performed with a local Los Angeles Orchestra and choir. And one of the highlights of the evening was in his encore when he came back to perform an emotional rendition of "Bridge Over Troubled Water," which he related to the state of divisiveness in the world today with hope that it would soon end as we find the commonalities in each other.

As goody two-shoes sincere as he sometimes seems, these were the songs and observations we needed to hear. The audience was able to put away their fears, concerns, prejudices, and anxiety and enjoy songs of optimism and understanding – and hope that it bleeds into their everyday lives.

Opening act Idina Menzel stunned in a blinding disco ball jumpsuit while performing a number of her show-stopping hits like "Let it Go," "Defying Gravity," as well as an incredible interpretation of "I Melt with You;" and she's never sounded better.

"Josh Groban with Idina Menzel" played on October 27th at The Forum, 3900 W. Manchester Blvd, Inglewood, CA. For information on upcoming Forum events, visit his website.