Josh.? Wasn't there something there? Isn't that the one from "Cordula Grün," the surprise hit of 2018, it is! This song has (rightly) opened the German-Austrian chart tops and a great career start for the likeable Viennese. But no, it's far from the only strong song on his debut album "Von Mädchen und Farben", which has been available since last year and which he loves to present live.
Before his breakthrough Josh studied. Instrumental and vocal pedagogy, but dropped out and went on to work in the IT industry. Under his civil name Johannes Sumpich, he released his first single in 2014, followed in 2016 by "Kein Sommer für einen allein" (a duet with Kathi Kallauch), the 2016 Radio Wien summer hit, but his big breakthrough came in 2018 with "Cordula Grün" under the stage name "Josh." - only real with a dot after the name!
The numbers speak for themselves: number one on iTunes, radio powerplay, more than 35 million video views on YouTube, over 29 million streams on Spotify. Not bad for someone who reveals in the interview: "There is no Cordula Grün in my life. I was sitting in the recording studio, just working on another song, unhappy. I thought to myself, 'Actually, I want to write something about colors and girls.' So I grabbed a pen and a piece of paper and wrote down the first color and the first girl's name that came to mind. Cordula Green was born." Sold-out concerts, platinum status, and the 2019 Amadeus Austrian Music Award for "Song of the Year" in Austria as well as gold status in Germany followed.
By his own admission, the stage is his "real home." But the fact that you can look forward to every song in his setlist at his concerts is proven by the follow-up single "Vielleicht" as well as the new single version of "Reden" and the emotional duet with Austrian singer-songwriter Ina Regen "Weil ich's nicht weiß".
Josh. is bridging the time until the new album with his Eskalation tour through Austria and appearances at festival and single shows in Germany. And no matter if on record or live: With Josh. we can always look forward to a good portion of Viennese Schmäh, funny lyrics and a lot of Rock'n'Roll. Escalation!
