You know Jason Mraz as aGrammy-winning singer-songwriter and, more recently, aDancing With the Starsrunner-up.
But you may not know about his years moonlighting as a farmer.
(Yes, really.)
Ive learned a lot from planting trees.
It affects how I operate and work in music, Mraz tellsGlamour.I dont just make an album overnight.
Things take time, they take nurturing, and trees taught me that.
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Planting a tree and waiting years and years for an outcome is okay.
Although he calls the work rewarding, he also acknowledges the ongoing challenges of farming.
Basically what I planted 10 years ago were challenges.
I was planting challenges for myself, and I was not aware of that.
We live in a world where things are go, go, go.
We work all the time, says Mraz.
But in nature, most of the planet has a winter where it shuts down.
Glamour: I want to start withDancing With the Stars.
What went into your decision to go on the show?
Jason Mraz:I saw it as an opportunity to learn more about music.
Its almost like bringing music into a visible dimension because music is really invisible; its sound waves.
We can close our eyes and feel music, but dance is a way to visually express music.
Something aboutDancing With the Starsjust felt like this would be the ultimate challenge.
It woke me up big time.
It peeled off layers.
It improved how I feel and view myself.
I overcame certain fears.
It improved my range of motion and my endurance, my flexibility.
It was like boot camp for life.
I hated it and I loved it.
I hated the grind because Ive been self-employed for so long.
I can kind of pick and choose what I do, and inDancing With the StarsI had no choice.
Do you agree with that sentiment?
I feel like a winner.
I mean, I cant believe I made it all the way to second place.
And the scores, I feel great about it.
I agree with what happened every week.
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What friend of yours do you think would be great onDancing With the Stars?
Oh,Sara Bareilleswould be great, or Ingrid Michaelson.
I work with both of them on the regular, and Ive nudged them both.
And theyre both a little shy about it.
I dont think theyneedto do it.
Shifting gears to music, how do you feel about playing your biggest songs now?
They have sort of taken on lives of their own.
I still play them.
There are a few songs that I dont play.
I dont play Geek in the Pink anymore, which was a song I released in 2005.
Make me an instrument.
And to me, thats a never-ending kind of universal feeling.
So I still feel like Im connected to those narratives.
So theyre easy to sing.
And as I get older, sometimes I find completely new meaning for them.
I Wont Give Up got me throughDancing With the Stars, believe it or not.
I got to dance to that around week eight or nine, and I was literally feeling like quitting.
I felt like, My body hurts; it doesnt matter if I win or not.
Just let me go home.
What made you want to partner with Planet Oat?
Obviously you love coffee.
I use it at home.
You jump behind the counter at your coffee shop?
What can you make?
Can you do latte art?
Im still just making hearts really.
Ive got some friends that can do a unicorn and a swan and all kinds of things.
Its so fun to me.
And its something about coffee, because its a craft beverage.
It always comes out a little different.
So I love that about coffee.
I love hanging out in coffee shops.
Whats your usual coffee order?
I typically get an oat milk latte.
And Im making the same thing at home, an oat milk latte with Planet Oat.
This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for length and clarity.
