Let’s talk about Jason Mraz. You know him, you’ve heard him, and there’s a chance you’ve sung some of his songs while driving with the windows down while you’re on a road trip. Let’s face it, the man’s songs are made for good vibes. From his feel-good melodies to his lyrics that will make you want to tell your best friend you’ve been in love with them for the longest time, Jason Mraz seems to be an artist who might make you a “glass is half-full” person.  

Jason Mraz: Musical Career  

Mraz started playing at Java Joe’s, a coffee shop in San Diego, California when he was supposed to be studying at Longwood University in Virginia. During this time, he performed once a week for almost three weeks where he managed to build a following. He also self-released three albums and a live acoustic album that he later re-released in 2008.  

In late 2001, Elektra Records signed him, and in 2002, he released his major label debut album, Waiting for My Rocket to Come. His first commercial single, “The Remedy (I Won’t Worry),” became his first top-40 single on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 15. Waiting for My Rocket to Come became a certified Platinum in 2005.  

He followed up with Mr. A-Z in 2005 with moderate success. Hits from this album include “Life is Wonderful,” “Wordplay” and “Geek in the Pink.” Mraz achieved both critical and commercial success with his third album We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things, especially with the hit single “I’m Yours.” The album also earned him two Grammy Awards for his collaborations, including “Lucky” with Colbie Caillat and “Make It Mine,” both featured on the album.  

He released his fourth album, Love is a Four-Letter Word, in 2012, with the lead single “I Won’t Give Up,” which debuted at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.  

In 2014, Mraz released his fifth album, Yes!; in 2018, his sixth album, Know; and in 2023, on his 46th birthday, he released his seventh album, Mystical Magical Rhythmical Radical Ride.  

Songwriters Hall of Fame  

Jason Mraz writes some of the most life-affirming lyrics without the difficult complex metaphors. He keeps it simple, and impactful and will have you thinking about it during the day. His lyrics will make you stop and ponder and agree with what he’s singing about.  

His songwriting talents didn’t go unnoticed. In 2009, he was awarded the Hal David Starlight Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame.   

Aside from being an awesome singer and songwriter, Mraz can also dance, and he even managed to land second place in the 32nd season of Dancing With the Stars with Daniella Karagach.  

Jason Mraz’s Finale Freestyle – Dancing with the Stars  

Social Activism  

Mraz is also a social activist. He often use his songs for his advocacies like “Look for the Good.” The lyrics goes, “People done gone crazy, people done gone mad/People done forgot the superpowers we all have/We were born to love, not hate.” From his seventh album of the same name, the proceeds were also donated to Black Lives Matter.

He set up the Jason Mraz Foundation in 2011 to support charities. He received awards and recognition for his social activism and created a PSA using “I’m Yours” to raise awareness for non-profit organizations. He’s supported causes that tackle issues such as environmentalism, human rights and LGBT equality. In 2018, he wrote a love letter to the LGBT community as part of a Billboard feature for Pride Month. In his poem, a line— “I am bi your side. / All ways” led many to interpret it as Mraz’s coming out. 

In a July 2024 interview with Modern Family star, Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s Dinner’s on Me podcast (via Entertainment Weekly), Mraz shared why he came out later in life. “In the ’90s, being gay was the punchline of a joke, and I didn’t want to be the punchline of a joke, and kept my nose down and figured out ways I could instead get out and see the world one day. I’ve been enjoying it, and even have been a late bloomer to where I am now, honestly I feel like my life is just starting. It wasn’t until you really found love that it really bloomed.”

In honor of his talent and philanthropic efforts, we have rounded up ten of Jason Mraz’s awesome songs. 

• I'm Yours

  “I’m Yours” is Jason Mraz’s best hit single to date. Released in 2008 as the first single for his third album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things, the song was nominated for Song of the Year and earned Mraz his Best Male Pop Vocal Performance at the Grammy Awards. Mraz also performed it during gigs and instantly became a crowd favorite even before its release. 

  Mraz told Billboard (via Songfacts) when asked about “I’m Yours,” “The melody just appeared out of nowhere while the words flew over my head as my thoughts were focused on surrendering to the moment. That is ultimately what the song is about – giving yourself or your time to someone or something else.” 

  He also noticed that fans were singing the song to each other or to themselves and that they interpreted it as a love song or a song of empowerment: “Before the cool done run out, I’ll be giving it my bestest/And nothing’s gonna stop me but divine intervention/I reckon it’s again my turn/To win some or learn some/But I won’t hesitate no more, no more/It cannot wait, I’m yours.” 

  The song is a certified diamond by the RIAA, and Mraz penned a letter of thanks to everyone who made the song a success. You can read it here. 

• I Won't Give Up

  “I Won’t Give Up” is Mraz’s first official single for his fourth album, Love Is A Four Letter Word. After releasing his successful “I’m Yours,” Mraz went to the Gulf of Mexico to help with the clean-up of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. He also lent a hand with the nonprofit organization Free the Slaves in Ghana and spent time with Al Gore in Antarctica to learn more about climate change. It was during this time that he wrote the songs for his Love Is A Four Letter album. 

  Mraz said in an interview with Billboard, “The pressure I put on myself, or what I hope my ‘I Won’t Give Up’ does, is to make a difference in people’s lives . . . With ‘I’m Yours,’ I got to go out and set my feet on different continents and expose myself to different cultures and causes. I wanted to see who I was, outside of music.” 

  Despite the song talking about romantic love, “Well, I won’t give up on us/Even if the skies get rough/I’m giving you all my love/I’m still looking up,” it’s not only about that. Mraz told CNN, “It’s about not giving up on a dream, or the integrity of who you are. There is no dream too big or too small. Everyone has one thing that is worth fighting for.” 

• Lucky

  A duet with Colbie Caillat, Mraz shared in his track commentary for “Lucky” that he discovered Caillat and loved her song “Bubbly.” He also noticed that they have a “similar vibe” which had him thinking if she’s ever “down to collab.” After a phone conversation, he sent the first verse and chorus of an idea for a song. 

  He did not hear from her for quite some time. 

  Luckily, Caillat and Mraz had the chance to meet her personally and ask her about the song. Caillat introduced him to Tim Fagan who had been working on the song. After adding the Bridge and Caillat’s part, the song became “Lucky” which earned the duo the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. 

  The song is about two lovers who live across from one another: “Do you hear me? I’m talking to you/Across the water, across the deep blue ocean,” but since they already found a love worth keeping, a love with someone you can also consider a best friend that they’ll make it work: “They don’t know how long it takes/Waiting for a love like this/Every time we say goodbye/I wish we had one more kiss/I’ll wait for you, I promise you, I will.” 

• Live High

  “Live High” is included in Jason Mraz’s We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things album, same as “I’m Yours” and “Lucky,” which is perhaps why a lot of fans have slept on this song. Considered as a talented songwriter, Mraz’s “Live High” is poetic yet offers a simple reminder (that we all fail to follow) to just live: “Live high/Live mighty/Live righteously/Taking it easy.” 

• Unlonely

  From Mraz’s sixth album, Know, “Unlonely” can be anyone’s anthem who is looking for someone to love and are tired of being single: “When the table’s set for two/And there’s nobody with you/Seeing movies by yourself/Let me be your someone else.” 

  The chorus and hook talks about how love can make us “unlonely.” What we love about this song aside from the catchy tune and heartfelt lyrics is the second verse where Mraz acknowledged that there is no such word as “unlonely.” “I give you my word although I’m making words up/Unlonely ain’t a word but I don’t give a FRUCK.” 

• You and I Both

  In the comment section of the YouTube music video for “You And I Both,” Mraz shared that the line “Things will happen, but not to me / Things are gonna happen naturally” was advice given to him by an ex-girlfriend. He added, “She was much wiser than I and was helping me evolve. Instead of sitting around feeling sorry for yourself, focusing on lack, write a list of things you’re grateful for – and presence abundance in your life! I did and it worked.” 

  Although the song isn’t about his ex-girlfriend whom he remains friends with, the song’s bridge can be interpreted as a tribute to a past love—expressing gratitude for everything they have taught them and even if they found someone else, they’re going to be okay: “And it’s okay if you have to go away/Oh, just remember the telephone works both ways/But if I never ever hear them ring/If nothing else, I’ll think the bells inside/Have finally found you someone else and that’s okay/’Cause I’ll remember everything you sang”) 

• The World As I See It

  “The World As I See It” is the theme of “In Search of Incredible” campaign by Intel and ASUS. Released in 2011, the song was included in Mraz’s 2012 Love is a Four Letter Word album. In an interview with Billboard, Mraz said the song is “how I choose to see the world.” (“The world as I see it, is a remarkable place/A beautiful house in a forest, of stars in outer space/From a birds eye view, I can see it has a well-rounded personalityFrom a birds eye view, I can see we are family”) 

  He added that the song was also inspired by Albert Einstein “who loved this world unconditionally.” 

• Have It All

  After visiting Myanmar in 2012, Mraz turned a Budhhist monk’s blessing to a song. In an interview with Billboard, Mraz said, “’Have It All’ stood out as a song with a hopeful message to help me heal and move forward; a song with a message of generosity — the antithesis of despondency. It’s a blessing disguised as a rap song, and it’s meant to be paid forward and shared.” (“May you know the meaning of the word happiness/ 
  May you always lead from the beating in your chest/May you be treated like an esteemed guest/May you get to rest, may you catch your breath.”) 

  The accompanying video also shows positivity, good vibes, affection and friendship. It was shot in Mraz’s hometown in Richmond, Virginia. 

• More Than Friends

  Featuring Meghan Trainor, “More Than Friends” will make you feel all the feels especially if you have a friend with whom you’ve thought to take your friendship to the next level: “I wanna be more than friends/I wanna be more than friends/I wanna tell everyone you’re taken/And take your hand until the end/I wanna be more than friends.” 

  From his 2018 album Know, “More Than Friends” is a “quirky” and “bubbly” acoustic love song. Trainor mentioned in an interview with Billboard that “Lucky” is one of her favorite songs and hoped to have her own version with Mraz, “Lucky,” in my opinion, is my number one. [“More Than Friends” is] a sister, but nothing will beat “Lucky.” 

  Similar to “Lucky,” the song was also sung in a back-and-forth style between Mraz and Trainor. 

• Living In The Moment

  If “Living In The Moment” sounds like a mantra, (“I will not waste my days/Making up all kinds of ways/To worry ’bout all the things/That will not happen to me”) it’s because it’s actually inspired by yoga classes that Mraz attends. He told Billboard (via Songfacts), “I wanted to create a song that was mantras, it was affirmations. I honestly get my best material from yoga classes. At the end of a class, a teacher will tell you something so simple yet so profound and that sticks with you throughout your day, and it shows up with how you interact with others or how you interact with your own tasks. This song was kind of a collection of all that I’ve been learning the last couple of years that might empower a listener if one should choose to sing it.” 

  Same as “Live High,” Mraz reminded us to let go of the past, to not live life facing backwards and to just take it easy. It might sound easy but in these present times with a lot of distractions brought about by modern life, “Living In The Moment” can be quite difficult. Hopefully, the song’s chorus can be our mantra starting today since it’s still relatable, “Living in the moment/Living my life/Easy and breezy/With peace in my mind/With peace in my heart/Peace in my soul/Wherever I’m going, I’m already home/I’m Living in the moment.” 

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