Apart from that, I knew nothing of Groban or his music. Of course, that in no way hinders one's ability to stick a camera in someone's face. Although I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried about spending hours listening to Groban songs without being able to fast forward through the album.
But life has a way of teaching us lessons, and mine that day was you should not judge a singer by their album cover.
Groban was friendly and funny. He was also slick and professional and sitting less than a metre away from him as he roared through songs with the power of a freight train is something I'll never forget.
When I left the theatre that day, I knew every word of You Raise Me Up, Brave and February Song. But perhaps most importantly, I had a newfound respect for a guy I'd ignorantly dismissed as a bit of a poncey classical-crossover artist.
The following evening, I filmed Groban backstage preparing for his Vector Arena show.
As he huddled in a dressing room joking with his manager, outside in the hallway a queue of competition winners formed. These meet-and-greet moments can go one of two ways - there are awkward silences and bumbled selfies or both those things combined with genuine gratitude from both parties.
In this instance it was the latter. Sure, there were gasps and nervous giggles when Groban emerged full of smiles. But he's clearly used to that. He spoke at length with a
12-year-old Kiwi soprano who told him he was her idol. He told her he'd listened to her album and encouraged her to stick at it.
Moving down the queue, he gave every person his undivided attention; even the fan who quietly confessed to me she'd travelled the world in pursuit of Groban and had met him so many times it was, in my uneducated opinion, bordering on certifiable.
That night the singer charmed and dazzled the crowd with the songs I'd seen him nail down so meticulously in rehearsal the day before. There was the odd husband among the thousands, but the crowd was mostly made up of women, although they were of all ages.
And the one thing they all had in common was they knew every lyric Groban uttered.
I guess it'll be the same for those who pick up the singer's just-released Stages. It's made up of songs from some of the world's greatest musicals. We all know just how fanatical some get around the tunes of the theatre and if you're one of those people, this singalong record is for you.
It features Bring Him Home from Les Miserables, All I Ask of You from The Phantom of the Opera, Over the Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz and Anthem from Chess. I'm happy to report that Groban's voice is top-notch and he has a vocal control second to none. For a few brief moments, he almost convinced me to rethink my life-long dislike of musicals.
My story could end there, but it doesn't. A few months after meeting Groban in Auckland I was in Los Angeles with my partner and we got a message from Groban's then manager inviting us to his show with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl on July 4.
There are plenty of other things I could have been doing with my time in the City of Angels, but I could think of no better way to spend American Independence Day.
We queued in the stifling July heat alongside thousands of concert-goers and prepared to take our complimentary seats we were certain would be the very back of the bowl. But as we were ushered to our prime spot, bang smack in the middle of the amphitheatre, we got another message: "Come backstage and say hi to Josh."
I'm a sceptic of the highest order and, as we joined the lengthy queue that snaked backstage, I imagined myself going through the same meet-and-greet scenario I'd filmed in Auckland months earlier.
Excited fans swapped Groban stories and told tales of the extraordinary lengths they'd gone to for the chance to meet their idol.
I stood there awkwardly wondering what to say and certain Groban would have no recollection of the woman who'd forced a camera in his face for two days.
I was wrong. We were whisked past the crowds, through the back door and straight into his dressing room, to big warm hugs and an introduction to his adorable dog, Sweeney.
Who knows if he really remembered me, but it's a night I'll never forget. Sitting in our seats as he belted out The Star-Spangled Banner while fireworks rained from high above the Hollywood Hills, it all made sense.
Groban is America's all-round good bloke. And the rest of the world happens to love him, too.
Josh Groban's new album Stages is out now.
