Jason Mraz took quarantine performances a step higher with his virtual background in his Billboard At-Home performance Tuesday afternoon, April 28, to help raise funds for the National Coalition for the Homeless.
Playing from his home studio, Jason Mraz greeted fans before he said that he's "blessed this morning to be quarantining with a good friend of mine," referring to Chaska Potter of Raining Jane. Mraz then turned in front of his green screen projecting the cover art for his latest album, "Look For The Good," and performed its title track with Potter on the ukulele. The backdrop meshing over Jason's hat and guitar strap had a weird appeal as Mraz broke the fourth wall, pointing to the lens and saying, "I see it! I see the good. It's right there... it's in you," referring to the audience.
The feel-good song had Potter's string and vocals a perfect company for Mr. A-Z, with the two artists singing "Look for the good in everything/ Look for the people who will set your soul free/ It always seems impossible until it's done/ Look for the good in everyone."
As they finished "Look For The Good" with a high-five, Mraz returned to his message board area and extended love to the fans all over the world tuned in to his performance. He moved to his piano, with his background now a journey through outer space, and performed "93 Million Miles," from his fourth album, "Love is a Four Letter Word."
His second song was in gratitude for his parents because they "let me off the hook at an early age," telling him that he can come back home and that he should go out into the world and fail, and pursue his dreams of being an artist.
"And if you ever forget where you are, just be where your feet are. Take a deep breath, feel that life inspire you, feel that life swim down deep inside of you," Mraz told the audience with the song's melody in the background before he performed "93 Million Miles."
Jason Mraz's second song was more emotional and solemn than the upbeat "Look For The Good," as he told his journey with the support of his parents encapsulated in the chorus lyrics "just know/ Wherever you go/ You can always come home."
As soon as he finished his second song, guitar handed to him from behind the camera, Mraz started plucking the intro to his 2012 hit "I Won't Give Up," greeting his fans and expressing messages of hope. He also called on his audience to support their local musicians. Mraz also expressed gratitude to Billboard and encouraged everyone to help donate to the National Coalition for the Homeless.
"When there is music, if there's music in you, you've gotta use it," Jason Mraz sang before rolling right to his hit song, "When I look into your eyes/ It's like watching the night sky."
After his extended performance of "I Won't Give Up," with encouraging adlibs to everyone in quarantine, the two-time Grammy awardee went back to his message boards, reading messages of fans from countries such as Peru and the Philippines.
"And if you forget to 'Look For The Good,' just go look in the mirror because you got it in you, you got this," Mraz shared.
