Pop artist Mraz's talent not enough

Jason Mraz, born in Mechanicsville, Va., raised money to start promoting his musical career by traveling around Australia as a ventriloquist.Mraz, with his silky smooth, old fashioned vocals, draws influence from different genres like pop, reggae, folk and jazz.

Mraz's debut album, "Waiting for my Rocket to Come," was released in 2002 by Elektra Records. "Waiting for my Rocket to Come" featured his first single, "The Remedy."

His next two albums, "Mr. A-Z" and "We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.," have included chart topping songs as well.

He displays his crystal clear, mesmerizing voice in songs like "Wordplay" and "Lucky."

In these songs, you can understand almost every word he sings, even with the way he twists phrases and packs his songs with lyrics.

Mraz has many musical accomplishments under his belt, like opening for The Rolling Stones, being nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammy award and nominated for Best Song of the Year Grammy award for his song "I'm Yours."

Mraz's music has also been featured in a Gap commercial, and he rewrote the song "The Beauty in Ugly" for the hit ABC show "Ugly Betty."

Mraz has played with John Mayer, James Blunt, Colbie Callait and The Dave Matthews Band.

Although he has a wonderful voice and acclaimed musical talent, he falls in rank with other great ones like John Mayer and Jack Johnson.

To truly rise above the standards set in the folksy pop genre, one has to really stand out, and at the present time, Mraz just blends in.