He's sung around the world, performed on a Broadway stage, sold millions of records.
But singer-songwriter Jason Mraz tries to keep his focus as simple as it was back in the early 2000s when he started out in San Diego coffee shops.
"Tonight, I'm doing exactly that," Mraz told 10News at the Tennessee Theatre, hours before his 8 p.m. Friday sold-out show.
"I'll be standing in the corner of this theater with a guitar and a mike telling stories. Some of the songs in the show tonight are from that era, so nothing has changed. I've just been given the opportunity to constantly do it. So I've tried to keep my feet on the ground, stay humble, realize that all of this could go away - and I might end up back at that coffee shop. I've tried to maintain that attitude."
Mraz has played Knoxville at least once before -- a low-key, intimate show in 2016 at the Bijou Theatre. And Bonnaroo fans from that year will recall that he scheduled a surprise afternoon acoustic show down on the Farm.
He's keeping it acoustic this year in Knoxville: "Songs, singing, stories."
His last album, "Yes", came out in 2014, a collaboration with Raining Jane. East Tennesseans may have caught his Ryman show in Nashville for that tour.
Mraz said he's got a single coming out in a few weeks, "Have It All". The video will feature his old friends Raining Jane, and it features dozens of students who attend the performing arts school he went to in New York.
His next album? Glad you asked. He said it'll be out this summer. It's called "Know". Kind of a wink-wink to that last album.
Mraz isn't a big preacher. He reminds people to practice gratitude. He tells people to look out for each other.
But he's not in-your-face political.
To encourage people to get involved, he ensures fans have a chance to register to vote outside the halls where he plays. If you haven't registered yet, you'll be able to do that Friday night at the Tennessee.
"I certainly want people to be engaged because we live in a democracy. So to make that work we should be engaged. But I don't think my choice should influence your choice."
Music is a unifier, he said.
"The great thing about music is you don't think about geographical borders or political borders. They all dissolve. It's just humans - humans singing songs."
When he's not touring, Mraz disappears to the farm he owns in Southern California. Diehard fans know he grows avocados. But he also raises tropical fruits such as mangos and passion fruit.
Mraz just wrapped up a stint on Broadway in "Waitress" with Sara Bareilles. He stays plenty busy -- when he wants to.
At age 40, he counts himself lucky to have done so much. But Mraz professes that he really doesn't have a bucket list of performers he'd like to collaborate with.
Once he might have wanted to sing with Bjork, but that would involve a long trip to Iceland. He's played with Willie Nelson -- and to his mind that was pretty cool.
When it comes to life, Mraz offers advice that can apply to aspiring artists or regular folks.
"Do you. Be yourself," he said. "If you try to bend to a trend, that trend is probably going to change by the time you've finally grasped it.
"But if you stay true to you, the trend will eventually become you because you're doing you. Stay true to yourself."