Within The Phantom of the Opera, “All I Ask of You” is a romantic exchange involving Christine and Raoul. Groban began the live rendition, and people in the audience were shown responding brightly as they listened. Clarkson then entered with her portion of the song, which the account described as bringing chills across the room and showing her suitability for musical-theater repertoire.

Beyond this collaboration, Clarkson and Groban had both built accomplished careers as American vocalists and songwriters. Clarkson first rose to national prominence in 2002 as the winner of American Idol’s opening season. The result secured a recording agreement with RCA and launched her subsequent music career.

Groban’s commercial record was also extensive. His initial four solo albums all earned multi-platinum status, establishing him as a major figure in the music business. Stages represented a different personal goal within that career, gathering prominent songs from theatrical productions that he had wanted to record and later presenting those covers in the PBS concert.

In 2007, Groban ranked as the best-selling artist in the United States, by which point more than 22.3 million of his records had been sold. His cumulative sales later passed 25 million worldwide, according to the total reported as of 2022.