'American Idol' Michael Johns: Arena rock anthems to stir the crowdFriday, August 29, 2008 BY DAN KANE cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=428308&a...D=428307&r=There were stunned gasps when Michael Johns was given his walking papers on "American Idol."
The 29-year-old Australian's good looks, low-key charisma and impressive rock 'n' roll vocal chops had won him a strong following, comparisons to Jim Morrison and Michael Hutchence, and true "Idol" contender status.
Among Johns' competition songs were "Dream On," "We Are the Champions," "Across the Universe," "Light My Fire," "Don't You Forget About Me" and, most memorably, Dolly Parton's bluesy lament "It's All Wrong But It's Alright."
And then a lack of viewer votes led to his startling departure in eighth place.
But there's no need to feel sorry for Johns. These days he's delightedly performing to huge arena crowds nationwide as part of the "American Idols Live" tour — which hits Cleveland on Thursday — after which he'll finish recording an album that is due in January.
I chatted with Johns on the phone Monday.
Q. Tell me about your part in this big arena rock show.
A. I get to sing "Dream On" and "We Will Rock You/We Are the Champions" every night. You can't get more arena rock than that. It's great every time. When the drums start for "We Will Rock You," everybody stands up.
Q. What's it like performing without the pressure of "Idol" competition?
A. It's much more natural. You're caring more about the emotion and the delivery of the song rather than looking into the camera or worrying, "What if I don't hit that note?" It's just really fun, and the experience of playing to this many people every night is exciting.
Q. Were any of the songs you had to sing on TV awkward for you?
A. Not really, no. I was very careful how I chose my songs every week. And being 29, my knowledge of music was better than some of the younger people. It wasn't like Beatles week came up and I had no idea what to sing. I was a huge Dolly Parton fan, and I knew exactly what I was going to sing by Neil Diamond and Andrew Lloyd Webber as well.
Q. Who are your best friends in the "Idol" cast?
A. Dave Cook and also Carly are definitely my two closest friends on the show. They are both near my age and we have the same sense of humor. But we all have times when we hang out for different reasons. Usually, Chikezie and I hang out and watch "South Park" together.
Q. Did you get to know the "Idol" judges very well?
A. No, not really. Paula used to come backstage and give advice, but it wasn't like you'd call them up on a Sunday and say, "How's it going?"
Q. How did you deal with the instant fame that comes from "Idol"?
A. It is a little weird at first. Some of it is great, some of it is really annoying. I was at the airport recently and I had fallen asleep in my chair waiting for a plane. I hadn't gotten enough sleep. And this lady woke me up to get an autograph!
Q. Have you heard from any famous people since "Idol"?
A. A lot, yeah. It kind of blows your mind. I got a call from Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban saying they were watching every week. They've asked me to walk the red carpet for her new movie, "Australia." It's nice to hear from two great Australians.
Q. Who else?
A. Ellen DeGeneres has been amazing to me. She invited me to her 50th birthday party, where I met Rita Wilson and Tom Hanks. I got to talk to Tom for probably two hours. It's really nice to see such successful people so down to earth.
Q. The moment you got bounced from "Idol" was the biggest shocker of the whole season. Must have shocked you, too.
A. It did. But what's cool was that when I came off the stage, everyone from the camera dude to the sound people to the producer came up and hugged me and said, "This is wrong." The next day, I started doing press at 4 in the morning and it seemed like the whole country had my back. People kept saying, "This is absolutely bogus." It definitely helped the healing process.
Q. I've heard there's going to be a Michael Johns album. Tell me all about it.
A. I started working on the record right after I got booted. I have eight or nine songs recorded and I want about 30, so I've got a lot of work to do when I get off the road. The caliber of songwriters and producers I'm using is second to none, so I am very blessed.
Q. And you are planning to release it yourself?
A. This is my big shot and I wanted to have full control. The music-business world has changed so much. You can do distribution deals with Wal-Mart and Target. Elliott Yamin did it similar to the way I'm going to and he sold 600,000 records.
Q. So what does the album sound like, Michael?
A. It's a good rock-soul record, bluesy songs you can dance to, work out to and just chill to. I'm really excited the way it's coming out. It's blowing my mind.