Michael Johns (singer) explained

Michael Johns
Birth Name:Michael John Lee
Birth Date:20 October 1978
Birth Place:Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Death Place:Tustin, California, U.S.
Years Active:2000–2014
Past Member Of:The Rising

Michael Johns (born Michael John Lee; 20 October 1978 – 1 August 2014) was an Australian singer who finished in eighth place on the seventh season of American Idol, in 2008. In 2009, he released a music album, Hold Back My Heart, which sold 20,000 copies. Johns died on 1 August 2014, at the age of 35 of dilated cardiomyopathy.

Early life

John Lee was born in Perth, Western Australia on 20 October 1978.[1] As a teenager, he appeared as The Coachman in Pinocchio at the Regal Theatre and was a choir singer in Anything Goes at His Majesty's Theatre.[2] He attended Newman College in Perth.[3] In 1997, John Lee moved to the United States on a tennis scholarship and majored in drama at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Georgia, before dropping out after two quarters.[1] [4] He also briefly played Australian rules football for the United States Australian Football League (USAFL) club Atlanta Kookaburras from 2001 to 2002.[5] [6]

Career

Early career

John Lee moved from Tifton to Atlanta to pursue a music career, playing cover engagements.[1] He then joined a band called Film for 18 months.[7] [8] After traveling to Los Angeles to showcase for a number of labels, he was signed to Maverick Records in 2002 as a solo artist under his birth name Michael Lee.[9] He recorded an album, and then formed a rock band called The Rising.[7] A song from the album "Cradle" received some airplay,[9] and the album titled Future Unknown was released in 2003.[10] It was also released on iTunes in 2008 after he appeared on American Idol. After Maverick, he was signed to Columbia, but was later dropped.[7] He started using the name Michael Johns in 2006 as an homage to his stepfather whose name, like his middle name, is John, hence "Johns" because there are two of them in the family.[11]

American Idol

Overview

He auditioned for the seventh season of American Idol at San Diego's Qualcomm Stadium in July 2007. He finished in eighth place in the competition.[12] [13]

Performances

Week #ThemeSong choiceOriginal artistOrder #Result
Top 24 (12 Men)1960s"Light My Fire"The Doors12Safe
Top 20 (10 Men)1970s"Go Your Own Way"Fleetwood Mac1Safe
Top 16 (8 Men)1980s"Don't You (Forget About Me)"Simple Minds5Safe
Top 12Lennon–McCartney"Across the Universe"The Beatles10Safe
Top 11The Beatles"A Day in the Life"The Beatles4Safe
Top 10Year They Were Born"We Will Rock You"/"We Are the Champions"Queen6Safe
Top 9Dolly Parton"It's All Wrong, But It's All Right"Dolly Parton9Safe
Top 8Inspirational Music"Dream On"Aerosmith1Eliminated

Post-Idol

As one of the seventh season finalists, Johns joined the 2008 American Idol Live! tour after the show.[14] While he was on the Idol tour, he worked on a soundtrack for Olympic snowboarder Shaun White's documentary DVD Don't Look Down.[15] [16] The soundtrack was released by Three Rings Projects on 20 January 2009. Johns sang on all but one of the vocal tracks.[17] In December 2008, he released a song he wrote in 2006, "Another Christmas."[18] Half the proceeds from the song were advertised as being donated to the Red Cross and half to fight amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.[19]

In April 2009, he released "Heart on My Sleeve," the lead single from Hold Back My Heart.[20] The song debuted on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart at number 27.[21] The album was released on 23 June 2009, and debuted at number 97 on the Billboard 200 with 5,000 copies sold.[22] [23] It sold 20,000 copies as of January 2010.[24] In 2012, he released Love and Sex, a three-song EP.[18] [25] He also appeared briefly in a 2012 episode of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.[20]

Personal life

Lee married Stacey Vuduris, in 2007.[26]

Death

Michael John Lee, died in Tustin, California on August 1, 2014.[27] On 18 November 2014, the coroner reported that Johns had died of dilated cardiomyopathy, which inhibited the flow of blood to his body and also caused his heart to enlarge.[28] A fatty liver also contributed to his death.[29]

Johns was the first American Idol finalist to die after he appeared on the show.[30]

Discography

Albums

Release dateArtistAlbumLabelNumber of tracks
2001FilmRolling[31] Projector Records6 tracks
16 September 2003The RisingFuture Unknown[32] Maverick11 tracks
26 August 2003Live at the Apple Store[33] 5 tracks (EP)
2007Michael JohnsMichael Johns[34] -12 tracks
2008Another ChristmasTRP records1 track
2009Don't Look Down – The Height of Competition17 tracks

Downtown Records

YearAlbum detailsPeakSales
US[35] US
Indie
2009Hold Back My Heart 97 12
  • US: 20,000
2012Love & Sex (EP) — —

Singles

Notes and References

  1. News: Ho. Rodney. 15 February 2008. Michael Johns interview (updated). The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Access Atlanta. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140806120653/http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/accessatlanta/idol/entries/2008/02/15/215_talking_wit_1.html. 6 August 2014.
  2. News: American Idol contestant Michael Johns dreamed of fame . www.news.com.au, PerthNow . 8 October 2008 . https://archive.today/20130620195326/http://www.perthnow.com.au/news/johns-knew-he-would-be-famous/story-e6frg12c-1111115771339 . dead . 20 June 2013 .
  3. News: Idol comes back to earth in Perth . Daile Pepper . 3 October 2008 . WA Today .
  4. News: "Idol" Johns Ditched College, Last Name. TMZ. 8 October 2008 .
  5. News: Could a former USAFL player be the next American Idol? . 18 February 2008 .
  6. News: Mike goes his own way . Atlanta Kookaburras Australian Rules Football Club . 27 February 2008 . https://web.archive.org/web/20080304103926/http://www.atlantafooty.com/content/view/168/1/ . 4 March 2008 .
  7. The Billboard Q&A: Michael Johns From 'American Idol' . . Fred Bronson . 15 May 2008 .
  8. Web site: melodic.net: The Film. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110809103439/http://www.melodic.net/?page=news&id=1905. 9 August 2011. 13 January 2008. www.melodic.net.
  9. Web site: Waterbury. Mark E.. October 2003. Music Morsels: Crossroads: Michael Lee Of The Rising. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20080408070847/http://www.serge.org/musicmorsels/2003_10/musicmorsels1003.htm. 8 April 2008. 13 January 2008. www.serge.org.
  10. Web site: Michael John: Artist Biography . Andrew Leahey . AllMusic.
  11. Web site: Idol's Michael Johns Explains His Personal Name Change . . 25 February 2008 .
  12. Web site: Shocking elimination leaves 'Idol' crowd booing - today > entertainment - Reality TV - TODAY.com . Today.com . 2 August 2014.
  13. Web site: 'American Idol' Elimination Shocker: Michael Johns' Dreams Dashed, As Carly Smithson And Syesha Mercado Squeak By . https://archive.today/20120910201736/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1585223/20080411/jordin_sparks.jhtml . dead . 10 September 2012 . MTV . 4 November 2008 . 2 August 2014.
  14. Web site: 'Idol' Tracker: Live from Arizona, the tour begins . Los Angeles Times.
  15. Web site: Hussain. Tania. 21 January 2009. Album Review: Don't Look Down –The Height of Competition. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110714130051/http://westlifebunny.newsvine.com/_news/2009/01/21/2339298-album-review-dont-look-down-the-height-of-competition-michael-johns. 14 July 2011. newsvine.com.
  16. Web site: 'American Idol' Tragedy: Season 7 Finalist Michael Johns Dies At 35 . 2 August 2014 . RadarOnline.
  17. Web site: Interview: Rye Randa Discusses Shaun White's Don't Look Down . Blogcritics . 6 January 2009 . 6 June 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140714112518/http://blogcritics.org/interview-rye-randa-discusses-shaun-whites/ . 14 July 2014 . dead .
  18. Web site: American Idol Finalist Michael Johns Dies at 35 . 2 August 2014. 3 August 2014. people.com. People. Blumm. K.C..
  19. Web site: Michael Johns To Release Christmas Song In Aid of ALS & Red Cross . Access Hollywood . 3 December 2008 . 2 August 2014.
  20. News: American Idol' Alum Michael Johns Dies at 35 . Shirley Halperin and Fred Bronson . 2 August 2014 . .
  21. Chart Beat: Paula Abdul, 'Epiphany', Frank Sinatra and more!. Gary Trust . 14 May 2009. .
  22. Book: The Billboard 200 . 11 July 2009 . .
  23. Web site: Black Eyed Peas Top Non-Jackson Album Sales On Billboard . https://web.archive.org/web/20140809210018/http://www.mtv.com/news/1615095/black-eyed-peas-top-non-jackson-album-sales-on-billboard/ . dead . 9 August 2014 . Gil Kaufman . 1 July 2009 . MTV .
  24. Web site: The best-selling Idol albums from 2009 . Content.usatoday.com . 17 January 2010 . 2 August 2014.
  25. Web site: Tania. Tania. 20 June 2012. Love and Sex According to Michael Johns: "Follow your heart and try and be the best person you can". dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120626002758/http://westlifebunny.newsvine.com/_news/2012/06/20/12246338-love-and-sex-according-to-michael-johns-follow-your-heart-and-try-and-be-the-best-person-you-can. 26 June 2012. Newsvine.
  26. Web site: Michael Johns Appreciates Wife's Humor . https://archive.today/20130620195322/http://www.okmagazine.com/blogs/michael-johns-appreciates-wife%E2%80%99s-humor . dead . 20 June 2013 . OK . 2 June 2009 .
  27. Web site: Coroner Press Releases . https://web.archive.org/web/20140808041046/http://ws.ocsd.org/EServices/PressReleases_Default.aspx . dead . 8 August 2014 . Orange County Sheriff's Department . 4 August 2014 . 4 August 2014.
  28. 'American Idol' Alum Michael Johns' Cause of Death Revealed . 18 November 2014 . Billboard.
  29. Web site: Gomez. Patrick. 19 November 2014. American Idol Finalist Michael Johns's Cause of Death Revealed. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20141121172242/http://www.people.com/article/michael-johns-american-idol-cause-of-death-enlarged-heart. 21 November 2014. People Magazine.
  30. Web site: August 02 . James Hibberd Updated . EDT . 2014 at 12:00 PM . 'American Idol' alum Michael Johns dead at age 35 . 2022-12-07 . EW.com . en.
  31. Web site: Rolling by Film . CDbaby.
  32. Web site: The Rising: Future Unknown . AllMusic.
  33. Web site: The Rising: Live at the Apple Store . AllMusic.
  34. Web site: Michael Johns - Michael Johns | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards . AllMusic . 2 August 2014.
  35. Web site: Michael Johns - Chart history. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140822114455/http://www.billboard.com/artist/310783/michael+johns/chart. 22 August 2014. 2 August 2014. Billboard.
  36. Adult Contemporary - August 15, 2009. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140823044129/http://www.billboard.com/biz/charts/2009-08-15/hot-adult-contemporary-tracks. 23 August 2014. Billboard.

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