Michael Johns (singer)

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.

Michael Johns
Johns at the American Idol, Season 7, Top 12 party on 6 March 2008
Johns at the American Idol, Season 7, Top 12 party on 6 March 2008
Background information
Birth nameMichael John Lee
Born20 October 1978
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Died1 August 2014(2014-08-01) (aged 35)
Tustin, California, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
Instrument(s)
Years active2000–2014
Labels
Formerly ofThe Rising

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.[7][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]

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 # Theme Song choice Original artist Order # Result
Top 24 (12 Men) 1960s "Light My Fire" The Doors 12 Safe
Top 20 (10 Men) 1970s "Go Your Own Way" Fleetwood Mac 1 Safe
Top 16 (8 Men) 1980s "Don't You (Forget About Me)" Simple Minds 5 Safe
Top 12 Lennon–McCartney "Across the Universe" The Beatles 10 Safe
Top 11 The Beatles "A Day in the Life" The Beatles 4 Safe
Top 10 Year They Were Born "We Will Rock You"/"We Are the Champions" Queen 6 Safe
Top 9 Dolly Parton "It's All Wrong, But It's All Right" Dolly Parton 9 Safe
Top 8 Inspirational Music "Dream On" Aerosmith 1 Eliminated

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.[18][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 date Artist Album Label Number of tracks
2001 Film Rolling[31] Projector Records 6 tracks
16 September 2003 The Rising Future Unknown[32] Maverick 11 tracks
26 August 2003 Live at the Apple Store[33] 5 tracks (EP)
2007 Michael Johns Michael Johns[34] - 12 tracks
2008 Another Christmas[19] TRP records 1 track
2009 Don't Look Down – The Height of Competition[15] 17 tracks

Downtown Records
Year Album details Peak Sales
US[35] US
Indie[35]
2009 Hold Back My Heart 9712
2012 Love & Sex (EP)[25] ——

Singles
Year Title Chart Positions Album
US AC
2009 "Heart on My Sleeve" 22[36] Hold Back My Heart

References
  1. Ho, Rodney (15 February 2008). "Michael Johns interview (updated)". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Access Atlanta. Archived from the original on 6 August 2014.
  2. "American Idol contestant Michael Johns dreamed of fame". www.news.com.au, PerthNow. 8 October 2008. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013.
  3. Daile Pepper (3 October 2008). "Idol comes back to earth in Perth". WA Today.
  4. ""Idol" Johns Ditched College, Last Name". TMZ. 8 October 2008.
  5. "Could a former USAFL player be the next American Idol?". 18 February 2008.
  6. "Mike goes his own way". Atlanta Kookaburras Australian Rules Football Club. 27 February 2008. Archived from the original on 4 March 2008.
  7. Fred Bronson (15 May 2008). "The Billboard Q&A: Michael Johns From 'American Idol'". Billboard.
  8. "melodic.net: The Film". www.melodic.net. Archived from the original on 9 August 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2008.
  9. Waterbury, Mark E. (October 2003). "Music Morsels: Crossroads: Michael Lee Of The Rising". www.serge.org. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2008.
  10. Andrew Leahey. "Michael John: Artist Biography". AllMusic.
  11. "Idol's Michael Johns Explains His Personal Name Change". People. 25 February 2008.
  12. "Shocking elimination leaves 'Idol' crowd booing - today > entertainment - Reality TV - TODAY.com". Today.com. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  13. "'American Idol' Elimination Shocker: Michael Johns' Dreams Dashed, As Carly Smithson And Syesha Mercado Squeak By". MTV. 4 November 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  14. "'Idol' Tracker: Live from Arizona, the tour begins". Los Angeles Times.
  15. Hussain, Tania (21 January 2009). "Album Review: Don't Look Down –The Height of Competition". newsvine.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011.
  16. "'American Idol' Tragedy: Season 7 Finalist Michael Johns Dies At 35". RadarOnline. 2 August 2014.
  17. "Interview: Rye Randa Discusses Shaun White's Don't Look Down". Blogcritics. 6 January 2009. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
  18. Blumm, K.C. (2 August 2014). "American Idol Finalist Michael Johns Dies at 35". people.com. People. Retrieved 3 August 2014.
  19. "Michael Johns To Release Christmas Song In Aid of ALS & Red Cross". Access Hollywood. 3 December 2008. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  20. Shirley Halperin and Fred Bronson (2 August 2014). "American Idol' Alum Michael Johns Dies at 35". Billboard.
  21. Gary Trust (14 May 2009). "Chart Beat: Paula Abdul, 'Epiphany', Frank Sinatra and more!". Billboard.
  22. The Billboard 200. Billboard. 11 July 2009.
  23. Gil Kaufman (1 July 2009). "Black Eyed Peas Top Non-Jackson Album Sales On Billboard". MTV.
  24. "The best-selling Idol albums from 2009". Content.usatoday.com. 17 January 2010. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  25. Tania, Tania (20 June 2012). "Love and Sex According to Michael Johns: "Follow your heart and try and be the best person you can"". Newsvine. Archived from the original on 26 June 2012.
  26. "Michael Johns Appreciates Wife's Humor". OK. 2 June 2009. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013.
  27. "Coroner Press Releases". Orange County Sheriff's Department. 4 August 2014. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
  28. "'American Idol' Alum Michael Johns' Cause of Death Revealed". Billboard. 18 November 2014.
  29. Gomez, Patrick (19 November 2014). "American Idol Finalist Michael Johns's Cause of Death Revealed". People Magazine. Archived from the original on 21 November 2014.
  30. August 02, James Hibberd Updated; EDT, 2014 at 12:00 PM. "'American Idol' alum Michael Johns dead at age 35". EW.com. Retrieved 7 December 2022.
  31. "Rolling by Film". CDbaby.
  32. "The Rising: Future Unknown". AllMusic.
  33. "The Rising: Live at the Apple Store". AllMusic.
  34. "Michael Johns - Michael Johns | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  35. "Michael Johns - Chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on 22 August 2014. Retrieved 2 August 2014.
  36. "Adult Contemporary - August 15, 2009". Billboard. Archived from the original on 23 August 2014.
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