Michael Johns – J&R Music and Computer World NYC – VIDEO
After the jump, check out Michael Johns performing Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long” and his single “Heart on My Sleeve” at Tuesday’s J&R Music World appearance in New York City. The Redding cover is especially awesome… (via mjo)
Plus, a couple of clips from a recent ABC News Radio interview with Michael:
On why he went for the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“soulfulà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ sound à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬’ à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I had already delved into it before I was even on Idol. And I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t explain it. Ità ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s the most natural sounding my voice can possibly be, when I sing like Otis Redding, Joe Cocker, that kind of sound, Sam Cooke.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬
On using the Idol tour to confirm this was the best sound for him: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“We went on the tour, and everywhere I went, people said, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Man, when you sing those soulful songs, I love that bluesy part of your voice.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ So it was almost like I got to do market research being on the tour. And even though Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢d already started the record before we went on tour, it was like the confirmation of what I thought I wanted to do. So when we went in to cut the record, it was just so effortless.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬
On going to Simon Fuller and asking to be let out of the Idol contract: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“I said, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m 29 years old, this is my last go-round and I know exactly what kind of artist I want to be.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ And he said, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Absolutely. Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been a gentleman, youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve been an ambassador for the show and we never want to stand in the way of people.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ He just said, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Look, please just donà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t release anything before David and keep it under your hat during the tour and all the best.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬
On why he could really relate to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Heart on my Sleeveà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ even though he didnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t write it: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Right after the tour, my wife and I were having problems because I was gone for nine months that year. And I was saying, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Look, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢m here for you and I know that we can make this work.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ And sometimes in a relationship, you just need to reassure each other like that. And this song kind of encapsulated that for me and I kind of thought of her when I was singing it.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬
On rejecting advances from major labels: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Labels came to me, sure, and they wanted to talk. They said, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Weà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢re really interested in working with you.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ And I said, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‹Look, Ià ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve had major label deals before and theyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ve all ended badly so this time around I want to own my record; I want to make it myself.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ So thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s what we did.à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬
Video after the JUMP…
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61 Responses to “Michael Johns – J&R Music and Computer World NYC – VIDEO”
Please tell me he’s NOT going to be on Hannah Montana…please???
^^ Uhmà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ ¦ Michael isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t signed to a major label. Thatà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s a fact, no matter what his MySpace says. Downtown isnà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t a Major label, and I have no idea what à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Indie with Major resourcesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬ means, but if they have those resources, they sure arenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢t using them for Michael. Sounds like spin to me.
Actually Downtown is a “major” indie label. Its affiliated with a major label and has a wide range of resources. Downtown isn’t like “HiFi” or other cheap companies, it’s a professional company. Gnarles Barkely and The Cold War Kids are just some of their artists.
Since you are asking, okay. He is not =D hehehe
He probably will, and will play himself on the show (like DA did i think).
See you in Hollywood tonite..Mr. Michael Johns!!!Michael New CD is wonderful!!So proud of him.
Actually, I got my copy at Borders. Granted, it wasn’t out in the open in the CD section (I asked an employee and he went in back of the store and found a copy. They just hadn’t been put out yet) but it was there.
19 Entertainment allowed Michael out of his contract early so he could start on his album sooner – I recall the discussion at the time and most of us were under the impression that this was something unique, this was not something 19 Entertainment does, they don’t have to. Some of us speculated it was because the group Michael was working with is affiliated to Sony.
I think Michael is fully aware of what Elliott Yamin has struggled with because he is using the same management team and same general set up but I think Michael wanted to go the same road as Elliott. The only difference is that the finished album did attract the attention of Downtown Records and if you read Hits Daily Double news, which is an music industry site, which I do daily, they are on a roll right now. If you had to pick an indie label, they are one of the better indie labels. [They also love one of Elliott's guys, Danny Buchman I think his name is.]
Now too early to say how Michael will fare but it is a gutsy thing because if it does fail you have no one to blame but yourself. You can’t say the record label wouldn’t let me do this or that, I was forced to sing this because you had total control over the musical content.
Yes MJ had his first incidence of losing his voice in a performance. I have always admired his stamina
-working in a band where you play several nights a week in smoky bars or like Adam working in musical theatre 8 performances a week give you a great advantage called vocal stamina. MJ has had some insane scheduling and I’ve been amazed that his voice has never been affected until this one time. I am sure he’s taken care of that and it will remain an aberration.
Since I’ve criticized Michael on the new album, I just want to add that I think part of my reaction has to do with my own unmet expectations. I do like his “bluesy side,” and I was ready for that, but I was thinking more his reinterpretation (the live performance; I didn’t care for the studio version although I bought it) of Dolly Parton’s “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right.”
By way of comparison, the title track of Kelly Joe Phelps’s album Lead Me On” is the free single of the day on Amazon. Go check it out (and listen to previews for his entire ablum if you’re so inclinded). The album is 15 years old and could be too far on the country side of the blues to appeal to many Michael fans, but this is the type of spare instrumentation and earnest singing that I was hoping for from Michael. Kelly’s album has a timeless quality to me (which is probably why it’s being re-released) and seems much more current than Michael’s new release.
While I like Michael’s vocals well enough on his new album, I realize what I really dislike is the overuse of the backing musicians. Michael has a great voice and, for me, with this kind of music, less is more.
Thanks, BootStar. I really like Kelly Joe Phelps but only have a few of his songs. Now I have one more
ETA: I would consider Kelly to be more akin to delta blues than country…maybe delta blues is the “country” side of blues. Anyhow delta blues is one of my very favorite genres.
Although the background singers don’t bother me so much in this album, as a rule I agree that less is more — I like songs like Turn to You and HBMH the best for that reason. Eddie Vedder’s “Into the Wild” as a an example of guy with a great rocker voice who made an album with a different (folksy, in Eddie’s case), stripped down sound. In my perfect world, that would be the template for an album for Michael. That being said, I think his album is pretty darn good and, with a one or two exceptions, the background singers are staying in the background and letting me enjoy’s Michael’s voice.
I agree. I believe that he wanted to fail or succeed on his own terms, and I respect that.
Ive been following Michael’s post-AI stint and he seems to have been really burned with being associated with “major” labels in the past only to see them fold and shelve his music. I think what he wanted was owning his masters which I believe is rare when signing with a major label unless you’re a big star, so I see why he would make the choice to pass whatever offer he had (if he had offers, who knows) and make the record on his own. Its a risk definitely but I can understand his reasons
Now I gotta check that album out, love Vedder’s voice.
I do agree that Michael is better sparser and those are my favourite songs on the album as well. Again when you have a great voice you don’t need much trappings.
It has just been him and his guitar and sometimes another guitarist on most of his promotional appearances over the past year and he has sounded just fabulous. Also a testament to the strength of the song, Heart on My Sleeve, that it translates so well acoustically
And I tell ya if Michael had been able to do Never Tear Us Apart on American Idol, his acoustic version is gorgeous. Cannot believe the AI producers thought that song was less recognizable than Simple Minds. I bet NTUA is still on the list for potential first dance at weddings all across the English Speaking world.