NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Angie Johnson


NEW ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: Angie Johnson

By Bob Doerschuk

© 2013 CMA Close Up® News Service
/ Country Music Association®, Inc.

Apparently, it’s not enough for Missouri-born
Angie Johnson to have served as an intelligence analyst in the United States Air
Force; she also sang and toured with The Air Force Band. Then, following an initial
attempt to find a break in Nashville, she studied psychology at Columbia State
Community College in Franklin, Tenn., to help children and veterans struggling with PTSD.

When a soldier posted his video of Staff Sgt. Johnson performing Adele’s “Rolling
in the Deep” for troops in a spirited acoustic performance on YouTube, it eventually
drew more than 3 million views. Millions more watched her during Season 2 of “The Voice.”

That’s only the beginning. On May 21, Sony Music Nashville released her debut
EP, Sing for You, produced by Josh Leo. On these four tracks, she doesn’t
just sing the lyrics – she inhabits them. On “Grandpa’s Farm” (written by
Brent Cobb, Adam Hood and Jason Saenz), a slide guitar shimmers like heat from
a sun-baked field as Johnson evokes a lazy day, which transforms on the bridge,
as the drums drop out, into a whispered promise, as if behind Grandpa’s back,
to turn up the temperature in a different way.

In dramatic contrast, the
deep feeling of the title track (Johnson, Catt Gravitt and Leo) chills the listener.
Here, Johnson offers a different gift, a soft and soothing song, to a young man
bloodied and broken most likely in battle. Never mind her impressive technique;
Johnson has a gift for bringing beauty to a story, even one of unfathomable sadness.

IN HER OWN WORDS

DREAM DUET PARTNER

“Garth Brooks or Keith Urban. I have harmonized with both of them repeatedly
via the CD player in my car, and I can already tell you that we sound fabulous together!”

MUSICAL HERO

“I can’t name just one. The people who
inspired me early on and made me really want to pursue a career in music were
Patsy Cline, Elvis Presley, Reba McEntire and Wynonna Judd, in that order.”

FAVORITE FOOD ON THE ROAD

“First, carbs. Next, carbs.
And then probably carbs. Did I mention carbs?”

BOOK ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND

“My CMA notebook that I got in my CMA membership package!”

On the
Web: www.OfficialAngieJohnson.com

On Twitter: @AngieJohnson

Related Posts

Tamworth Country Music Festival

By Phill Doring for Country Music News International Magazine

Seth Hilary Jackson Strikes a Chord with “One More Song About Peace”

By Ismaila M.S. Naban for Country Music News International Magazine

The Relentless Bluegrass of Marty Falle

By Vickie McIntyre for Country Music News International Magazine

The Country Music Awards of Australia

By Phill Doring for Country Music News International Magazine

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *