Season 7 "American Idol" finalist and former Atlanta denizen Michael Johns died Friday, multiple sources tell me.
The administrator for his fan websiteconfirmed his death on Twitter as well.
Details have not been revealed as of yet but from what I hear, the family is not in a position yet to provide a statement. A source told mewhat the Hollywood Reporter reported: the death was related to a blood clot emanating from a minor ankle injury. The last photo of Johns posted on his Facebook page from Thursday featured him in Tustin, Calif. with several tennis buddies.
The Australian native was 35 years old. He’s the first “American Idol” finalist to pass away.
Johns, who grew up as Michael Lee, lived in the Buckhead area from 1998 to 2002 and was an active musician here before moving to Los Angeles, playing frequently at CJ’s Landing and Tin Roof Cantina when the Buckhead party scene was at its peak. He has a group of very close friends in town. In recent years, he has revisited his buddies in Atlanta, performing at Tin Roof Cantina off North Druid Hills Road.
"I will say that we had become closer friends just over the last five years or so and he went out of his way to help me out in the music world," said Brian Wiltsey, an Atlanta-based musician via Facebook messaging. "We played some fun memorable gigs together this past year. It's shocking to hear and still doesn't seem real to me. He was a nice guy and we had a mutual respect for each other."
Shawn Arnold, who was part of the Buckhead music scene back in the day, said, "Before there was 'The Voice,' we called him the voice. When he sang, it was just different from everybody else. He had the smoothest, most soulful voice. It was just so pure. None of us were surprised when he ended up on 'Idol.' "
Nick Tapp spent many a night at CJ's Landing (which closed in 2007) Nwatching Johns back in the day: "He was always a great showman. He played to the crowd of 60 people at CJs like he was playing a sold out Madison Square Garden."
Here’s an excerpt from my first interview with Johns back in February, 2008, when he became known on “American Idol”:
For most of his life, he was known as Michael Lee. Last year, he changed it to Michael Johns. (Lee was his dad's name and he hasn't been in contact with his dad since he was 15.) Johns is a multiple of his middle name John and his stepdad's name John.
Lee/Johns came to the States first on a tennis scholarship a small Tifton college around 1997. He stayed there nine months, then decided to move to Atlanta to pursue music. He'd heard it had a decent music scene. He landed at Buckhead bar CJ's Landing, where he worked "literally picking up glasses and trash." The owner Phil Goode liked him and heard him sing so he decided to stick him on the stage, first on Mondays, then weekends. He was there on and off from 1998 to 2002 doing cover songs with a guy named Hank Barbee. (CJ's was torn down last year as Buckhead Village goes through its major transformation upscale.)
"It was the best way for me to learn about the South and what pushed Americans buttons," Lee/Johns said. Barbee, who played with him hundreds of times, said Lee was a quick study and learned hundreds of songs. He'd keep a notebook packed with lyrics of songs that people requested. One time, he even spontaneously did a few lines ofDolly Parton's "9 to 5," Barbee recalled. Barbee also said Lee/Johns had a weakness for Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam, as well as Otis Redding and the Rolling Stones.
Johns joined Madonna's Maverick Records around 2004 and recorded an album. Then Warner Brothers merged with Elektra and Atlantic and Maverick dissolved. The record never came out. The band almost signed with Columbia but then management changed with the merger of Sony/BMG. Last year [in 2007], he did a solo record, but then the indie label fell apart. He admits he hasn't been such a lucky guy.
Lee/Johns told Barbee last year [2007] that he was going to go with "Idol" because it is one of the few places left to break it big. "I truly believe their the only outlet aggressively finding new talent anymore," Johns said. "I don't know if I had been ready at age 25 but at 28 [his last year of eligibility], I was like, 'I need to make sure I'm free and clear of everything so I can be on this show.' "
Johns did well in the competition, finishing eighth, his final performance a cover of Aerosmith's "Dream On." Many fans thought he should have made it further.
Although he never became a huge success on radio, he played a lot of concerts nationwide, especially corporate gigs. One of his most memorable moments was singing at a Muhammad Alievent and meeting the boxing legend. (It's one of his profile photos on his Facebook page.)
David Foster – the acclaimed composer who has written hit songs for Chicago, Celine Dionand Earth, Wind & Fire to name a few – placed Johns on a tour with him back around 2009,including a stop in Atlanta. His friend Shawn Reynolds said Johns always wanted to play the Fox Theatre and Foster made that happen for him.
Here's what Foster told me about Johns in 2009: "I love being around Michael. He appreciates what I do. He's a young, good looking rock singer. And he's got such a great voice. He's smart enough to know what came before him. And I'm just thrilled he's with us. He'll do one of his own songs and some of mine, some of my rockier stuff, like 'She's a Beauty' by the Tubes and 'Man in Motion' by John Parr [better known as 'St. Elmo's Fire')."
Johns also wrote songs for films and documentaries and other artists.
“I’m so lucky that I’m a writer,” Johns told me the final time I interviewed him in 2011. “Just the fact people are using my songs, it’s fantastic. I’m really grateful.”
The last time I saw him was at Tin Roof Cantina in 2011 where he performed for four straight hours. (You can read up on that night here.)
Last year, he returned one more time to Tin Roof and Arnold came by with his wife Holly Firfer. Johns invited him on stage to play Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over." "We shot Jager and played four or five songs," he recalled. "People just bounced up there and played."
The last time I saw him on TV was on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," which featured Foster's wife Yolanda Hadid in 2012. Johns showed up at a meal and sang a bit.
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