Today we’d like to introduce you to Jana Johnson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jana. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
My story starts in Huntsville, AL when I was born on March 12, 1997. My mom passed in 2003 so it was mostly me, my little brother, and my dad. I used to sing constantly around the house but was way too shy to sing in front of other people. When I was around eight, my dad made me join the gospel choir at church, and I used to sing the solo for a song during the ‘fellowship moment’ – one time even singing it after the music ended. When I was in 5th grade, my Dad met my step-mom on eHarmony, and we moved to Texas and I gained four new siblings. I performed in the school’s talent show that year, but I played the piano while singing with my back towards the audience because I was still very shy.
Fast-forward to my sophomore year in high school, my older sister that was going to college in Atlanta asked if I could sing Diamonds by Rihanna, because she thought my voice would sound good with the song (only my family knew I could sing). My best friend got into my found and found the video and couldn’t believe I could sing, and encouraged me to make a YouTube channel where I could sing song covers. Soon after that, people at school were recognizing me, teachers were playing my videos in class, and I reached a milestone – 5000 views on one video. I was so encouraged I decided to be in the school’s annual talent show, however, I didn’t even place. I was so discouraged I stopped making videos, stopped singing in public, and decided to work the talent show behind the scenes my junior year. Senior year, I decided to switch things up and just go for it. I sang the national anthem at a football game, I was in the talent show again and won 1st place, and I won a nation-wide singing competition for the artist Kehlani and won the opportunity to face time her. One piece of advice Kehlani gave me was that there are alot of people out there that can sing, but not many are writing and recording their own songs.
I started college in the Fall, and started writing songs in my numerous journals, and also joined two choirs: Hampton University Chosen Sounds Gospel Choir and Hampton University Concert Choir where we would tour to different cities around the US. I would also sing solos in both choirs. Also, during this time, I started being more consistent with my YouTube videos, and I reached a new milestone – 75k views on one video, and I got invited by the company Aerie (part of American eagle) to participate in their ‘Share Your Spark’ campaign, where my pictures were on billboards in Times Square and Chicago. This is around when the first email came to audition for The Voice. For the next year, I had private auditions for American Idol, The Four, America’s Got Talent, Showtime at the Apollo, Signed, The Voice again, etc., and they all ended in disappointment. I thought everything I had done in my past was a stepping stone to end up on the show, but when I kept getting rejections, I thought that maybe singing wasn’t for me.
I transferred to the University of Houston, where I currently attend as a Computer Information Systems major and gave singing one last shot by going to a vocal coach. After two months with her, I auditioned for the annual Motown & More Revue at Miller Outdoor Theatre and got to sing and dance in front for four nights in front of 40,000 people. Soon after that, I was cast in the Ensemble Theatre’s 40-show Christmas musical “Christmas Is Coming Uptown”. School and being and AKA began to get really stressful, so I took a short break, but this summer I’ve been doing small performances around Houston and starting to work out pushing out my original music. I’ve realized along the way that you’re bound to face rejection, but someone else’s no shouldn’t be your no.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Struggles: battling shyness/stage-fright, coming-back from rejection, balancing school, work, family and music.
Please tell us more about what you do, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I’m proud of the followers I’ve gained through social media (YouTube: 3.2k subscribers, IG: 2K followers on two accounts) because no one helped me with any marketing, I didn’t pay anyone to help film or edit my content, it was all me.
I feel like I’m genuine on social media, and don’t try to go overboard with video or audio editing. I love live acoustic-sets because they’re authentic, and that’s the type of artist I try to be.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My siblings and best friends are my biggest support system. I always send them my videos or lyrics so they can approve them of giving me the advice to make it better. Whether it’s sharing my videos, commenting on them, tagging me in opportunities- it never goes unnoticed and I’m so thankful for all the support I have.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.youtube.com/user/JanaJohnson33
- Email: janaj.music@gmail.com
- Instagram: @janaj.music
Image Credit:
the pic of me with the guitar is by @donyae.develops
Suggest a story: VoyageDallas is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
