• 2008-11-18 – Manila Intercon Hotel Interview

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Check out little Talia enjoying the awesomeness that is Michael Johns during “Don’t You Forget About Me”. The girl can seriously ROCK OUT!

Dancing her little patootie off during the Queens Medley….

Talia meeting MJ. I think he’s in love…

Big thanks to Talia’s mom for sharing their experience on her blog and granting us permission to post about Talia.

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(image credit: “purplewalrus”)

Michael just finished his final show last night at Greenbelt Mall in Manila, Philippines and, of course, he blew everyone away and gained many new fans. Way to go, MJ! All of your fans are so very proud of you.

Again, a big thanks to everyone who posted video on our forums and shared their experiences with us.

Another Christmas snippet and Queen Medley (credit AlabPH!)

Wonderwall

Feelin’ Alright

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Oh, and how about a little “Violet Showers”? heh. Thank you Purple Walrus!

More to come!

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Rock and Roll has a soul: An interview with Michael Johns

By Camille V. Pilar

“Hey, I like your jacket. And is that a Jim Morrisson pin? I like the Doors. I sang a Doors song during the show.”

There was a two-second pause before I mustered a reply. “Yeah, Light My Fire, right?” He smiled and nodded. It took me a few more seconds to settle down, set up my recorder and look at Michael Johns straight in the eye. Clad in a vintage mauve shirt, dark casual jeans and a light brown fedora playfully tipped to one side, the American Idol finalist shook my hand and smiled as he waited for my first question.

Come on baby, light my fire

Michael Johns has been called a “white soul singer,” a “male Joss Stone,” and vocally, a “modern-day Freddie Mercury.” He first wowed the judges on Idol when he belted out a very smooth version of Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long.” During Hollywood week, Michael blew away the competition with his spine-tingling rendition of the Queen classic, “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

More memorable performances from Michael were his sexy and soulful version of Dolly Parton’s “It’s All Wrong, But It’s All Right” and his sweet, nostalgic take on the Beatles’ “Across The Universe.” He drove audiences wild with more Queen when he rocked both “We Are The Champions” and “We Will Rock You” in one performance. All these have proven that rock-soul has found itself a new hero.

This is why this crowd-pleaser’s early elimination from the show shocked audiences across the world. However, this did not hinder him from becoming a household name in music as he rocked guest appearance after guest appearance in shows like the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, the Today Show, Saturday Night Live and the Ellen Show with Ellen DeGeneres.

When asked about what he missed most about Idol, Michael laughed and jokingly said he didn’t miss anything. “I mean, it’s an amazing opportunity. But being older, I knew that [Idol] wasn’t it. So many people go on that show and think that’s it. But you can use the show to go to the next level; the show is only your interim. It’s your platform and it’s what you do with it afterwards that’s most important.”

Michael is now touring and performing in different countries and his debut album is under way. Bringing into the album his childhood musical influences, his record is set to be a stellar syncopation of Otis Redding meets the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, with occasional shades of INXS, ACDC and Led Zeppelin.

“I owe it all to these bands. Like Freddie, I’m very comfortable singing onstage. And Paul McCartney has a lot of influence on my singing style. I’m inclined to say that Paul is my favorite Beatle.”

All the gods in rock-soul heaven must be very pleased with Michael. Expect to reach eargasmic nirvana when his album hits the stores in March 2009.

I’m just a poor boy, nobody loves me

Contrary to the lyrics of “Bohemian Rhapsody” which brought him much recognition, Michael Johns is far from unloved or poor when it comes to talent. Aside from his musical prowess, Michael is also a natural comedian and a real down-to-earth fellow once you get to know him. I had a little less than 30 minutes to discover this side of him but we spent the whole time laughing and jabbing at jokes as if we were college friends.

When asked about his life as a student, Michael let out a huge chuckle, a twinkle in his eye. “I was a bad student. I daydreamed too much.”

He tilted his fedora to the other side and shared that he was always impressed with people who stuck it out with the books and did well in exams. He, on the other hand, was all about music, sports and girls. “Those are the three best things in the world.” He winks and laughs again.

Before entering Idol, Michael was an avid sportsman. “I’m a mean badminton player. I play everything. From tennis to ping pong to ten-pin bowling.”

“I play ping pong,” I told him.

“I like that! We should play some time,” was his Australian-accented reply.

Without the stage, the lights and the crazily cool cravat he wore on the show, Michael is actually a very regular guy who likes eating hotdogs, drinking beer and roughing it out in Aussie Rules Football. He also has a knack for witty one-liners. Check out his knee-jerk quips to our questions:

Would you rather be a ninja or a pirate?

“Ninja. Ninjas have discipline. Pirates are just thieves.”

Vampire or werewolf?

“Vampire, because vampires are pretty sexy. A werewolf’s just hairy.”

Books or movies?

“Movies. I always tell the people who tell me to read more books that if it’s a good book, it’ll become a movie.”

Leather pants or leather jacket?

“Leather jacket. I don’t like the chafing in leather pants.”

Now who says all rockstars were born with a bad attitude? Leather jacket or no, this blues boy of rock and roll definitely knows how to keep things laidback and light.

“I’m not the ‘three-guys-walk-into-a-bar’ type of joker. I’m more into everyday observation and taking things from there. I like enjoying life. That is my motto.”

I’ve been loving you too long

When this soulful rocker is not pulling pranks, he plans on changing the world through music, even for just a little bit.

“I would like to have some kind of influence through music. And I’d like to give back to charity as much as I can with the things I write and sing about. I’m very involved in it. If I can leave something, even just a little bit, that would be great.”

After Idol, he has been concentrating on his album which he says is a collection of his experiences, of lessons learned, and of giving other people second chances. “I really learned a lot about how to live through my stepdad; he is my childhood hero,” he says looking contemplative.

“Love is really the big theme of my record. I think there are always two sides to a story. Just because you’re not right for someone doesn’t mean you’re wrong.”

With such philosophy woven with the words he has written and sung, Michael truly shows the soul in rock and roll.

We will rock you

Aside from his album, Michael continues to tour with his fellow Idol contestants David Archuleta, Brooke White and Carly Smithson. He disproved the notion that he and Idol winner David Cook were rivals and attested that they were both really good friends.

“Besides, Dave and I are in totally different genres. He’s doing a more Chris Daughtry rock thing while I’m doing a more soulful thing. We’re not competing.”

Michael thinks David Cook did a really good job with “Always Be My Baby” during the Mariah Carey week, which happened the week after he was booted out. “I was going to do ‘Vision of Love’ for Mariah Carey week, a very soulful version of it. I’m upset that I didn’t get to sing it.”

He then started to sing (“You treated me kind…”) and his voice was velvet, sending chills down my spine and a rush to my soul. No wonder even Simon Cowell, all harshness aside, considered him a favorite.

“The most memorable thing Simon said to me was goodbye and good luck,” and he lets out another laugh. “No, I’m kidding. I think that Simon realized, he said it to me later on, that he was a bit too harsh on me this year, like, it was weird. Carly and I got different critiques than anyone else. It was always like it was because we were foreign and he felt he had to be more harsh or something. But bottom line is he said: Look, you’re going to have a great career and you’re a very very very nice guy. Coming from a nice guy, you know what I mean?”

Again, we both doubled up with laughter. I’ve lost count of how many times he made me laugh during the last couple of minutes.

Across the universe

I asked him what he wanted to do after music. A wistful expression appeared on his face.

“After music? I’ll be dead. I really want to be like Tom Petty. I want to be Neil Young. Performing until I’m 60. Or Tony Bennett, he’s 80 years old and he’s still out there playing concerts. I want to be that. Have a music career forever. Music is all I do. Music is what I wake up to.”

On whether he was considering a music career in the Philippines, he answered: “I love it here! If I could get a song out here then I’ll come back as many times as I can.” He joked about the hot weather and having to put up with Manila traffic but he vouched for our people and our food.

“And I can’t wait to see the beaches up north and down south. I’ve heard great things about your beaches.”

At that moment, we both heard the crashing of waves in our minds and his eyes closed for a little while. I took this opportunity to ask Michael to sing “Across The Universe,” my favorite of all his Idol performances. He shook his head, grinned mischievously and obliged.

He sang the first line of the famous Beatles song, and I saw him with a guitar on a beach—Ilocos? perhaps Cebu?—as a bonfire lit up his face, and behind him was an immensity of stars and humming waves. In my mind, there was only Michael Johns and him singing of endless rain. Rock and roll has a soul, a soul for rock and roll, and I listen, I smile, I close my eyes as my thoughts drifted away across the universe.

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Purple Rain should be performed at every Michael Johns concert for the rest of his music career. Agreed?

Update! It’s All Wrong But It’s Alright! Get out the oxygen mask, MJ fans. You’re gonna need it after this one.

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Thank You So Much Aly Reyes for these Amazing Shots of Michael!

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From inquirer.net:
By Pocholo Concepcion
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Close this MANILA, Philippines—“American Idol” Season 7 finalist Michael Johns says life is good, even if his schedule these days is a bit crazy.

Born in Perth, Australia, the 30-year-old singer-songwriter has taken time off from recording his forthcoming debut album in New York to do a series of gigs at the Ayala Malls.

Excerpts from his interview with the Inquirer:

What is the most important thing you’ve done after “Idol”?

David Foster asked me to come to Motown’s 50th anniversary show to sing two Commodores songs as requested by Lionel Richie … so I did. Seated in a room with legendary artists, I wanted to pinch myself, like, how did I get here? But I think the most amazing thing I’ve done was in my hometown, Perth. There’s a big charity held there every year, a telethon to raise money for children’s hospitals. I played a bunch of tunes, took donations on air, made phone calls. It was really special. We raised US$7 million. Anytime you can give back, that’s very important.

What sparked your interest in music when you were a child?

Oh, it was always around me. My grandma was a phenomenal singer and my mom was also great. She sounded like Doris Day. We had a piano and my brother, sister and I used to play it. My mom had me listen to everything, from Sam Cooke to Otis Redding to ABBA to the Beatles. I found out at an early age that I could sing. But it wasn’t till I was 16 or 17, during parties, when I thought it was interesting because girls liked it. I felt most comfortable, very natural and completely at home whenever I was singing onstage.

Any particular artist you idolized or who has influenced you?

I liked Crowded House. For me, Neil Finn is one of the best songwriters. I’m a huge Beatles fan. INXS was a big influence on me as well. I took bits and pieces and different flavors from different singers and hoped some of it stuck into my pores.

You moved to America and played in clubs. How fulfilling was that?

I was 19 when I started playing in bars in Atlanta. It was unbelievable. It was like a home-school kind of thing where you learn on your own. There was a whole different audience listening to me perform a variety of songs. I wouldn’t change a thing about the five years that I got to do that.

You were an early favorite in “Idol” and people were disappointed when you got eliminated. Did you feel the same way?

Yeah, absolutely. At that time I was really upset; but then, the next day, I did a lot of press interviews and it made me feel good to hear people say I’m gonna have a good career after this. And I’ve been so busy since.

What have you learned from the experience?

Music has to come from your heart. Every song that I chose on the show, whether or not Simon Cowell said it was good, meant something to me. I think if you do something in life just to impress people because it’s what you want to do, most probably it won’t turn out the way you want it. But if you do it from the heart, usually good things come out of it.

What happens after your Manila shows?

I go back to the recording studio to finish my album by mid-December. I wrote a song for the holidays and hopefully it can be played in the Philippines. It’s called “Another Christmas.”

Michael Johns performs Thursday night, 6:30 p.m. at Alabang Town Center and Friday night, 7 p.m. at Greenbelt, Makati.t been confirmed yet, so I’m posting this here. Kindly move this to a separate article after. Thanks!

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UPDATE II! I’ve added more videos in the extended entry. Sorry that this post is all over the place but all of these videos are just fabulous. I want to post them all!

UPDATE! MJ changed up his set list a little and performed a very bluesy and soulful version of Prince’s “Purple Rain”. Yes, I said PURPLE RAIN.

Well, it looks like Purple Rain got deleted but, of course, one of our awesome members, Maja, saved it for us. Check out the Glorietta show thread in the forums for more details!

He also added “Bohemian Rhapsody” and so far only one small clip has surfaced. If a longer one turns up I will add it asap along with the other performances.

Bohemian Rhapsody at Glorietta Mall, Philippines

Credit to “*Raine” for the above videos!

ADDED more video in the extended entry!

Feeling Alight from “hyperren”

Bohemian Rhapsody/ We Will Rock You – We Are The Champions Medley from hyperren. Awesome!

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First up, we have the full set list! Thank you “chikaichix” for getting the set list together and to Tricia “chowders” for bringing it over to MJO.

1. Fire (Michael Johns)
2. Boulevard of Broken Dreams (Green Day)
3. Daughter (Pearl Jam)
4. Wonderwall (Oasis)
5. Plush (Stone Temple Pilots)
6. Feelin’ Alright (Michael Johns)
7. Yellow (Coldplay)
8. Don’t You Forget About Me (Simpleminds)
9. We Will Rock You/We Are The Champions (Queen)
10. If Only You Could See (Tonic)
11. Come Together (The Beatles)

And for something to get you ready for some fantastic performance videos here is a short video of MJ showing the fans some love and demonstrating his infamous “Sexy Dance”.

Credit to etiamexspecto for the video.

11 videos after the jump!

Here are videos from all 11 songs MJ performed last night in Manila. They are really starting to pop up on Youtube like crazy now. Please take time to visit the channel pages for these videos and comment to thank the people that took the time to record and upload. Thank you all!

These are not in set list order by the way but do you really care??? Enjoy!

“Boulevard of Broken Dreams” from “limnelson1″

“Feelin’ Alright” from “meanmeanseasons”

“We Will Rock You” from “midselp”

“Wonderwall” from “attydee”

Come Together from “rhyming panda”

“If You Could Only See” (Tonic) from “joax39″

Don’t You Forget About Me from “joax39″

“Yellow” from joax39

“Plush” from “joax39″

“Fire” from “joax39″

“Daughter” from “limnelson1″

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November 18: TriNoma Mall, Activity Center, 7:00PM
November 19: Glorietta Mall, Glorietta Activity Center
November 20: Alabang Mall, Activity Center, 6:30PM
November 21: Greenbelt Mall, Greenbelt 3, Park, 7:00PM

If we get anymore scoop on the Philippines dates we’ll have it posted asap.

Thank you to Pat (merrylegs) for finding out all the scoop from this blog.

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