American Idol: Michael Johns Has the Voice to Win

I had never heard of Michael Johns previous to his exposure on American Idol. Living in Atlanta, Georgia, and keeping up with the local music scene was not enough to somewhere come across a Michael Johns performance (he makes his home in Buckhead, a suburb of Atlanta). Not that any of that matters, because Michael Johns is nothing short of fantastic.

When he auditioned and they highlighted his singing a few times, it was not difficult to see that Johns not only had a confident stage presence, but a booming, rock-in-your-face voice to go with it. With a sound that reminds one of Jimmy Barnes (of Australia's "Cold Chisel" and a couple solo American hits) and the late Michael Hutchence (a name that judge Randy Jackson keeps tossing out there without telling people who Michael Hutchence is) of Australia's INXS, Johns no doubt will do well after the American Idol competition is over. Except for his two Beatles performances, where he chose songs not so well suited for his vocal stylings, Johns has performed with a professional skill that has surely placed him among the front-runners. And he keeps bringing that same quality, that same controlled explosion of a voice to his performances on American Idol. And it is nothing short of awesome.

The Final Nine performers of American Idol were given singer/songwriter Dolly Parton's songbook this week and Michael Johns performed a version of "It's All Wrong, But It's Alright." Reminiscent of Delbert McClinton, Johns belted out a bluesy, soulsy rendition that could not have done anything other than make Dolly proud.

The judges loved it, as did the audience. And what's not to love about the Australian rocker? Taking a break from Queen was a good thing (he's performed two Queen songs, including "We Are The Champions" last week). This version of "It's All Wrong, But It's Alright," showed that he really could sing a slower tempoed number.

Michael Johns definitely has the vocal power and the good looks to win this competition. He's going to have an uphill battle against David Archuletta and David Cook, but he does have a shot. Look for Johns to make the Top Four, maybe even the Top Three in what looks like will be a boy-heavy last few weeks of American Idol.

Sources:

FOX Television

AmericanIdol.com