Photograph by Brandan Schulze
The power of the viral video has catapulted Angie Johnson (officialangiejohnson.com) to stardom. The St. Louis–born and –bred gal had toiled for years in military bands and in the Nashville bar scene, never quite attracting the attention she hoped for, until a YouTube video of her singing Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” for troops in the Middle East drew more than 2.5 million viewers. Earlier this year, the staff sergeant found herself on the hit NBC show The Voice, before being eliminated in March.
So how does your sudden celebrity feel?
I told my mom when I was 3 years old that I was gonna grow up and become a singer. She was like most moms would be: “OK, honey, that’s cute.” But it’s something that’s driven me my whole life. It kinda seemed when I joined the military that the music would take a back seat to a lot of things. But then these opportunities started popping up… It still feels kinda like I’m living in a dream.
Were you nervous, auditioning on national TV?
Yeah, I was nervous the day of the auditions. I tried to tell myself that wasn’t the scariest thing I’ve been through. I’ve been in Iraq and Afghanistan, but with the huge celebrities on the show, there’s no way not to be nervous. But then, when Cee Lo turned around and chose me, I breathed a huge sigh of relief.
How do you prepare?
I’m always working on my voice. I practice in my house at my stairwell. It has a lot of echo, so I sound fabulous! [Laughs.] I call them the Stairwell Sessions.
