Derby man has the kind of voice that turns heads — and chairs
Jaelen Johnston is back in Kansas in between appearances on NBC's "The Voice." He performs at the Rusty Nail on Friday.
Jaelen Johnston isn’t famous. Yet.
That day may come, and as he continues his campaign on the televised singing competition “The Voice,” it’s becoming ever more likely.
But the Derby native is no longer relatively unknown, either. Back in the Wichita area during a break from filming the reality show, he was recognized for the first time. It was at a drive-through window at a fast-food restaurant. The employee knew his voice.
It’s the one that made three of the judges on “The Voice” spin their chair during his blind audition, signifying they wanted to work with the 22-year-old and help him take steps toward musical stardom. A country musician, Johnston opted to join the team of Kelsea Ballarini, a CMA-winning country star.
He last performed on the show on Monday (April 14), winning a knockout round competition with a performance of the Noah Kahan song “Dial Drunk.” The date of his next appearance has not been announced, but the show’s playoff format begins April 28.
Jaelen Johnson's cover of Luke Combs' "Where the Wild Things Are" prompted three chair turns in the singer's first appearance on "The Voice."
And even if his next appearance is his last on television (for now), it would still be a major accomplishment for someone who, as of two years ago, had never performed in front of a live audience. His first public gig was at a brunch at The Rusty Nail on South Washington Avenue. He recalls that four people were in the audience.
He then started attending the Sunday night open jams at The Rusty Nail as he gigged around Wichita.
Like the clerk at the drive-through, Michael Gnapp, host of the open jam, remembers that voice.
“He sounded really good,” Gnapp said. “He was also really shy.”
As Johnston built up his confidence, one of the musicians in the house band gave him the nickname “The Golden Cowboy” on account of that voice.
“He got better, and he always had his family with him,” Gnapp said.
Music is a family affair for Johnston. His mother and aunt watched his blind audition as featured audience members of “The Voice,” which is filmed at Universal Studios in Hollywood. His late grandfather was a musician who Johnston said sounded like Ronnie Milsap, based on the home recordings on cassette his uncle keeps. In his Derby home, Johnston heard everything from Biggie Smalls to George Strait, and while his music sounds much more like the latter, there are elements of the former, too. Johnston is half white and half Black. And while Black artists have always made country music, they're having a moment thanks to the success of artists such as Shaboozey and Beyonce. Johnson isn't interested in making that his narrative.
“I just listen to and make good music,” he said.
It was Johnston’s mother who made the audition happen. Johnston thought about trying out but talked himself out of it. His mother sent in the application on his behalf, and then called him only moments before his pre-show audition so that Johnston didn’t have time to talk himself out of going.
That audition took place in March 2024, almost a full year before he first appeared on television in early February. In the interim, he quit his maintenance job at McConnell Air Force Base to focus on music full time. He’s been working on new music and has been in the studio to record the more than a dozen songs he’s written in the past four months. He’s not sure of the resulting product just yet – it might be an EP, or it might be a full-length album.
His timeline on “The Voice” may dictate his creative output.
He quipped on the show that his first goal was to get a “chair turn,” meaning he could stay on the show. He’s now upgraded his hopes – he wants “the right record deal on the right label,” he said.
In between sets on “The Voice,” Johnson is back in Wichita. His next public gig is where it all got started – The Rusty Nail. He performs there at 7 p.m. Friday (April 18).
He’s still working out the onstage banter part of the equation, but he knows the kind of music he plays.
“If the beer isn’t flowing, I’m not playing well enough,” he said. “It’s a honky-tonk vibe. Everyone is there for the same reason – to have a good time.”
The Details
Live Music: Jaelen Johnston
7 p.m. Friday, April 18, at The Rusty Nail, 1155 S. Washington Ave. in Wichita
Up-and-coming country musician and current “The Voice” contestant Jaelen Johnston will perform a hometown show between television appearances. Johnston, a 22-year-old Derby native, is also working to record several original songs as he waits to learn his fate on the music reality show.
There is no cover charge for the event, but space is limited and the restaurant recommends arriving early to secure a spot.
Kevin Kinder never learned to play an instrument but has written about music for more than two decades just the same. He’s a freelance writer and journalism educator.
⊛ What is 'percent for art?' About the public art funding program that Wichita art advocates don't want to lose
⊛ How a guy from Wichita resurrected 'Dawn of the Dead'
⊛ Painting through it: Autumn Noire on 20 years of making art
⊛ Canonizing Black American Life: Robert Peterson at the Wichita Art Museum
⊛ 'You don't have to give up': Clark Britton on making art into his 90s
The latest from the SHOUT
Emily Christensen
Brett Crandall
Sam Jack
Skyler Lovelace