I flew in from Minnesota the night before the show. I was so excited I was bouncing. I could barely sleep. The next morning, my friend and I got to the stage at around 11:00 a.m. and people were already starting to gather around.

We got front row center spots, which was amazing. People of all ages came to see her. Everyone was literally bouncing, out of excitement. The show was to start at noon and I couldn’t wait. I don’t think I have been more excited for anything ever! We saw Alexz walking up to the stage about fifteen minutes or so before the show, looking very excited. She stood to the side of the backstage area and a line formed for pictures and autographs. She signed a few and took a couple picture before letting everyone know that she had to go and she would meet us after the show. The line ran back to their spots in front of the stage.

A few minutes later the announcer came on and introduced Alexz. She ran out on stage, all smiles. The show started off with a personal favorite of mine, “A Little Bit”. She danced around and had so much fun with it.

Next came the acoustic version of “Voodoo”. I love the ending when she added the line “Never let the Devil in your head.” Third, was “LA Made Me”. She rocked it. You could tell she was having so much fun with the show. Next came “Mary”. Everyone was so excited that she played it.

We let her know how much we loved that song. The last song was “I Just Wanted Your Love”. Alexz really got into the song and put on a great performance. When you watch her it just looks like that is where she is supposed to be and she really loves what she is doing.

After the show everyone crowded around the autograph booth and waited for her to come out. Alexz was super nice and recognized some people that went to other shows. When it was my turn she signed a photo and my Voodoo t-shirt. She took a picture with me and gave me a hug. The whole time I was in line I was trying to think of what to say.

When I got up there all I could say was “I love you, you are amazing.” She smiled and said “Oh thank you.” I do have to say that meeting her pretty much made my life. I am so happy I got the opportunity to meet her. I will definitely be going to another show and can’t wait to see her again!

Source

Hey guys–I’ve been pretty busy this past week, it’s my first week of senior year and yeah! I’ll be getting all of the news updates up tonight and tomorrow!

It’s 11:45 in the morning. 22 degrees Celsius. Fans from all over gather around Yonge-Dundas Square, eagerly awaiting the arrival of an up-and-coming star, Alexz Johnson.

Before being graced with her presence, we are welcomed by the 680News Music Reporter, Rudy Blair. And if you want to know how to get a crowd going, just ask him! At the peak of the crowd’s excitement, Rudy begins spinning the tale that is Alexz Johnson.

Alexz has been in this craft since early childhood. After releasing several soundtrack albums from her CTV show, Instant Star, Alexz managed to release “Voodoo”—an album complete with eleven pop perfections and topped with killer artwork. Today, Alexz brings us a top notch live performance, something memorable for the fans to hold in their minds until “Voodoo: Reloaded” is released this fall (and even after!)

Rudy has provided a fitting welcome for Alexz, and the show begins as she runs to the stage, looking as beautiful as ever and immediately jumping into “A Little Bit”. 

I was very happy to see her interaction with the fans. She pushed the crowd to jump around, clap, and sing their hearts out. Her stage presence is phenomenal.

The excitement of the crowd begins to settle, but the energy is still nearly palpable, as Alexz straps on her guitar to enchant the crowd with her “Voodoo.” The song, a personal favorite from the album, Alexz and her band take it to a super sonic level. All in all, it was outstanding and spellbinding.

After thanking everyone for coming out, Alexz announces the next song. “L.A. Made Me,” while still reminiscent of the album, the song took on a very different vibe live. Gone are the layered vocals and synthesizers, instead, she delivers a true rugged rock n’ roll rendition. Which begs the question: has L.A. made her? Nothing could have made such an artist; Alexz has a talent that’s almost magical and most certainly very pure.

Next up, Alexz formally introduces “Mary”, her newly written song. The crowd response was positive even before the song begins as a fan proclaimed, “We all love it, Alexz”, a statement backed up by the rest of the audience. Now, there’s something different about “Mary” …

Alexz grabs her guitar again and begins tugging on the strings. The sound of music filled the air, creating an almost ethereal atmosphere.

Very different from the previous song, it’s almost as if “Mary” and the people had become one entity. Perfect.

Lastly, Alexz whipped out a tribute of sorts for fans of her CTV days. Co-written with her brother Brendan for Instant Star, and full of rocked out riffs, “I Just Wanted Your Love” begins with her soft vocals and a steady beat, waiting in anticipation for what may possibly be my favorite word in the song, purely for the energy it stirs up. Armed with a 4-octave range and the most mind-blowing band around, she belts out “BOY!” and the chorus takes off, transforming the entire crowd into one wicked rock fest!

One of the most exhilarating performances I’ve seen finally came to a close as Alexz thanks her fans for coming out to support her. She wishes everyone a beautiful day… and her last words?

”Remember… GO GREEN” …Yeah, that’s out girl!

Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, the show was cut short. However, even after traveling near 10 hours for the show, I believe that 5 songs are all a person may need from an artist like Alexz. Any of the fans at this particular performance would have to agree.

She’s one of the truest souls, voices and people around. Alexz is meant for the stage and her voice was meant for the world to listen.

It’s simple—Alexz Johnson is legendary.

Source
Follow Eric on Twitter

Alexz Johnson’s debut album ‘Voodoo’ was released on March 30th, 2010 with tracks that changed any pre-conception of the hit-tv star. Alexz brought 11 fantastic tracks to her fans’ ears and released ‘Trip Around the World’ as the first single in early March 2010.

It was unofficially announced across the net earlier this summer that Voodoo would be remixed, much to her fans delight. Tracks off the original album will be remixed by popular engineer Demacio ‘Demo’ Castellon, who has worked with such artists as Timbaland, Missy Elliott, Madonna, Tiesto and Nelly Furtado.

Each track will offer something completely unexpected and incredibly original. If you are an Alexz fan…prepared to be blown away! “Voodoo:Reloaded” is definitely something to look forward to!

The buzz about “Voodoo:Reloaded” is growing. It is being internationally mentioned on Twitter as well as fansites. Both Demo and Alexz have also taken to Twitter to mention “Voodoo:Reloaded” and how exciting the project is.

Let’s not only make “Voodoo:Reloaded” a trending topic in conversations, but let’s do it on Twitter internationally!

Hop on Twitter and type in a message about the upcoming remixes and finish your tweet with #VoodooReloaded.

Mention it to your friends as well! Let us know you are tweeting about it! Find us on Twitter @inDiscover.

The official release date will be announced soon, as well as more exciting details, so stay tuned!

Source

Follow us on twitter @ alexzworldcom!

Alexz sent out an email a few hours ago, and here it is for all of you to read who are not subscribed. Which if you want to subscribe, which you should, you can do so now on her website.

I’m getting the vibe from twitter and the website that you guys are curious to hear some info about the new tracks from Voodoo Reloaded.

Demo is taking his time to get everything right; all I can really say at this moment is you’ll find the new versions of the tracks very different, and I hope you’ll truly love them and find them as awesome as I do. We’re making a lot of progress, and in the next week or so we should have settled on the new single, and we’re already having meetings about the new video..

I’m hoping to do some touring to support the new single, probably around the first two weeks of November..

When we’ve got some dates confirmed you’ll be the first to know. I’m so excited to share these new versions of the songs with you…

Alexz

Demo Castellon was nice enough to take a half hour out of his busy day to talk with me about Voodoo Reloaded and his career. I really want to give Demo a huge thanks for taking the time to answer some questions I and most of you have had!

I had to cut some parts out of the interview, due to my mic distorting the audio so bad that I couldn’t understand what I or Demo said. Also, there is a few more questions I have yet to transcript, which will be posted in a part two! I wanted to get this up now.

AlexzWorld.com: When did you know you wanted to be a producer/engineer? Was there a song or an event or something that inspired you to pursue a career in the music industry?
Demo Castellon: I think both of those questions run in with each other. There was a song that really sparked my interest. It was “The Rain” by Missy Elliott. When I heard that song, I knew I wanted to make music, I knew I wanted to make music that was different. That song gave me that spark, that led to my pursuit. I didn’t know what a mixer or a producer was, I just knew I wanted to make music.

AW: When did you start music?
DC: Somewhere around ’92, ’93. I used to be a DJ, that’s how it all started.

AW: Were you a performer at any point?
DC: Timbaland, Me, and Freestyle Steve played the intermission during Justin Timberlake’s last tour. We’d rock the crowd for about 20 minutes. It was dope.

AW: Would you ever release a solo project, like a CD?
DC: I’m working on some stuff, but I got so many other projects going on right now its difficult. I’d like to do an instrumental album. Like jazz influenced. Just straight music. Music you could ride to in your car.

AW: What kind of music do you listen to?
DC: I listen to everything. One week, I might be listening to [Frank] Sinatra, another week I might be listening to the Beach Boys, then Chuck Barry. I jump around a lot . My favorite band right now is my band Down With Webster. I’m working on there second album right now its going to be dope. Excellent music.

AW: Who’s your favorite [musician]?
DC: Prince is my favorite musican of all time. My favorite band? I don’t know, The older bands: Zeppelin, The Beatles. I’m also a big Metallica fan.

AW: I remember back when Paparazzi by Lady Gaga was going go be released as a single. I really had no idea how it would be remixed. The Demolition Crew did a remix which was released on the remix EP. How do you go about remixing a song into a completely different song? I just find it incredibly hard to imagine a song any other way. I am blown away by what remixers can do!
DC: It’s the art of the remix! This is what we do: We take the acapella and just listen to it over and over again. Eventually, that sparks the direction. We don’t have a set way of doing it. It’s whatever inspires us at the time. Something will get us; it might be the hook, maybe some phrasing. We just keep going until we got something we think is better than the original.

AW: What did Alexz come to you with?
DC: That started off with one of my engineers coming to me and asking me if I wanted to do something for Orange Records. I said sure! They sent me “Trip Around the World” and “Voodoo”. When I heard “Voodoo”, I knew the song was a hit. By chance we happened to be at that showcase for Alexz’s performance. I got to meet her, and she came to the studio. I played her some stuff, and we sat there and just talked. After talking to her, I talked to Stephen [Stohn] and told him I wanted to remix the entire album. I liked her stuff that much. I wanted to do the whole album..

AW: Voodoo is such an amazing album, I can’t picture it any other way. So, how are you remixing Voodoo?
DC: Your just stuck to the original. That’s all you and everybody else have heard. So what we’re trying to do is take it into a whole new spin. Everybody knows the obvious and you can think “they might do this, or might switch this up”, but we’re trying to make it so when you hear it you go “WOW, this isn’t what I expected!” It’s going to be special.

AW: How do you know when a song is done?
DC: I just know. I listen to it, top to bottom. When everything is there, that’s how I know.

AW: Do you ever go “I should have changed this?”
DC: When I first started I worked on a record that when I hear it today there is something I would change. Every time I hear that song, the same thing jumps out at me. It’s not anything anyone else would notice, just me. So now, I don’t release material until I’m 100% happy with it.

AW: Do you give an artist a set time for a remix?
DC: No, they trust must me. They know, I’ll know when it’s done.

AW: What do you define as a successful musician? Does a number one song define success?
DC: A number one song is success, especially in today’s industry. It’s not easy. Now a successful musician is somebody who is in tune with their craft. They have a zen about them, because they know their craft. To me, you don’t need to sell a lot of records, to be a successful musician. All you have to know is what you want and work for it. Always practice your craft, and strive for the best . If you do that, then you’re successful in my book.

My friend Ahmed has a music blog, which is back better than before! He is back with interviews from various writers, musicians and more importantly our girl, Alexz Johnson. Make sure to check out his interview on his website here (or below)!

It’s hard, looking at the current flock of Disney’s tween queens, to imagine them as they once were, shy, wholesome and a bit awkward, the type of girls teens were more likely to relate to, as opposed to the glitz and glam of Hannah Montana. Well, there was Lizzie McGuire, Raven Baxter, and the overlooked Annie Thelen from Disney’s most daring show, So Weird. Annie was portrayed by Alexz Johnson, a fresh-faced Canadian who was dubbed the “West Coast Celine” due to her incredible singing voice. Since then, Johnson has been in several TV movies (the criminally underrated Stranger With My Face, and Devil’s Diary), garnered praise for her role in Final Destination 3, and went on to portray Jude Harrison in Instant Star, a fictional show about the career of the winner of an American Idol-like talent show, arguably her most famous role to date. She also released some music, 2009′s Voodoo, an incredible alternative album that has more in common with Bob Dylan and other ’60s music personas, than her other Disney counterparts. I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Alexz through her manager, Stephen Stohn (thanks Stephen!), about her experiences working on So Weird, as well as the upcoming re-release of Voodoo.

Read the rest of this entry »

Alexz posted on her twitter that she was writing with renown writer and producer Toby Gad, who she wrote with back in 2008 for her Epic album.

“alexzjohnson: Writing with @tobygad today and feeling very Betty Davis Eyes about the whole situation :)”

You might have heard “Steal My Love” or “Wings of a Dove” on youtube or even on your iPods! These both were written in late 2008 in Toby’s apartment above the New York City streets.

Could this be material for her upcoming album?

Our friends at manymoodsofaj.tumblr.com received an email from Echo Bridge, the publishing company for the last two seasons of Instant Star regarding delays on the final season, saying:

“There was a delay on the final mastering process which was out of our control and I apologize for the delay but final product was received late this week and shipments are being sent to Amazon and Best Buy. They should be receiving product later next week and processing their orders as usual.”

Alexz is back in LA according to recent tweets, writing new songs with close friend Jimmy Robbins and writer Dillon Pace.

“Great writing day.. sometimes I can’t believe how much music always seems to pour out of my soul.. never fails… well, at least not today!”

She also tweeted what seems to be new lyrics:

“Driving you all night, all night, with my foot on your peddle and my heart beats thunder I’ll never break with you by my side alright”

Alexz recently revealed to a fan at a show that she has been working on a new album and we can expect news next summer. This writing session may be material for her upcoming album. We will keep you posted!

I asked my friend Camilla (follow on twitter) to make some icons for you guys a while back and she did, and I just am now getting to post them! You are welcome to use these icons, just do not credit them as yours, credit redballoonx. Click on the read more tab below, to see all of them! Thanks Cami!

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The Demolition Crew are working hard remixing 11 tracks from Alexz’s debut release, Voodoo. Demolition tweeted saying that the re-release of Voodoo will be out in the fall. This comes as no surprise since Alexz recently reviled in a recent interview, a release in September (Alexz Gets a Make Over from LiveDress.com).

A September release seems a bit to soon though. I wouldn’t expect a release until October or November. A single will definitely precede the re-release according to manager, Stephen Stohn.

Alexz is already planning music video ideas for her next single, rumored to be “Voodoo”. “Thinking of music video ideas for my next single.. I love this part…” she said in a recent tweet.

Thank you kierat3 for sharing!

Kittens_33 announced on the forum, Dirty Little Secrets that Alexz said “that the single will be out in September and that she’s been writing a bunch of new songs.” She then asked when a new record would be out and a stunned Alexz replied it “will be out and she said next summer!”

“The crazy thing is that I got there really early so my mom and I went to eat and Alexz and her band walked by and Alexz was singing! It was so surreal.” – Kittens33

Setlist (not in the order played):
Voodoo (probably going to be the single)
Taker
A Little Bit
L.A. Made Me
Mary
I Just Wanted Your Love
Running With The Devil
Chicago
Boogie Love

Her review of some of the songs performed:

Boogie Love was fun live. She changed one of the first lines to something about disco. I think the drunk people (and there were a lot of them) liked it. Alexz was laughing during it.
Omg, I forgot that she played I Just Wanted Your Love too! She was saying how she always felt weird giving it away to Instant Star, so now she gets to play it live. It was probably the most well known song.
Taker was a smudge slower in tempo. The part where she’s singing ‘it didn’t mean anything’ until the end was beautiful.
RWTD was sung super duper fast, but the vocals were flawless.
Chicago is so different live without all the bells and whistles. More of an exposed version.

Thanks Kittens_33 for sharing the info!

Alexz played the Drake Hotel last night as a fundraiser for her best friend Jessica Earnshaw. The silent auction and concert was to raise money for Jess’s tuition for this fall!

If you happened to be at the show and took photos, we would love it if you could send us them at nnnevababy@gmail.com.

Alexz will be hosting a fundraiser at the Drake Hotel in Toronto tomorrow, July 14th at 7pm. Tickets are $8 to $10 at the door. This is a benefit is to help Alexz’s best friend, Jessica Earnshaw with her intuition for photography this fall.

There will be performances from Barbara Mamabola (from Instant Star/ performance above), Alexz herself, and some friends! Along with a silent auction.

If you are unable to make the show this Wednesday, please send some love and money to Jessica via her site (click on the donation button)!