Facebook: FEATURE ARTICLE: TOM JOHNSTON - THE VOICE 2017 Twitter: @TomJohnstonMusic www.facebook.com/pg/TomJohnstonMusic
Have you done many gigs/auditions before? I’ve gigged a fair bit around Kent in pubs and bars etc but nothing could prepare me for The Voice UK. Your voice reminds me of Sam Smith, who inspires you in the music industry? For me, it’s all about the voice and I love big voices. I grew up on Phil Collins and Luther Vandross and I think you can hear their influence. My musical taste spans so many genres. I currently love what Tori Kelly & JP Cooper are doing and I think their voices are very special. Also, Adele who I feel is one of the best female vocalists to come out of the UK, as well as Jessie J. Tom has lived in the Hextable/Wilmington area all his life. He has recently been seen on The Voice UK singing Hometown Glory. With a brilliant voice and the crowd cheering him on, it was a disappointment for everyone to see that he didn’t get through to the next round. We catch up with Tom to find out a bit more about him and what his plans are for the future: How was the experience on The Voice UK? And how did you prepare for it? My experience on The Voice UK was amazing and I am so thankful for the opportunity. I haven’t got a bad word to say about it at all. From the start, everyone seemed to really care about you. I entered The Voice UK on a bit of whim and didn’t expect much to come from it, so my preparation probably could have been better.
Have you always wanted to be a singer? When I was younger all I wanted to do was work in Starbucks haha! But this changed as I got older and I started to realise more and more that singing might be something I could do as my career. What are your hobbies? I love to cook and I am a big foodie. I love being with nature, playing my guitar outside and writing songs. What do you like to do in your spare time? I spend time with friends and family. I have a very tight group of friends who are very supportive and are also good at keeping my feet on the ground. What are your plans for the future? My plans are to really use the platform of The Voice UK as much as possible. Get some of my new music recorded and released, keep gigging as much as I can
How much support did you get from the local people of Dartford? I wasn’t allowed to say a lot to people. The staff and young people I work with at The Bridge Youth Centre knew and were so supportive. Since the audition being aired, everyone has had such nice things to say and seem to really be rooting for me, which is still really hard to get use to.
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