JOHNSTON
James

• 1. Career
• 1.1. 2009: Australian Idol
• 1.2. 2014: X Factor
• 1.3. 2020-present: "Raised Like That" and "Small Town"

James Johnston is an Australian singer. In 2009, Johnston placed third in the seventh and final season of Australian Idol. In 2014, he made the top 24 of the sixth season of The X Factor (Australia).

In July 2021, Johnston released his debut single "Raised Like That". It became the fastest ever debut single by an Australian-based country artist to reach 1 million streams. "Raised Like That" was certified gold in Australia by mid-2022, and in doing so, Johnston became first independent country artist to achieve the milestone in 21 years.

Career

2009: Australian Idol

In 2009, Johnston auditioned for the seventh season of Australian Idol, singing John Mayer's "Your Body Is a Wonderland" at his audition, receiving praise from all four judges. Johnston eventually placed third behind Stan Walker and Hayley Warner.

2014: X Factor

In 2014, Johnston auditioned for the sixth season of The X Factor (Australian TV series). He made the top 24, but was eliminated before making the live shows.

Following The X Factor, Johnston travelled through Nashville, Tennessee with a friend. Johnston told Country Town in November 2021, "We were staying in this hostel that had this old piano. Everyone would go to bed at one o'clock in the morning, and I just stayed there for three or four hours writing songs … I've never been so inspired to create and truly, from that moment on, I was like, 'country music, that's where my heart', just songwriting and telling stories."

2020-present: "Raised Like That" and "Small Town"

In eighteen months between 2020 and 2021, Johnston wrote over 200 songs. On 9 July 2021, Johnston released his debut single "Raised Like That" which tells the story of community, integrity, and a celebration to a way of life of people who grew up in a small close knit community.

On 21 July 2021, Johnston reached out for his social community to create a video showing themselves "Raised Like That". Johnston personally edited the video and released it on 1 September 2021. In October 2021, the song peaked at number 1 on the Countrytown Music Network Hot 50 Country Airplay Chart and number 4 on the Australian Independent chart. It was certified gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) in 2022.

Johnston released his second single "Small Town" on 19 November 2021. On the writing of the song, Johnston said "I wrote 'Small Town' on the drive back home to my hometown of Wingham. I had been spending quite some time in the city and I was just so excited to get back to my family farm. I wanted to capture that feeling of excitement and anticipation in the song – that build up as I was on that drive to get back home."