**Update- Satellite will no longer be co-headlining this show with Johnson. Local singer/songwriter Kim Singer will be opening.**

I knew I was going to be a fan of Jillette Johnson when I heard why she called her debut EP “Whiskey & Frosting”.

After a horrible day Jillette and her boyfriend were headed back to her apartment where she hoped they would spend a quiet night alone. When they walked in all of her friends were there to throw her a surprise party and on the menu for dinner…whiskey and frosting, two of her favorite things.

“Whiskey and Frosting represents that twinkle in my eye and saying something real or dark with a hint of sweetness.”

Back in April of this year, I went to the Old Rock House to see Kris Allen perform. Also on the bill was a woman I had never heard of before, Jillette Johnson. I listened to a song or two on the day of the show and thought she sounded pretty decent. When I got to the Old Rock House and heard her perform I was floored by her voice. I had never really heard someone with that powerful of a voice sing live. She hit such powerful notes that no matter where you were in the Old Rock House, her voice brought your attention to the stage. If you’ve been there before you know the ORH is a big place. I’m not a music critic so I probably didn’t explain that very well, but trust me, it was awesome. 

If you’re anything like me, you have trouble actually hearing the lyrics at live shows sometimes, especially when you haven’t heard the songs before. I was more amazed at Jillette Johnson’s talent during the show and how much she poured into her music. Johnson, who is based in New York City, plays the piano and lets her voice soar during her live performances. I mentioned to my friend that attended with me that I had never heard someone talk about a basset hound in a song and do it so well. “Basset Hound” is the perfect song to put on while you are checking out your latest crush’s Facebook page.

One interesting tidbit that Jillette shared at the show was that before she decided to move to NYC to pursue her music, she visited St. Louis to look at Washington University. She said she loved the city and the campus, but ultimately decided to go to NYU for a year.

That “what might have been” tidbit pales in comparison to Jillette’s connection with NBC’s The Voice. The story goes that the producers really wanted her on the first season of the show, but she ultimately declined. Keep in mind this was before an episode of the show had even aired. No one knew how things would go. She balked at putting her own music career on hold and decided instead to stay the course. Javier Colon won that first season and released an album through Universal Republic Records. He left Universal shortly after due to what he called a lack of support from the label. Who knows if Jillette would have won the reality singing competition and fared better. The only certain thing is that Christina would have found something to nitpick Jillette on and turn the attention to herself.

Flash forward to June 25th. Jillette Johnson’s first album “Water In A Whale” hits the market and quickly shoots up the iTunes charts. Every song on the record is her own. I listened to the album first by streaming it through the USA Today website. In all fairness, I listened to it quite a few times. I finally bought it through the Amazon MP3 store for under $10. It was probably one of the best purchases I have made lately and I make A LOT of random purchases. 

Here are some of my favorites from the album. You can currently get the “Water in a Whale” album in mp3 format for $5 on Amazon. Jillette Johnson will be back in St. Louis on August 29 when she plays a show at The Firebird. Satellite is with her on most shows of this tour, but will not be at the St. Louis show. Local singer/songwriter Kim Singer will be opening instead.

“Torpedo”-the first song off the album. I’m a big fan of this lyric video.

“Cameron”-easily the most powerful song on the album.

“Peter Pan”- The perfect soundtrack while scrolling through Facebook seeing all of the baby pictures and the like that your friends post.

For more of Jillette Johnson’s videos, check out this playlist I made using Huzzaz.

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