Air National Guard singer credits military service for rise to fame

Staff Sgt. Angie Johnson performs with Sidewinder, the rock band element of the 571st Air National Guard Band, headquartered in St. Louis. Johnson is a contestant on the hit NBC show "The Voice." (Bill Phelan photo)

Bill Phelan
ngmo.pao@us.army.mil

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - Ask Missouri Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Angie Johnson what her life has been like for the past six months, and one word immediately comes to mind: surreal.

As a vocalist for Sidewinder, the rock band element of the 571st Air National Guard Band, Johnson and her fellow band members became internationally famous last summer when a YouTube video of their performance of "Rolling in the Deep," by Adele, went viral. What followed were countless media interviews and appearances on the "Ellen DeGeneres Show," ABC's "Good Morning America," and the Fox Network's "Fox and Friends. "

"It was like a whirlwind," Johnson said.

One of those who saw the Sidewinder video was Carson Daly, the producer of the hit NBC show, "The Voice." Because Johnson and her fellow Airmen were still deployed at the time, Daly invited her to appear on the show via Twitter.

Johnson, 31, took Daly up on his invite, appearing on "The Voice" Feb. 6 and singing "Heartbreaker," by Pat Benatar.

In accordance with the show's format, judges Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Blake Shelton and Adam Levine sit with their backs facing the contestant until one turns around and chooses that performer for their team.

Johnson ended up impressing Green and landed a spot on his team, meaning she moves on to the next round of competition.

"The next round is on the show is the Battle Round," Johnson explained. "Teams don't compete against other teams; we each compete within our own team. So Cee Lo will pair each of us with another team member and give us a song that he thinks will highlight our voices. We will sing that song as a duet and whoever does the best job of it will move on to the next round. The other person goes home."

The winner of the show gets a professional recording contract, a real possibility that Johnson credits to her military service.

"I owe the Air National Guard my whole life," she said. "None of this would have a happened if I had not decided to join the military. There's no way I would have been in that video had I not been in the military. Joining the Air National Guard when I was 19 was the best decision I ever made, and it shows that the military is not all wearing body armor and carrying a weapon. I don't think enough high school-aged people know that."

A former St. Ann, Mo. resident and graduate of Ritenour High School, Johnson now lives in Memphis, Tenn., pursuing a singing career.

"I'm living in a dream," she said. "Sometimes, when I wake up in the morning I wonder whose life I'm living. It's magical, and I'm loving every bit of it."

The 571st Air National Guard Band is headquartered at Lambert-St. Louis International Airport and is part of the 131st Bomb Wing, based at Whiteman Air Force Base, near Knob Noster, Mo.

For more information about the Missouri National Guard, please visit www.moguard.com and our social media sites: www.facebook.com/Missouri.National.Guard; www.twitter.com/Missouri_NG; www.youtube.com/MoNationalGuard; www.myspace.com/missouri_ng; www.flickr.com/photos/missouriguard; www.moguard.com/blog; www.pinterest.com/monationalguard/