Biography
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Born In
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
With a stunningly pure voice and a face that could make him a megastar on the pop charts, it is only through John’s own dogged dedication that he remains committed to country music. On a trip to the US several years ago, John met Grammy Award winning producer BABY FACE (WHITNEY HOUSTON’s producer.)
"I went into this building in LA looking for a booking agent," John said. "I left a demo CD at the reception and the lady said, ‘You’re on the wrong floor and you’re even in the wrong building!’ It turned out she was Baby Face’s mother-in-law’s sister. A day later we got a phone call from Baby Face. He had picked up his son from his mother-in-law’s and she had been playing my CD."
Through Baby Face, John became involved in the movie Josie & The Pussycats, where he provided the singing voice for the boyband DUJOUR’s lead vocalist. He also came to the attention of UK producer STEVE KIPNER, producer of multi-platinum group WESTLIFE. John sang demos for the band and when, in Kipner’s opinion, the group could not recreate John’s sensational performance in several places, he decided to leave John’s vocal in the final mix as a ‘guest’ performer. "All the time I was there they wanted me to sing R&B or pop. I came very close to signing contracts."
Though all of the hype and excitement, John had one driving ambition. He wanted to sing country. "When I was young I knew I wanted to be a country singer like JOHN DENVER or GLEN CAMPBELL. I bought a thirty dollar guitar and learned all the songs. I really like the life-style involved with country music. I like that it’s family oriented."
He returned home to Australia and married his beautiful wife Jacinta almost three years ago. In 2003 he recorded an eight track CD Angel. "It was an introduction CD. It was more to open doors than to sell to the public, so this year we added five more tracks and re-released it officially as For You."
John’s debut single Feeling You was released in September 2003. Despite rave reviews, the track didn’t make the country charts. Several people suggested that he choose a cover song for his next single release. "I’d sung ROY ORBISON’s Crying since I was a child. I realised it was perfect for what we wanted." Crying is renowned as a very difficult song and his masterful interpretation made it impossible for anyone not to notice the young performer.
John was accepted into the CMAA’s College of Country Music in Tamworth where John Williamson was a guest lecturer. "I’ve always been a fan of John’s music. I sang Wrinkles at the College and he did harmonies. It was so great. About a year and a half later I met John again and he said, in his big deep voice, ‘I hear you’ve been singing one of my songs.’ Well I was tongue-tied for some time before I managed to blurt out, ‘Would you mind doing it as a duet with me?’ Thankfully he said yes." The rest is history.
A committed Christian, John has been busy lately, not on his own career, but as an organiser for a choir from Philippines. "Thirty teenagers, these kids live on the dump sites, in squalid conditions. They don’t have a future. We’re promoting the choir in concerts around Sydney and NSW. Initially the group was organised by my father-in-law and my wife’s family working with the parish priest who now lives over in the Philippines, working to get the children off the dump sites and into real homes. Part of the project is the building of about 350 houses for these dump site kids. We’re selling CDs from the project with all the proceeds go towards the charity."
A genuinely nice young man with the voice of an angel, John Stephan is definitely a talent worth cherishing.
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