John Poulson "Johnny" Keyser (born on October 24, 1990),[1][2] was a contestant on Season 11 and Season 12 of American Idol.
Season 11 Audition[]
Johnny auditioned in St. Louis. He sang "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke. All three judges voted "yes", sending him to the next round.
Season 11 Hollywood Round[]
During Hollywood Week, Johnny was shown during the first televised Lines of Ten segment—along with Heejun Han. He sang "Dreamin'" by Amos Lee. He advanced, and was next shown in a group called 'Area 451' with Bryce Garcia, Kristi Krause, and Imani Handy, singing "Broken Strings" by James Morrison and Nelly Furtado. Partway through their Group Round performance, Imani collapsed onstage. Thankfully, she was not hurt. Johnny was the only member of the group to advance. After his untelevised third round solo performance, he was placed in the first deliberation room, along with Candice Glover, Chase Likens, Naomi Gillies, Colton Dixon, Devan Jones, Jen Hirsh, Cortez Shaw, Lauren Gray, Joshua Ledet, Adam Lee Decker, Erika Van Pelt, Creighton Fraker, Elise Testone; David Leathers, Jr.; Hallie Day, Adam Brock, Tenna Torres, Jermaine Jones, Scott Dangerfield, Amber Holcomb, and Aaron Marcellus, where it was revealed that everyone in the room had advanced.[3]
Season 11 Las Vegas Round[]
For the 1950s stage, Johnny was shown in a group with Cortez Shaw, Devan Jones, and Aubrey Cleland. Rather than rehearsing, via their edit, they were seen mostly lounging in the pool. Johnny even stated that while other groups were practicing, they were "just chillin'". Later however, the four were seen in a montage of groups, who were rehearsing their choreography and harmony routines. Although their performance was not aired, it was uploaded on the American Idol website. They sang "Wake Up, Little Susie" by The Everly Brothers. Everyone in the group, except for Devan, advanced. However, after all the groups performed, the judges deliberated and controversially decided to rescind the advancements of several contestants. Johnny was one of these casualties, and was eliminated just short of the final solo round.
After the Top 24 was announced, the judges said that they intended to have a surprise 13th male contestant in the semifinals. The teaser indicated that Johnny was one option, while Jermaine Jones, Richie Law; and David Leathers, Jr. were considered. Ultimately, however, Jermaine was chosen and joined the semifinalists, creating a Top 25.
Season 12 Audition[]
Johnny auditioned in Chicago. He sang "Try a Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding. All four judges voted "yes", sending him to the next round.
Season 12 Hollywood Round[]
Though not shown performing, he was shown in the same Group of Ten as Gabe Brown. He was later shown in a group called "Normal Hills" with Kareem Clark singing "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" by The Four Tops. Everyone in his group advanced except Kareem. After his untelevised final solo performance, he advanced alongside Vincent Powell, Jimmy Smith and Nate Tao. He eventually did enough to make the Top 20 Guys quarterfinals.
Top 40[]
Johnny appeared in Male Group 1 and sang "I Won't Give Up" by Jason Mraz. Afterwards, the judges told him that he did not make the semifinals.
List of Performances[]
| Stage | Song | Artist | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | "A Change Is Gonna Come" | Sam Cooke | Advanced |
| Hollywood | "Dreamin'" | Amos Lee | Advanced |
| "Broken Strings" (w/ Kristi Krause, Imani Handy, & Bryce Garcia) |
James Morrison (ft. Nelly Furtado) |
Advanced | |
| Not Seen On Television | Advanced | ||
| Las Vegas | "Wake Up, Little Susie" (w/ Aubrey Cleland, Cortez Shaw, & Devan Jones) |
The Everly Brothers | Rescinded |
| Stage | Song | Artist | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | "Try a Little Tenderness" | Otis Redding | Advanced |
| Hollywood | TBD | N/A | Advanced |
| "Reach Out (I'll Be There)" (w/ Kareem Clark, etc.) |
The Four Tops | Advanced | |
| TBD | N/A | Advanced | |
| Las Vegas | "I Won't Give Up" | Jason Mraz | Eliminated |
After the Show[]
Johnny has been recently making music under the pseudonym, John K, with a large fanbase in South Korea. His song "If We Never Met" peaked at #11 in the US Adult charts in 2019,[4] and certified platinum in 2020.[5]
Quick Links[]
| Season 12 |
| Finalists |
| ·Candice Glover ·Kree Harrison ·Angie Miller ·Amber Holcomb ·Janelle Arthur ·Lazaro Arbos ·Burnell Taylor ·Devin Velez ·Paul Jolley ·Curtis Finch, Jr. |
| Semifinalists |
| ·Aubrey Cleland ·Charlie Askew — ·Nick Boddington ·Zoanette Johnson ·Adriana Latonio ·Elijah Liu ·Vincent Powell ·Cortez Shaw ·Breanna Steer ·Tenna Torres |
| Quarterfinalists |
| ·Melinda Ademi ·Juliana Chahayed ·Cristabel Clack ·Rachel Hale ·Kevin Harris ·Jett Hermano ·Josh Holiday ·Brandy Hotard ·Isabelle ·JDA ·Johnny Keyser ·Kamaria Ousley ·Gurpreet Singh Sarin ·Jimmy Smith ·Bryant Tadeo ·Mathenee Treco ·Shubha Vedula ·Chris Watson ·David Oliver Willis ·Jenny Beth Willis |