Search for Next Music Superstar Finds Columbia Teen

Performers who can sing, dance and act are known in the theater and show business worlds as "triple threats."

A new phrase will have to be coined to describe Columbia teenager Evan Johnson.

The 17-year-old Atholton High School senior is a one-man band and also provides all of the technical expertise, from videography to sound engineering, to produce professional-quality video and audio recordings of his music.

His talents and abilities were recently recognized when Johnson was named one of six finalists in "Find Your Voice," a music video contest sponsored by Facebook, Music & Arts, Yamaha and singer/musician Greyson Chance.

Chance became a YouTube singing sensation after a video of him performing Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" went viral. He rocketed to fame after being discovered by comedian and talk show host Ellen Degeneres.

The "Find Your Voice" winner will be selected by voters who cast ballots for their favorite musician on the contest's Facebook page.

Contest entrants were challenged to "cover" their choice of 12 songs, playing any instrument.

Johnson chose "Break Even" by the Script. For his entry, he played electric guitar, piano and drums and provided the vocals.

"I already knew of the song and liked it," Johnson said. "But I had to learn it for the contest."

After learning all of the musical parts, the young artist recorded his performances on different tracks and then set about doing all of the production work to create the video he entered in the contest.

"I kind of have a studio in my basement that we've built up over the years," Johnson said. "I recorded all the tracks, shot and edited all the video and did all the post-production mixing and mastering."

Though Johnson started playing trumpet in fourth grade, he's self-taught when it comes to the other instruments — guitar, drums and piano — that he plays.

Scott Johnson, Evan's father, credited elementary and middle school music teachers for instilling an appreciation of music in his son.

"He's a product of the Howard County music program, and Mr. Davis in elementary school and Mr. Smith in middle school put a love of music in him," the proud father said. "He's just kind of taken off with it."

At Atholton High, Evan plays in the wind ensemble and jazz band, and is enrolled in an advanced placement music theory class. He also travels to River Hill High to take a music technology class.

Evan's interest in music and his desire to know how and why things work have sparked an interest in engineering.

He's been accepted into the University of Maryland's engineering program, and he also received an acceptance letter from Penn State.

He's waiting to hear from New York University, which has a music technology program that he covets.

"That's really a selective program," Evan said. "They take like 30 kids out of the whole country."

If he ends up in Maryland's engineering program, he will stay active in music, he said.

His family, including mother Brenda and younger brothers Chris and Sam, is excited about Evan being named a finalist in the contest, Scott said.

"We're very proud of him," Scott said. "It's an exciting ride for him."

As a finalist, Evan received $1,000 to spend on Yamaha instruments, and six months of music lessons.

If he wins the contest, he'll receive $2,000 for instruments and a year's worth of music lessons.

"Plus I'll get a trip to L.A. to meet Greyson Chance," he said. "That would be pretty cool."

Contest Details:

Where to Vote: Music & Arts Facebook page

Vote: Once per day through Feb. 26