THINGS are looking up for Australia's Michael Johns despite his shock dismissal from American Idol, including hanging out with Ashton Kutcher and a call from Dolly Parton.
The Perth-born 29-year-old, who struggled for a decade in the US to establish a music career, has been offered numerous recording deals since his elimination last week. He's also had enough brushes with A-List celebrities since to dine out on for decades to come. A few hours after the jaws of American Idol's 30 million TV viewers dropped to the floor when Johns was asked to leave, his own idol, country singer Dolly Parton, called his mobile phone. "There was a voice on the phone and it said 'Michael, this is Dolly'," Johns, a guest on US TV talkshow Regis & Kelly recalled. "She said 'You have a great career ahead of you and I'd like to write with you and maybe do a duet'." After his surprise send-off Johns jetted off to New York and dropped in to the set of NBC TV show Saturday Night Live (SNL) where Hollywood star Ashton Kutcher was the guest host. Johns was invited back to the SNL after-party where Kutcher, his wife Demi Moore and plenty of other A-listers, including Cameron Diaz, partied late into the night. "Demi Moore came up to me, gave me a big hug and said 'You were robbed'," Johns said. "I was standing there thinking 'If this is Demi Moore hugging me then I'm freaking out right now'." The night got better. Johns was then invited to the SNL after-party's after-party. It was at a Manhattan bar and Kutcher and Moore had organised a band to entertain their friends, but the band failed to turn up. "Demi came up and said 'Would you sing?', " Johns, shaking his head, said. "It was weird. "A guy played keyboards and then Ashton and I were singing. "It was so surreal." Johns, who was considered one of the top three competitors on American Idol before the shock elimination, said he was not about to let his fame from the reality TV show go to waste. "It's time to get to work now," he said.
