Who will perform at iHeart’s Jingle Ball Village, get mentored by Grammy Winners and Win $10,000? You decide!
Johnny Schaefer
Must be in the top 5 in their group to advance to the next round.
Voting for this round ends on November 4, 2026 at 10:00 PM EST
About Johnny Schaefer
I'm an LA singer-songwriter and won the 2021 UJK Songwriting Contest out of 6,500 entries from 82 countries for for my duet with Grammy Award Winner Melissa Manchester. My YouTube channel has more than 4 million views. I have many Christmas songs.
Performances & Content from Johnny Schaefer
Whenever I Call You Friend
All the Babes on Christmas Born
You Can't Hide the Light
While You Are Right in Front of Me
Umflown
Learn More About Johnny Schaefer
What makes you the Next Music Star?
I started writing songs when I was four years old and sang my first solo in church then, too. I have a BA in voice and composition. I won the 2021 UK Songwriting Contest out of 6,500 entries from 82 countries and my music videos have won several film festivals. I'm gay and not afraid to approach difficult subjects in my songs. I've sung with Grammy Award Winners Melissa Manchester, Josh Groban, Sarah Brightman, Diahann Carroll and others. In this age of AI I am authentic and relatable. I don't try to sound like anyone else.
What do you love about music and performing?
Music has been my language for communicating in the world since I was born. My Mom says I started singing before I ever talked. When I look into the eyes of an audience as I sing songs I wrote, I feel a deep and profound connection. I once got an email from a woman who said her 8-year-old daughter was non-verbal autistic and had never spoken a word. She loved to watch music videos and connected with one of my songs, listening over and over. That night, she sang along with me and it was the first time she had ever formed words. Her Mom said that tears were falling onto her keyboard. If I never do anything again, I've succeeded as a musician but, of course, I am making more music every day. As a closeted preacher's kid growing up in a small conservative town in the 70s, I loved the music of Melissa Manchester. Her songs were a beacon of light. I used to write songs and send them to her on cassette. Imagine my joy when she recorded one of my songs with me and we sang live together.
Who are your biggest music inspirations and dream collaborators?
Aside from dream collaborations that have already come true with Melissa Manchester and Gerald Albright, I would love to work with Alanis Morrisette, Sting, Rickie Lee Jones, Vampire Weekend, Keb' Mo', KD Lang, Rufus Wanwright, Brandi Carlile, Jon Legend, Rosalia, Paul Simon, the forner Weepies, Lady Gaga, just to name a few. They're all artists I admire for different reasons. I'm very eclectic and the writing, including lyrics, is very important to me. I wish I could dance, but I can't. Bimbo Jones, Lugo, and others have remixed my songs and I love the results. I've recorded a couple of dance tracks. I love genre bending and I know I confuse the algorithms. A challenge I face is that I play some keyboard and trumpet, but I don't play anything well enough to accompany myself live. Hiring a band is expensive. I've sung with tracks often and have been a sololist in thousands of church services, weddings, and funerals throughout my life. Budget constraints have limited my reach.
What would you do with the $10,000 Grand Prize?
I would finish the album I've been recording and hire a band to do some live gigs. I have a backlog of many songs I've written that need to get out. Testing them live would be very helpful. I'd also buy some recording software and build a vocal booth in my home to facilitate better demos, which saves me time in the studio. I've always said that since there are more than 350 million people in the US, if just one in 350 was a fan I would have a million fans. And that's just in the US. I absolutely know they are out there. My music is also well-received in Europe and I have charted in the UK and France. So I might try to find a consultant who could help me reach the people who would love my songs and my voice. It's a challenge when more than 40,000 songs are released every day, but I know my audience is out there.
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